陳建源。〈刺激與調和：初探日本飲食中的「辣」〉。《民俗曲藝》219
(2023.3): 69-116。
Chen Chien-yuan. “Harmonized and Stimulated: Karami in Modern Japanese Food Culture.” Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre and Folklore 219 (2023.3): 69-116.
Abstract
日語中的「辣味」（辛味，karami）不僅可以用於形容辣椒、亦可用於描述山葵與大蒜的味道。然而，在以辣味飲食知名的韓國飲食中，蒜頭的刺激並不理解為辣，而是強調其臭味，這彰顯了辣味在不同文化環境中有着不同解讀。因此，日本飲食與社會中的「辛味」如何被日本人的感官感知、進而發展出何種文化理解，是極為有趣的飲食人類學議題。
「和食」一向以溫和味道為其飲食特色，「辛味」在傳統飲食觀中是必須被調和的，本文因此提出「刺激與調和」兩個概念，嘗試理解日本如何處理「辛味」以及「辛味」在日本社會之變遷及其在當代之轉化過程。特別是近年日本對辣的包容度漸增，多種「激辛」產品出現，讓日本社會中的「辛味」討論更饒富文化意涵。
透過語料庫、報章資料庫、媒體文本分析與田野調查，本研究希望能回答以下問題：作為外來刺激的辣椒及其「辛味」（辣味），如何被「調和」、甚至被融合進日本既有的飲食文化體系，並分析不同的「辛味」認定說明了何種社會文化的變遷？其次，大眾媒體、書寫與流行文化中的「辛味」在日常生活裡如何被日本人理解？最後，透過中華料理中麻婆豆腐的在地轉化過程去檢視日本家庭、食品產業與廚師如何協助辛味的日常化。
Definitions of
spicy food can vary based on how people in different cultures experience
sensations. For example, the Japanese may consider chilies, garlic, and
wasabi to be spicy, but in Korean dietary culture garlic viewed as not
spicy but slightly stinky. Therefore, the Japanese sense of karami (taste
of spicy food) constitutes an intriguing concept to explore. This article utilizes
harmony and stimulation as two key concepts to explore Japanese karami culture.
The Japanese have developed a distinct strategy to “harmonize the stimulated” and thus incorporate spicy foods into Japan’s washoku tradition.
This study explores how Japanese society deals with stimulus foods (particularly
chilies) and how karami is sensed and observed in Japanese popular
writing and mass media. Also, taking mapo tofu (Chinese spicy tofu)
as one example, this paper analyzes how the Japanese food industry has
supported karami culture and transformed this spicy food into a
Japanized dish.