What are the real differences between Japanese and Chinese style foods?

I know that all asian foods often get lumped together. I have a chinese affordable buffet we love to eat at and a Japanese Hibachi grill place that is higher dollar we realy enjoy but what are the real differences between the styles that creates the prices and taste difference?What are the real differences between Japanese and Chinese style foods?
Let's look at Japan frist



Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods (shushoku, 主食), typically rice or noodles, with a soup, and okazu (おかず) - dishes made from fish, meat, vegetable, tofu and the like, designed to add flavour to the staple food. These are typically flavoured with dashi, miso, and soy sauce and are usually low in fat and high in salt.



A standard Japanese meal generally consists of several different okazu accompanying a bowl of cooked white Japanese rice (gohan, 御飯), a bowl of soup and some tsukemono (pickles). The most standard meal comprises three okazu and is termed ichijū-sansai (一汁三菜; "one soup, three sides"). Different cooking techniques are applied to each of the three okazu; they may be raw (sashimi), grilled, simmered (sometimes called boiled), steamed, deep-fried, vinegared, or dressed. This Japanese view of a meal is reflected in the organization of Japanese cookbooks, organized into chapters according to cooking techniques as opposed to particular ingredients (e.g. meat, seafood). There may also be chapters devoted to soups, sushi, rice, noodles, and sweets.



As Japan is an island nation its people eat much seafood. Meat-eating has been rare until fairly recently due to restrictions placed upon it by Buddhism[citation needed]. However, strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavoured with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna flakes). An exception is shōjin ryōri (精進料理), vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks. However, the advertised shōjin ryōri usually available at public eating places includes some non-vegetarian elements.



Noodles, originating in China, have become an essential part of Japanese cuisine usually as an alternative to a rice-based meal. Soba (thin, grayish-brown noodles containing buckwheat flour) and udon (thick wheat noodles) are the main traditional noodles and are served hot or cold with soy-dashi flavourings. Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat stock broth known as ramen have become extremely popular over the last century.



The traditional Japanese table setting has varied considerably over the centuries, depending primarily on the type of table common during a given era. Before the 19th century, small individual box tables (hakozen, 箱膳) or flat floor trays were set before each diner. Larger low tables (chabudai, ちゃぶ台) that accommodated entire families were becoming popular by the beginning of the 20th century, but these gave way to western style dining tables and chairs by the end of the 20th century.



Traditionally, the rice bowl is placed on the left and the soup bowl on the right. Behind these, each okazu is served on its own individual plate. Based on the standard three okazu formula, behind the rice and soup are three flat plates to hold the three okazu; one to far back left, one at far back right, and one in the center. Pickled vegetables are often served on the side but are not counted as part of the three okazu.



Chopsticks are generally placed at the very front of the tray near the dinner with pointed ends facing left and supported by a chopstick rest, or hashioki (箸置き).



It is customary to say itadakimasu (lit. "I shall receive") before starting to eat a meal, and gochiso-sama deshita (lit. "That was a feast") to the host after the meal and the restaurant staff when leaving.



The rice or the soup is eaten by picking the relevant bowl up with the left hand and using chopsticks with the right. Bowls of soup, noodle soup, donburi or ochazuke may be lifted to the mouth but not white rice. Soy sauce is not usually poured over most foods at the table; a dipping dish is usually provided. Soy sauce is, however, meant to be poured directly onto tofu and grated daikon dishes. In particular, soy sauce should never be poured onto rice or soup. Blowing one's nose at the table is considered extremely offensive.



Noodles are slurped.



Chopsticks are never left sticking vertically into rice, as this is how they are ritually offered to the dead. Using chopsticks to spear food, to point, or to pass food into someone else's chopsticks is also frowned upon. It is also very bad manners to bite on your chopsticks.



When taking food from a communal dish, unless they are family or very close friends, turn the chopsticks around to grab the food; it is considered cleaner. If sharing with someone else, move it directly from one plate to another; passing food from one pair to another is a funeral rite.



