The Boundary between Salt and Sweet: The Reality of Navy Cooking (1940s)

The Boundary between Salt and Sweet: The Reality of Navy Cooking (1940s)

Cooking in the Navy was not simply cooking, but was conducted under a strict discipline with precise calculations. In particular, the cooking of rice and soups used unique methods that differed from those used in modern home cooking.

First, in cooking rice, instead of starting with water as in most households, the water was brought to a boil and then the rice and barley were added to the pot. At home, the amount of water was adjusted according to whether the rice was new or old, but this was not allowed in naval cooking, and a uniform amount of water was used. The standard amount of water was "up to the ankle of the hand." Furthermore, to measure the amount of water, a long-handled iron ladle called "Supon" was used, and a hole was dug in the center of the pot to ensure even convection of the hot water. This was done to prevent uneven cooking due to unbalanced heat. If the process of making this hole was neglected, the center of the cooked rice would rise up abnormally, resulting in what was sometimes called "gotchin rice," which was a failure. The rice would be checked by superiors, who would often shout angrily, "Who cooked this gottin rice? and "Who cooked this gotchin rice? The most delicious part of
the cooked rice was the part about 10 cm inside the outer edge of the pot, and the cooks would sometimes secretly give priority to this part.

The way miso soup was made was also unique. The Navy used a method in which dried sardines (iriko) were soaked in water the night before so that the broth would be ready the next morning. In other words, the idea was to extract the dashi by gently soaking the dried fish in water, rather than boiling it. In fact, when they tried to eat the dried sardines after they had been made into dashi using this method, they found that the taste had completely drained out, which was a surprising experience for the cooks. There was an important taboo against finishing miso soup. That is the rule that miso must never be brought to a boil after it has been added. Gently dissolving miso brings out its full aroma and flavor, but if you continue to heat it over a high flame, the aroma will leach out and the soup will become just a salty soup. Therefore, in the cooking area, "Who boils miso soup? and sanctions were sometimes given to those who violated this rule.

In addition, there was a special method of cooking sukiyaki in the naval style that differed from that used at home. While most households usually put the meat in the pot first and then add more in the middle, the Navy used a method in which all the meat was first seasoned with sweet and spicy seasoning. First, more sugar is added, allowing the meat to soak up the sweetness, and then a large amount of soy sauce is added. This process imparted a strong sweet and spicy flavor to the meat as a whole, and finally a small amount of water was added to cook the vegetables. Emphasis was also placed on quickly browning the surface of the meat to prevent the protein (kun protein) from leaking out. While in home sukiyaki, additional meat could be added in the middle of the cooking process, the naval method had the advantage of cooking all the meat at once, thus maintaining consistency of flavor.

One of the most interesting episodes in naval cooking is the one that has been passed down as the "Shiruko Incident. When one cook was in charge of seasoning the shiruko, he felt that it was not sweet enough and repeatedly added more sugar, but it never became sweeter. He was suspicious and kept adding more sugar, when suddenly his superior officer shouted at him, "What are you doing? What are you doing? In fact, what the soldier had been adding was not sugar but salt. As a result, he ended up with unusually sweet and sour shiruko. Surprisingly, however, other soldiers who tasted it said it was "not so bad," and many of them finished it. This episode shows that even under strict cooking control in the army, humorous mistakes sometimes occur.

These naval cooking manners were not just about cooking, but were closely tied to army discipline and wartime food management. Everything from the management of convection currents when cooking rice, to the control of the heat so as not to spoil the flavor of miso soup, to the thorough seasoning of sukiyaki, was the result of the pursuit of efficiency and rationality. And even in the midst of this strict control, small deviations such as the "Shiruko Incident" were born, which became a memorable moment for the cook soldiers.