A table where Italia and Asia pass each other the dishes.
At the table, borders are the first thing to disappear. A dish leaves Napoli and turns Japanese, a dumpling leaves China and turns Korean, a Roman pastry becomes the craze of Tokyo. The name often changes, sometimes the recipe does too, and now and then it comes home unrecognizable.
This is the fourth of five episodes: words, names, faces, flavors, stories. Read it on a full stomach. At the end, as always, the voice game.
Pomodoro, the golden apple
The tomato came from the Americas, and the first ones seen in Italia were yellow: that is why they were called “pomi d’oro”, golden apples, and where today’s name comes from: pomodoro (poh-moh-DOH-roh). In Japan it is トマト (tomato) and in Korea 토마토 (tomato), from English. China has two beautiful names for it: 番茄 (fānqié), “the foreign eggplant”, and 西红柿 (xīhóngshì), “the red persimmon of the West”.
With the tomato came the queen of pizzas. The story goes that in 1889 a pizzaiolo (peets-tsah-YOH-loh) in Napoli dedicated it to Queen Margherita, in the colors of the flag: tomato, mozzarella and basil. In Japan you order a マルゲリータ (marugerīta), in Korea a 마르게리타 피자 (mareugerita pija), in China a 玛格丽特披萨 (mǎgélìtè pīsà). And 玛格丽特, in Chinese, is also the name of the Margarita cocktail: careful what you order.
The plaque of pizzeria Brandi, in Napoli: “Here, 100 years ago, pizza Margherita was born.” Photo: CC0.
Ravioli and jiaozi
A game of mirrors. In Italia we call jiaozi (饺子) “Chinese ravioli”; in China our ravioli are called 意大利饺子 (Yìdàlì jiǎozi), “Italian jiaozi”. In Japan they are 餃子 (gyōza), in Korea 만두 (mandu). For Chinese New Year families fold them together by the hundreds, because their shape recalls the old silver ingots: they bring luck. In Italia, tortellini are folded by hand for Christmas. Two faraway countries, the same patience and the same filling of love.
Jiaozi, Chinese dumplings. Photo: David Pursehouse, CC BY 2.0.
Napolitan, Yokohama’s Napoli
Japan has a dish nobody in Napoli has ever heard of: ナポリタン (naporitan), spaghetti stir-fried with ketchup, onion, green peppers and frankfurters. It was born after the war at the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, where head chef Irie Shigetada saw American soldiers eating pasta with ketchup and decided to turn it into a proper dish. For the Japanese, it is the taste of childhood.
And there is the Japanese chain Saizeriya, Italian food at student prices, famous for its ミラノ風ドリア (Mirano-fū doria), “doria alla milanese”, a rice gratin nobody in Milano has ever seen. Saizeriya also has hundreds of restaurants in China, where it is called 萨莉亚 (Sàlìyà) and has become the first “Western” restaurant for whole generations of young people.
Spaghetti napolitan, Japanese style. Photo: Ocdp, CC0.
Carbonara, the Roman way
カルボナーラ (karubonāra) is one of the most loved pastas in Japan. In Korea 까르보나라 (kkareubonara) is often made with cream and milk, and in China you find it as 卡邦尼意面 (kǎbāngní yìmiàn), or as “spaghetti with cream and bacon”. In Roma, though, real carbonara has only five ingredients: guanciale (gwahn-CHAH-leh) (cured pork cheek), pecorino romano, eggs, black pepper and pasta. The cream stays in the fridge. Every country has its own carbonara, and that’s fine; but if you come to Roma, try the original.
Carbonara: guanciale, pecorino, eggs and pepper (public domain).
Which Italian foods do foreigners get most wrong? The Italians of Seoul Mafia asked around:
Two soups, one Chinese idea
In 1899, in Nagasaki, a cook from Fujian, Chen Pingshun, opened the Shikairō restaurant and invented a hearty, cheap noodle soup for penniless Chinese students: ちゃんぽん (chanpon). One of the theories traces the name back to a Fujian greeting that means “have you eaten?”. Korea has 짬뽕 (jjamppong), red and spicy, which carries the same name.