It is customary to eat rice to the last grain. Being a fussy eater is frowned upon, and it is not customary to ask for special requests or substitutions at restaurants. It is considered ungrateful to make these requests especially in circumstances where you are being hosted, as in a business dinner environment. Good manners dictate that you respect the selections of the host. This is a common mistake that visiting business people make.



Even in informal situations, drinking alcohol starts with a toast (kanpai, 乾杯) when everyone is ready. It is not customary to pour oneself a drink; but rather, people are expected to keep each other's drinks topped up. When someone moves to pour your drink you should hold your glass with both hands and thank them.



Now Let's look at Chinese,



Chinese cuisine (Chinese language 中國菜) is the general term given to the food or styles of cooking of various regional cuisines originating from China. Regional cultural differences vary greatly amongst the different regions of China, giving rise to the different styles of food. There are eight main regional cuisines, and they are: Anhui (Hui 徽), Cantonese (Yue 粵), Fujian (Min 閩), Hunan (Xiang 湘), Jiangsu (Su 蘇 or Yang 揚), Shandong (Lu 魯), Szechuan (Chuan 川), Zhejiang (Zhe 浙).



A meal in Chinese culture is typically seen as consisting of two or more general components: (1) a carbohydrate source or starch, known as 主食 in the Chinese language, (zhǔshí Pinyin , lit. "main food", staple) — typically rice, noodles, or mantou (steamed buns), and (2) accompanying dishes of vegetables, meat, fish, or other items, known as 菜 (càiPinyin , lit. vegetable") in the Chinese language. This cultural conceptualization is in some ways in contrast to cuisines of Northern Europe and the USA, where meat or animal protein is often considered the main dish, and analogous to the one of most Mediterranean cuisines, based typically on wheat-derived components like pasta or cous cous.



Rice is a critical part of much of Chinese cuisine. However, in many parts of China, particularly northern China, wheat-based products including noodles and steamed buns (such as mantou 饅頭) predominate, in contrast to southern China where rice is dominant. Despite the importance of rice in Chinese cuisine, at extremely formal occasions, sometimes no rice at all will be served; in such a case, rice would only be provided when no other dishes remained, or as a token dish in the form of fried rice at the end of the meal. Soup is usually served at the start of a meal and at the end of a meal in Southern China.



Chopsticks are the primary eating utensil in Chinese culture for solid foods, while soups and other liquids are enjoyed[1] with a wide, flat-bottomed spoon (traditionally made of ceramic). It is reported that wooden chopsticks are losing their dominance due to recent logging shortfalls in China and East Asia; many Chinese eating establishments are considering a switch to a more environmentally sustainable eating utensil, such as plastic or bamboo chopsticks. More expensive materials used in the past included ivory and silver. On the other hand, disposable chopsticks made of wood/bamboo have all but replaced reusable ones in small restaurants.



In most dishes in Chinese cuisine, food is prepared in bite-sized pieces (e.g. vegetable, meat, doufu), ready for direct picking up and eating. Traditionally, Chinese culture considered using knives and forks at the table barbaric due to fact that these implements are regarded as weapons. It was also considered ungracious to have guests work at cutting their own food. Fish are usually cooked and served whole, with diners directly pulling pieces from the fish with chopsticks to eat, unlike in some other cuisines where they are first filleted. This is because it is desired for fish to be served as fresh as possible. It is common in many restaurant settings for the server to use a pair of spoons to divide the fish into servings at the table. Chicken is another meat popular in Chinese meals. While the chicken is cut into pieces, every single piece of the chicken is served including gizzards and head. The emphasis in Chinese culture on wholeness is reflected here. It is considered bad luck if fish or chicken is served without its head and tail, as that is synonymous with something that does not have a proper beginning or end.



