I am from Brazil, we have largest amount of Japanese when not counting Japan itself. One of the most popular "Japanese" dishes is Tempura that is actually a Portuguese dish seemly introduced in Japan in 1600s or so...

Theory is that Tempura is just corruption of word "Tempero"

Another likely theory is that it's from "tempora", a Latin reference to Lent (Tempo da Quaresma) because that was a time when Catholics ate more vegetables and fish.

Curry is a huge comfort food in Japan. You see it in every anime.

They reportedly got it from the British Navy, and it has evolved into something distinctively Japanese. The British of course brought it from India.

Japanese curry is sweeter, and has cocoa in it.

There are many inter-related/overlapping meanings of the word curry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry

According to that Wikipedia article, the word originates from Tamil, and:

"Archaeological evidence dating to 2600 BCE from Mohenjo-daro suggests the use of mortar and pestle to pound spices including mustard, fennel, cumin, and tamarind pods with which they flavoured food."

Cocoa: a plant native to South/Central America.

Japanese curry sounds a bit like Pueblan mole! Delicious! :9

Super easy to make - look for "Golden Curry" in most Asian groceries. You will likely see more kinds in a Japanese grocery. Get some good rice while you are at it.

My daughter remarked that you can apparently put any random vegetables in Japanese curry and it still tastes awesome.

Second the recommendation for Golden Curry, it's a staple of my cabinet. And it's not just Asian food stores, I've found it in the "International" sections of small-name grocers, chain grocers, and even in the Wal-Mart of the podunk Appalachian town where I went to college. I also buy it in bulk from Amazon when I need to pad out my order to get the free shipping. Highly recommend.

It's pretty tasty but it's also mostly palm oil so may not be the most healthy thing to eat in large quantities.

Nope, they're very different flavor profiles. Japanese curries may contain cocoa, but they don't highlight it - it's very much a background flavor.

The Japanese "golden curry" being talked about here is also based on a roux and more closely resembles an English gravy that has been juiced up with some warm spices, e.g. flavors like cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. The Japanese preparation includes chunks of meat and vegetables and is usually served over rice, but you could include root vegetables and skip the rice if you prefer...

Because of the warm spices, my first taste of it actually gave me a nostalgic memory of my long gone grandfather who liked to cook "old world" German food. Germany was also influenced by the spice roads and incorporated a lot of these same spices into its cuisine.

Puebla had a large influx of Lebanese, so recipes there are influenced by those who settled there, like skirt steak on a rotisserie was inspired by schwarma.

It's also an emoji. Not just that, but it's a version 1.0 emoji and is set with the more Japanese dishes, i.e., between Bento Box and Steaming Bowl, and not the more Americanized ones.

And how about cheese fondue in South Korea! :) Though apparently they've been making their own cheese since 1959, so at what point may it be considered part of their culture? https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/22701/when-did-c...