And Korea’s favorite dish, 짜장면 (jjajangmyeon), comes from the Chinese 炸酱面 (zhájiàngmiàn), “noodles with fried sauce”: it was made popular by Chinese cooks from Shandong who settled in Incheon, where there is even a museum devoted to it. Two countries, one story: Chinese cooks cooking far from home.
Jjajangmyeon, noodles with black soybean sauce: Korea and China in the same bowl. Photo: KFoodaddict, CC BY 2.0.
The maritozzo that conquered Tokyo
The maritozzo (mah-ree-TOHTS-tsoh) is a Roman pastry: a soft bun split in half and filled with whipped cream. In 2021 it became Japan’s craze of the year: first in the food-trend ranking for people in their twenties and thirties, sixth among the year’s hit products according to Nikkei Trendy. Bakeries, cafés and konbini all sold it, and there were so many imitations that words ending in “-ttozzo” became an online fad. In Japanese it is written マリトッツォ (maritottso). Roma says thank you.
The Roman maritozzo: brioche and cream.
Chicken, rosé and malatang
In Korea fried chicken goes with beer, and the pair has a name: 치맥 (chimaek), from chicken and 맥주 (maekju), beer. Then there are the fast-moving fads: 로제 떡볶이 (roje tteokbokki), tteokbokki in a “rosé” sauce, spicy but softened with cream, became a craze in the early 2020s.
And young Koreans are crazy about two Chinese specialties: 마라탕 (maratang), the spicy Sichuan soup you build by choosing your ingredients, and 탕후루 (tanghuru), Beijing’s skewers of candied fruit. In 2023 they were so fashionable that they were even discussed in Parliament, because of the sugar.
Tteokbokki, rice cakes in spicy sauce. Photo: jetalone, CC BY 2.0.
Spring rolls, rice and cookies
In Italia’s Chinese restaurants many names are translations. “Involtini primavera” are 春卷 (chūnjuǎn), literally “spring rolls”: they are eaten for the Spring Festival, the Lunar New Year. “Riso alla cantonese”, Cantonese rice, is called 扬州炒饭 (Yángzhōu chǎofàn) in China: it comes from Yangzhou, not Canton. “Anatra alla pechinese”, Peking duck, is 北京烤鸭 (Běijīng kǎoyā).
And fortune cookies? In China almost nobody knows them. They descend from a Japanese sweet, 辻占煎餅 (tsujiura senbei), with a slip of paper inside, and were first served in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. A “Chinese” cookie with a Japanese heart.
Matcha
Powdered tea, whisked with a bamboo whisk, was born in China under the Song dynasty. In the twelfth century the monk Eisai brought it to Japan, where it became an art: the tea ceremony, 茶道 (sadō). The name 抹茶 (matcha) means “ground tea”; in Chinese it is read 抹茶 (mǒchá), in Korean it is 말차 (malcha). In Italian bars you can now order a matcha latte, and someone has even invented matcha tiramisù.
Matcha whisked with a bamboo whisk. Photo: rumpleteaser, CC BY 2.0.
Hot pot
火锅 (huǒguō), the “fire pot”, is a pot bubbling in the middle of the table: everyone dips in what they like, meat, vegetables, tofu, and people chat for hours. It is the friendship dinner of Chongqing and Sichuan, and it has become a fashion in Seoul too, where it is called 훠궈 (hwogwo), in Tokyo, where it is written 火鍋 (hinabe), and in Italia’s big cities.
A two-broth hot pot, spicy and mild. Photo: Akira CA, CC0.
Have you eaten?
Before eating, in Japan you say いただきます (itadakimasu), “I humbly receive”; in Korea 잘 먹겠습니다 (jal meokgetseumnida), “I will eat well”; in China, among friends, 开动啦 (kāidòng la), “let’s dig in!”. In Italia we say buon appetito (bwohn ahp-peh-TEE-toh). And in China and Korea, to greet someone, people often ask: “have you eaten?”, 吃饭了吗？ (chīfàn le ma?), 밥 먹었어? (bap meogeosseo?). Exactly like an Italian grandmother.
