Istanbul-Tokyo getting closer

Japan and Türkiye are countries like very far distant relatives. At least, that is my perception. One might think that the two cultures are worlds apart, but when one scratches the surface, there can be astonishing unexpected similarities between the two cultures. Now, there can be another opportunity to explore more about Japan for us despite the long-distance flight. The flight distance between Istanbul and Tokyo is close to 9,000 kilometers, taking about 11 hours of flight connecting the two megacities. Until recently, direct flights were only possible with Turkish Airlines. However, the Tokyo-Istanbul line is getting stronger with Japanese ANA (All Nippon Airways) airlines launched in February. The 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Türkiye was celebrated last year with many cultural events, we were delightfully able to explore Japanese culture. It seems that this new line will further strengthen the relationship, especially in the cultural bonds.

Admittedly, I’ve never been to Japan, but during my studies in the restoration field, I’ve found many similarities between the timber vernacular architecture of Japan and ours in certain regions of Türkiye, like the UNESCO-listed Safranbolu village. An admirer of modern Japanese architects, I must say I envy their pure, clean approach to creating pristine spaces, and I was over the moon, when Kengo Kuma, one of my favorite architects, was assigned to design the OMM- Odunpazaraı Modern Museum in Eskişehir. At the opening reception, he was there personally and seemed to be content with his work, the building fitted just right in the historic Odun Pazarı district. It was as if that empty plot finally found its long-awaited missing piece.

Century-old relations

Diplomatic relations between Japan and Türkiye began 101 years ago. Last year, there were many cultural events organized to celebrate this more than a century-old relationship. Diplomatic relations in the world are now being established through gastronomy. Gastro-diplomacy is increasingly on the agenda as a “soft power.” Undoubtedly, one of the most important mediums that bring people together is the table. Communicating over what is shared at the table, the bond established through exploring and enjoying flavors is more effective and long-lasting. Restaurants representing Japanese cuisine are proliferating in many of our major cities, especially in Istanbul. The names of Japanese tastes such as “sushi” and “ramen” have become part of our language and concured our taste buds. We now know many Japanese food terms by heart, we can even find some essential ingredients specific to Japanese cuisine. The growing interest in Japanese cuisine is great. Just like the Japanese word tsunami, Japanese food terms are spreading all over the world, as an ever-rising long and high mighty wave. Today, mastering the Japanese culinary language is accepted as a criterion of intellectuality in the field of gastronomy.

The bonding power of fire

Coming back to my verdict as Japanese and Turkish cultures being far away relatives, one can easily say that the food cultures are totally alien to each other. But again, when one scratches the surface, there might be certain unexpected bonds, especially the fascination with fire. In Japanese cuisine, “robatayaki” literally means “cooking by the fire.” This cooking technique, often abbreviated as robata, is very similar to our “ocakbaşı” fireside cooking method where food is cooked over charcoal embers. In our culture, Ocakbaşı masters know when to flip over the kebab, how to cook the meat just right so that it remains juicy but not burnt, and how to adjust the roasting of the onions, tomatoes and peppers that go along. In Ocakbaşı kebab culture, the secret is actually hidden in the timing of cooking and the heat of the embers. In the robata technique, too, food is cooked at varying speeds, the whole skill lies in adjusting the distance from the fire and the timing. These two methods of cooking over the fire are in fact methods in which the master cook literally plays with fire, understands the language of fire, and demonstrates a mastery based on years of experience.

In Japanese cuisine, the importance given to craftsmanship and the great respect for masters is of a completely exceptional level. Therefore, being a robata master is regarded as a special skill. In our country, however, it seems as if this fire-craftsmanship is not valued enough, and the masters do not get the respect and recognition they deserve. It is also a men’s field. However, we have one female chef to be proud of, Suna Hakyemez, the chef of Roka restaurant, one of the representatives of Japanese cuisine in Istanbul, who has mastered this field that even in Japan women do not dare. Hakyemez, who is in charge of the robata fire at Roka, has become a robata master by internalizing this cooking method unique to Japanese cuisine, perhaps subconsciously with the confidence that comes from our genetic trait of being familiar with the fire.

Turkish ingredients singing Japanese

For a while now, Roka has been collaborating with distinguished chefs from Türkiye in its kitchen and creating challenging tasting menus. This time the guest chef came from Urla, Vino Locale. Chef Ozan Kumbasar adapted Aegean flavors to Japanese cuisine by not only playing with the fire but also applying other Japanese techniques to Aegean ingredients with amazing ease and mastery, especially his cured yellowtail with tomato foam and peppers was pure Japanese elegance with Aegean flavors. It’s not easy to adapt local Turkish ingredients to Japanese cuisine and suddenly make them speak Japanese. The duo of Suna Hakyemez and Ozan Kumbasar have carried out this difficult mission together with great success. Urla blue tail prawn gyoza (Japanese cousin of Turkish mantı) and the baby chicken skewers (akin to çöpşiş) were good examples of how the two cuisines can intersect. But my heart fell for two dishes as an artichoke fanatic and eggplant lover: grilled eggplant with ginger mirin, ginger and soy glaze by Suna, and crispy baby Urla artichokes by Ozan. I take my hat off to our two chefs who have managed to make these two distinct vegetables of Turkish cuisine singing in Japanese. I hope that one day they will have the opportunity to showcase their skills on the other end of the Istanbul-Tokyo line, and that they will be able to demonstrate a Turkish-Japanese fusion in Japan by Turkish chefs.