Nikkei cuisine is a type of fusion cuisine that combines Japanese and Peruvian elements. Nikkei is the word used to describe immigrants of Japanese origin in Peru.[1]
The cultural exchange between Japan and Peru began at the end of the 19th century with the arrival of a Peruvian ship at the port of Yokohama. This ship had already traveled between Callao and Macau numerous times to transport laborers between the two cities. The first contact between the Peruvians and the Japanese was not peaceful as there was violence between the two. The fighting between the two nations eventually ended when they signed a peace treaty on August 21, 1873.[2]
The Japanese first began their journey through Peru in 1889, led by Takahashi Korekiyo who eventually created the Japan Mining Company.[3] He arrived in Peru in order to access its silver mines, but these had already been mined resulting in the project becoming a failure and abandoning his industrial prospects in Peru. After the first years of immigration to Peru by a population overwhelmed by the modernizing changes during the Meiji Era, the Japanese government in 1885 decided to organize and direct the massive migration that was already in process to the country.[4] The Japanese who migrated to Peru ended up working on the sugar haciendas on the northern coast.
Nikkei food is characterized by its use of the wide variety of ingredients available to Peru. In 1980, this type of food became recognized and since then has been seen as a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian ingredients. Peruvian influences include some basic ingredients such as rocoto, which gives the spicy flavor, yellow aji or lemons. On the other hand, the Japanese side of the fusion can be seen in the introduction of vegetable crops and especially rice in the Peruvian land. Not only did they combine products from both cultures, but the Japanese would also use Peruvian foods to make traditional dishes from their homeland. An example of this is the use of yucca for the preparation of mochi, which will give rise to yucamochi, a classic dish of this fusion cuisine.[5]