A bowl, a fork and a pair of chopsticks: at the table, we always understand each other.
The game: comment with your voice
Below is a list of words, each one written in Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. Open the comments, tap the microphone and read a word out loud, or even ten.
If you are Japanese, Korean or Chinese, read the Italian words: the Italians will tell you how it went.
If you are Italian, try the Japanese, Korean and Chinese words: this time they will correct you.
And if you like, try your neighbours’ words too: a Japanese reading Korean, a Korean reading Chinese, a Chinese reading Japanese.
Making mistakes is the fun part: you can delete and try again as many times as you like. Here we comment with our voice only. To join in you just need to sign up to Yuujou, and it’s free.
How to read the foreign words
Next to each foreign word you’ll find how to say it. Italian is read exactly as it is written, so a handful of rules is enough to read any word, even one you have never seen. Italian words come with an easy pronunciation guide, the stressed syllable in capitals: cappuccino, kahp-pooch-CHEE-noh.
Japanese (Hepburn system): consonants as in English, vowels short and clear as in Italian. A line over a vowel (ā, ū, ō) means it is long: hold it twice as long. A u between two consonants is barely heard.
Korean (Revised Romanization, official in Korea since 2000): eo is an open “aw”, eu is an “oo” said with spread lips, ae is like the “e” in “bed”; kk, tt, pp, ss, jj are tense consonants: strong, with no puff of air.
Chinese (pinyin, China’s official system): x is close to “sh”, q to “ch” with a puff of air, j to a light “j”; zh, ch, sh are said with the tongue curled back; z sounds like “dz”, c like “ts” with a puff of air. The marks over the vowels are the tones: in Chinese the same syllable changes meaning with the melody of the voice. ā high and level, á rising, ǎ falling then rising, à sharply falling.
The list
🇮🇹 From Italia
Buon appetito! bwohn ahp-peh-TEE-toh · いただきます！ itadakimasu! · 잘 먹겠습니다! jal meokgetseumnida! · 开动啦！ kāidòng la!
pomodoro poh-moh-DOH-roh · トマト tomato · 토마토 tomato · 番茄 fānqié
pizza margherita PEETS-tsah mahr-geh-REE-tah · マルゲリータ marugerīta · 마르게리타 피자 mareugerita pija · 玛格丽特披萨 mǎgélìtè pīsà
spaghetti alla carbonara spah-GEHT-tee AHL-lah kahr-boh-NAH-rah · カルボナーラ karubonāra · 까르보나라 kkareubonara · 卡邦尼意面 kǎbāngní yìmiàn
lasagne lah-SAH-nyeh · ラザニア razania · 라자냐 rajanya · 千层面 qiāncéngmiàn
risotto ree-SOHT-toh · リゾット rizotto · 리조또 rijotto · 意式炖饭 yìshì dùnfàn
gnocchi NYOHK-kee · ニョッキ nyokki · 뇨끼 nyokki · 意式土豆团子 yìshì tǔdòu tuánzi
ravioli rah-VYOH-lee · ラビオリ rabiori · 라비올리 rabiolli · 意大利饺子 Yìdàlì jiǎozi
mozzarella mohts-tsah-REHL-lah · モッツァレラ mottsarera · 모차렐라 mocharella · 马苏里拉 mǎsūlǐlā
