Saturday, July 04, 2009

"Ate" with Beer

Today's supper was "KARA-AGE". Of course, I cooked it.
Do you know kara-age? It's a Japanese fried chicken and it has the taste of shoyu.


Kara-age is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Japanese people like kara-age very mutch. We eat it at home, restaurant and izakaya.
In fact, I often eat kara-age bento.
(Bento is a takeout lunch.)

Kara-age is a match for rice, but it is also a good match for beer.
Dishes eaten with beer or sake are said "ATE" or "TSUMAMI" in Japanese. We say "Beer-no-ate" or "Sake-no-tsumami".
In English, what do "ate" and "tsumami" say? I couldn't find them in my dictionary.

After supper, kara-age changed "beer-no-ate".
Kara-age and beer. What a wonderful couple they are! Like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie!



Well... Cheers!


「ビールのあて」

今日の晩御飯は“唐揚げ”。もちろん自分で作ったよ。
唐揚げって知ってる?日本風のフライドチキンで、味は醤油風味なんだよ。

唐揚げは日本で最もポピュラーな料理の一つだ。日本人は唐揚げが大好き。家でも、食堂でも、居酒屋でも食べる。
実際、僕もちょくちょく唐揚げ弁当を食べてるよ。

唐揚げはご飯のおかずだけじゃなくて、ビールにもぴったりなんだ。
ビールや日本酒を飲むときに食べる料理は、日本語で“あて”とか“つまみ”って言うんだよ。僕らは“ビールのあて”とか“酒のつまみ”って言ってる。
英語ではなんて言うのかな?僕の持ってる辞書には載ってなかった。

晩御飯の後、唐揚げはビールのあてになった。
唐揚げとビール。なんて素敵な組合せなんだ!まるで、ブラッド・ピットとアンジェリーナ・ジョリーみたいだ!


では・・・ かんぱ~い!

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16 comments:

Colby said...

Ate in english is pronounced ea-t. It is the past tense of eat. Example: I ate the food yesterday! Tsumami has no meaning in English.

Bakkanekko said...

wow, I must try it sometimes :D

The man said...

Ate is pronounced like the number 8 is in English. It is the Past tense form of the word "eat". For example: I can't believe I ate the entire meal.

A tsunami is a GIGANTIC wave in the ocean that is very powerful and destructive. They are very bad, and cause much suffering. They are usually caused by an earthquake in the ocean.

Robin said...

Tsumami is a dish of pasta soaked in vinegar sauce with prawns or shrimp and kage. We don't have that dish here in Canada so much, but it's called Emperor's Salad here.

Ate is not familiar to me at all as a food dish.

gb said...

As near as I can tell, ビールのあて would be 'have with beer' in English. It's not a direct translation, but the meaning's are similar. 酒のつまみ is much more difficult. The literal translation would be 'knob of liquor' which doesn't make a lot of sense.
One dictionary does show つまみ as having an alternate meaning of relish or hors d' oeuvre. That would give a meaning of sake snacks to the phrase.

Robin said...

Is ate a fruit paste, maybe? and Tsumami may be hors h'oeuvre which is very small portions of food, meant to be eaten in one bite with your fingers.

gaijinhodge said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gaijinhodge said...

There literally is no translation for tsumami, because alcohol is not associated as good with certain dishes in Western society EXCEPT in the case of wines. In that respect, white wines go well with lighter meats, while red wines go well with darker, heavier meats.

西洋文化には、酒と食べ物の当てはワインのみです。

Probably "a dish that goes well with beer/sake" is best. My favorite ate/tsumami is probably kakinotane, which goes well with beer.

英語で「よく合う」の表現しかないですね。

But NANKOTSU is so much better beernoate than kara-age, and it scares foreigners the first time they eat it!

軟骨は最高だ!

Unknown said...

I honestly love following your blog and how you write, because the way you structure your sentences and ideas make so much sense in my mind, even if they aren't grammatically correct in English. But then, I've always been fascinated by Japanese culture.

You should post a recipe, and recommend a good sake.

Susan C said...

I LOVE Japanese style fried chicken. It is delicious with beer. PLEASE post your recipe.

Bella_182 said...

Yum looks so good

Internet English Academy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Internet English Academy said...

For food that goes well with beer, we can call it a "beer-match".

For food that goes well with wine, we can call it a "wine-match", perhaps?

Mmmm... "wine pair" is most acceptable.

I agree with gaijinhodge. There is no accurate translation for "ate" or "tsumami".

TJ Lubrano said...

That looks tasty! I really should try that one day! I can't add more about what already is told by the others about the words 'ate' and 'tsumami' ^_^".

sxoidmal said...

Great photos! And the concept of words that frame what foods go with beer or sake is fascinating. I will have to study this further.

vova Bulgaria said...

please post the recipe for kakinotane rice crackers! i love them and i am from bulgaria. we do not have them here in my country and would be grateful if i could be able to make/cook them by myself! thank you in advance !