How many can you read? A quiz on difficult kanji for foods

century egg

Pidàn is the Chinese characters that refer to 'century eggs' (pitan). Century eggs are foods made by curing duck eggs. They are characterized by their glossy, jet-black appearance. You can buy them online, so if you’re curious, give them a try.

wonton

There are various theories about why wontons are written as 「雲呑」 in Japanese. One leading explanation is that wontons floating in soup looked like clouds floating in the sky. Hence the characters meaning “to swallow clouds,” read as wonton. Incidentally, it’s also said to be the root of the Japanese food udon.

fig

“Mukajika” (literally “flowerless fruit”) is a name given in China because it appears to bear fruit without blooming, and the answer is “fig.” As for where the flowers bloom: the tiny flowers are densely packed inside the red, seedy part we eat, and they develop as if they were a fruit. By the way, the Japanese word “ichijiku” (fig) is said to derive either from the Chinese alias “Eijitsu-ka/Ingri-gwa” (Yingriguo), which became “ichijiku” in Japan, or from the idea that figs ripen little by little—“ichijuku”—which then shifted to “ichijiku.”

ganmodoki (deep-fried tofu fritter with vegetables)

Gankogashi is a dish made by mixing tofu, carrots, lotus root, and other ingredients, then shaping the mixture into rounds. It was named “gankogashi” because it was crafted to resemble the meat of a wild goose (gan). Incidentally, it was originally made to imitate poultry for monks, who were not allowed to eat meat.

wasabi

Wasabi is very familiar to Japanese people. In kanji, it’s written as 「山葵」. This kanji carries the meaning of a plant that resembles hollyhock (aoi) growing in the mountains. By the way, aoi (hollyhock) is one type of dicotyledon that produces beautiful flowers. Please try comparing them.

corn

The character for “tama” in tamashōkuzoku (corn/maize) means “beautiful thing,” and “shoku” refers to “a foreign land.” In other words, it means “a beautiful millet that came from abroad.” Incidentally, it was introduced to Japan in the Azuchi–Momoyama period, and at first it was written as 玉蜀黍 and read as “nanban-gibi.”

udon

One of the roots of udon is said to be the Chinese food “húntun.” Originally, it was a dish where ingredients like meat were wrapped in a dough skin and eaten, but over time people began eating just the skin, which is thought to have evolved into today’s udon. Incidentally, the pronunciation in Chinese is “húntun.”