parmigiano pahr-mee-JAH-noh · パルミジャーノ parumijāno · 파르미자노 pareumijano · 帕尔马干酪 Pà’ěrmǎ gānlào
prosciutto proh-SHOOT-toh · プロシュート puroshūto · 프로슈토 peuroshuto · 帕尔马火腿 Pà’ěrmǎ huǒtuǐ
maritozzo mah-ree-TOHTS-tsoh · マリトッツォ maritottso · 마리토쪼 maritojjo · 意式奶油面包 yìshì nǎiyóu miànbāo
panna cotta PAHN-nah KOHT-tah · パンナコッタ pannakotta · 판나코타 pannakota · 意式奶冻 yìshì nǎidòng
affogato ahf-foh-GAH-toh · アフォガート afogāto · 아포가토 apogato · 阿芙佳朵 āfújiāduǒ
🇯🇵 From Japan
ラーメン rāmen · ramen · 라멘 ramen · 日式拉面 rìshì lāmiàn
寿司 sushi · 초밥 chobap · 寿司 shòusī
抹茶 matcha · 말차 malcha · 抹茶 mǒchá
ナポリタン naporitan · 나폴리탄 napollitan · 拿坡里意面 nápōlǐ yìmiàn — Yokohama’s ketchup spaghetti
ちゃんぽん chanpon · 짬뽕 jjamppong · 长崎什锦面 Chángqí shíjǐnmiàn — Nagasaki’s noodle soup
弁当 bentō · bento · 도시락 dosirak · 便当 biàndāng
おにぎり onigiri · 주먹밥 jumeokbap · 饭团 fàntuán
🇰🇷 From Korea
치맥 chimaek · チメク chimeku · 炸鸡啤酒 zhájī píjiǔ — fried chicken and beer
비빔밥 bibimbap · ビビンバ bibinba · 拌饭 bànfàn
떡볶이 tteokbokki · トッポッキ toppokki · 炒年糕 chǎo niángāo
불고기 bulgogi · プルコギ purukogi · 韩式烤肉 hánshì kǎoròu
짜장면 jjajangmyeon · チャジャン麺 chajanmen · 韩式炸酱面 hánshì zhájiàngmiàn — the black noodles of Incheon’s Chinese cooks
라면 ramyeon · ラミョン ramyon · 韩国拉面 Hánguó lāmiàn — instant noodles
빙수 bingsu · ピンス pinsu · 韩式刨冰 hánshì bàobīng
🇨🇳 From China
饺子 jiǎozi · ravioli cinesi rah-VYOH-lee chee-NEH-see · 餃子 gyōza · 만두 mandu
春卷 chūnjuǎn · involtini primavera een-vohl-TEE-nee pree-mah-VEH-rah · 春巻き harumaki · 춘권 chungwon
扬州炒饭 Yángzhōu chǎofàn · riso alla cantonese REE-soh AHL-lah kahn-toh-NEH-seh · チャーハン chāhan · 볶음밥 bokkeumbap
北京烤鸭 Běijīng kǎoyā · anatra alla pechinese AH-nah-trah AHL-lah peh-kee-NEH-seh · 北京ダック Pekin dakku · 베이징 덕 Beijing deok
麻婆豆腐 mápó dòufu · mapo tofu · 麻婆豆腐 mābō dōfu · 마파두부 mapadubu
火锅 huǒguō · hot pot · 火鍋 hinabe · 훠궈 hwogwo
小笼包 xiǎolóngbāo · xiaolongbao · 小籠包 shōronpō · 샤오룽바오 syaorungbao
糖葫芦 tánghúlu · tanghulu · タンフールー tanfūrū · 탕후루 tanghuru — candied fruit on a stick
The same list, as a sheet to print or keep on your phone:
In this series you will only find words and names that bring us together. A few famous names are missing, and that is on purpose: for us, respect comes first.
The five episodes: Words on the Move · Names on the Move · Faces on the Move · Flavors on the Move · Stories on the Move
Sources. Hot Pepper Gourmet and Nikkei Trendy (2021) on the maritozzo · Hotel New Grand, Yokohama, on the Napolitan · Saizeriya, presence in China · Shikairō, Nagasaki, on champon · Jjajangmyeon Museum, Incheon · Korean press on rosé tteokbokki, malatang and tanghulu (2020-2023) · history of the fortune cookie and of tsujiura senbei · AI images: cover and maritozzo; photos from Wikimedia Commons with the licences shown in the captions; videos from the official channels. The trademarks mentioned belong to their rightful owners: nobody sponsors us.
Written by AI, in collaboration with Alain.