In a Chinese meal, each individual diner is given his or her own bowl of rice while the accompanying dishes are served in communal plates (or bowls) that are shared by everyone sitting at the table. In the Chinese meal, each diner picks food out of the communal plates on a bite-by-bite basis with their chopsticks. This is in contrast to western meals where it is customary to dole out individual servings of the dishes at the beginning of the meal. Many non-Chinese are uncomfortable with allowing a person's individual utensils (which might have traces of saliva) to touch the communal plates; for this hygienic reason, additional serving spoons or chopsticks （公筷, lit. common/public/shared chopsticks) may be made available. In areas with increased Western influence, such as Hong Kong, diners are provided individually with a heavy metal spoon for this purpose. The food selected is often eaten together with some rice either in one bite or in alternation.



Vegetarianism is not uncommon or unusual in China, though, as is the case in the West, it is only practiced by a relatively small proportion of the population. The Chinese vegetarians do not eat a lot of tofu, unlike the stereotypical impression in the West. Most Chinese vegetarians are Buddhists. Non-Chinese people eating Chinese cuisine will note that a large number of popular vegetable dishes may actually contain meat (usually pork), as meat chunks or bits have been traditionally used to flavor dishes. Chinese Buddhist cuisine has many true vegetarian dishes that contain no meat at all.



In contrast to most western meals, a Chinese meal does not typically end with a dessert. However, a sweet dish is usually served at the end of a formal dinner or banquet, such as sliced fruits or a sweet soup (糖水, lit. sugar water) which is served warm.



In traditional Chinese culture, cold beverages are believed to be harmful to digestion of hot food, so items like ice-cold water or soft drinks are traditionally not served at meal-time. Besides soup, if any other beverages are served, they would most likely be hot tea or hot water. Tea is believed to help in the digestion of greasy foods. Despite this tradition, nowadays beer and soft drinks are popular accompaniment with meals. A popular combo in many small restaurants in parts of China is hot pot served with cold beer, a combination known as 冷淡杯 (Pinyin: leng3 dan4 bei1, literally: cold and bland cup, despite being strongly flavored), which is the very opposite of what traditional wisdom would admonish. Ideas from Chinese herbology, such as as the four natures, influence the food combinations favored in traditional Chinese meals.



One final touch Japanese Home Cook Meal are usually server to just the right amount with little/no left over and serve single serving style and you are ask for second or third serving once you are done with your current one. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co… (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co…

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while Chinese Home Cook meal tend to cook exect to show they are "not skimmy" are usuall sever communal (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co…What are the real differences between Japanese and Chinese style foods?
First, sushi. Sushi is NOT raw fish. It may have raw fish in it, but sushi doesn't always even have fish in it, k? And just because you're going to a Japanese restaurant, doesn't mean they're gonna try to serve you raw fish or even chicken, okay? That aside...



Chinese eat more pork and beef, Japanese more seafood. More Chinese dishes are pan-fried and often containing noodles. Japanese fried dishes are mostly deep fried (tempura, katsu), and tend to use more plain white rice. Most Japanese noodle are served either in soup or cold. And Japanese use a lot of egg and saeweed in their dishes.



Chinese: Orange chicken, lemon chicken, general tsao, chow mein, lo mein, hot and sour soup, egg flower soup, garlicy dishes. Black tea.

Japanese: Udon, soba, ramen noodles, tempura, katsu, teriyaki, yakisoba, miso soup. Green Tea.



Somethings like potstickers are generally the same, but Japanese potstickers are called gyoza. I



If you were to go to more traditional restaurants you would immediately see the diferences between to two ethnic styles of cooking.What are the real differences between Japanese and Chinese style foods?
i will wait for an answer with you....i enjoy both.i guess some thai dishes could be included in your question?

other than sushi i see a lot of similarities too.What are the real differences between Japanese and Chinese style foods?
one is cooked other is raw....one kills cats other kills roaches
The Chinese buffet and the Japanese Hibachi grill are Americanized. Hence the food is similar.



REAL Chinese and Japanese foods are as similar as Greek and Irish food. There are some exceptions like Gyoza and Dumplings.