Japanese food

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The traditional food of Japan is based on rice and fish, with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. The side dishes often consist of pan-fried dumplings and vegetables cooked in broth. Fish is often grilled, but it may also be served raw as part of sashimi or in sushi. Apart from rice, staples include noodles, such as udon.

Historically, the Japanese shunned meat, but with the modernization of Japan in the 1860s, meat-based dishes such as tonkatsu became common.


Tonkasu is a Japanese dish which consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet.




Sushi is a staple in Japanese cuisine. It is made from cooked vinegared rice and is usually filled with seafood, such as tuna or crabmeat, although it can also consist of any other practical food chefs can fit inside! It is rolled using roasted seaweed and is often sprinkled with poppy seeds.


Sashimi is raw fish/meat

Sashimi is a delicacy made from thinly-sliced raw meat or raw fish. Sashimi is often the first course in a formal Japanese meal, but it can also be the main course, presented with rice and miso soup in separate bowls. Many Japanese people believe that sashimi, traditionally considered the finest dish in Japanese cuisine, should be eaten before other strong flavours affect the palate.

Snack Foods and Light Bites:


Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a savoury pancake with its origins in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It is made from a complicated dough base, filled with thick pork belly and seafood, and topped with vegetables.


Gyoza

Gyōza are pan-fried dumplings, that can have many different fillings, and are commonly eaten as a side dish with ramen. The most popular preparation method is the pan-fried style called yaki-gyōza, in which the dumpling is first fried on one flat side, creating a crispy skin.


Korokke

One of the most famous Japanese snack foods is the Korokke. It is basically a simple potato croquette that has been battered and deep-fried. Korokke can be eaten as an individual snack or as part of a larger dinner.


Senbei is a traditional Japanese welcoming cookie that is often offered to guests when arriving at somebody’s house.


Miso soup

Miso Soup is made from dashi, which is basically a seaweed stock, although other stock ingredients are sometimes used. Miso Soup is available all around the world, including in instant packets in grocery stores.


Nikuman are steamed Japanese buns

A steamed dumpling similar to a Chinese baozi or a Filipino siopao, Nikuman is a popular snack in Japanese cuisine and is filled with a variety of fillings, with curry being a frequent choice! Nikuman are steamed and kept hot in bamboo baskets.

Μain Meals


Kare Raisu

Kare Raisu is a simple yet very popular dish of white fragrant rice beside some extremely hot curry sauce. Curry is one of the 3 major foods of Japan, along with fish and noodles.


Chahan

Chahan is a simple dish of fried rice, and is often made with egg and vegetables. As always with Japan, presentation is very important and it is common to see it shaped in a ball or bowl shape, and occasionally eaten with chopsticks!


Tempura

Tempura is a dish of deep-fried and battered seafood. Cooked bits of tempura are either eaten with dipping sauce or used to assemble other dishes. Tempura is commonly served with grated daikon and eaten hot immediately after frying. Prawn tempura is a very popular version.


Yakizakana

Yakizakana is the name given to any grilled fish dish in Japan, and boy do the Japanese love their fish! Mackerel (aji) is especially popular! Usually served with daikon.


Omuraisu

Shaped like an American Football, Omuraisu is basically rice in an omelette, and usually topped with ketchup or soy sauce. This dish is also very popular in South Korea.


Udon are the famous thick noodles from Japan, that can be eaten hot or cold. Made from wheat flour, udon noodles are frequently served in a bowl with a tempura topping!


Yakisoba

Yakisoba is a delicious dish of fried buckwheat and derives from Chinese Chow Mein. It is usually smothered in a generous helping of condiments such as oyster sauce.


Gyūdon is a famous Japanese beef bowl

Rice bowls are famous all over Japan, and although they can contain a variety of meats, beef the the most popular, which leads to the moniker “Beef Bowl”. Gyūdon is a bowl of boiled rice topped with thinly shredded beef and onions, all simmered in a fusion of soy sauce and dashi (seaweed stock). It is usually served with a side of pickled ginger.


Ramen

Ramen is a wheat noodle delicacy bathed in a meat broth, such as chicken or beef. Toppings can include seaweed, vegetables, and onions. All regions of Japan have their own variations of Ramen – but it takes skill and practice to learn how to eat it properly!

Here are a few simple tips to eating ramen that will help everybody and spare them from the embarrassment of being giggled at by Japanese schoolgirls on their lunch break:

Slurp quickly. A bowl of ramen should be consumed in less than 5 minutes. Ramen is considered a fast food and can be eaten on the move. Don’t let the noodles sit around, as not only will their taste disappear, but Japanese onlookers will wonder what on Earth you’re waiting for! You’re certainly no BOSS!

Slurp loudly. Similar to wine-tasting, where you must get a big mouthful of wine to sample to full flavour, you must suck in that air ferociously when slurping ramen! Western visitors to Japan may be somewhat unwilling to make dirty noises at the dinner table (Chinese people, however, need no encouragement…) but if you’re not making the full sound, you’re not slurping correctly! You’re still an idiot!

Slurp repeatedly. Even when you’ve finished the ramen noodles (and let’s face it, almost everybody finishes the noodles before the broth) don’t be afraid to pick the bowl up with your hands and drink the broth. It’s perfectly acceptable, even at the dinner table, and in fact, it is part of Japanese custom. A bowl of ramen needs slurping repeatedly to get the full whammy. Waste not, want not!

Ramen should be always served and eaten piping hot, as the temperature is big part of appeal. So to put it simply, EAT IT WHILE IT’S HOT! No dilly-dallying! It is also recommended to eat ramen as you mix the toppings and ingredients (wasabi, garlic, nori) little by little, so you can enjoy the different flavours at different times yet in one single bowl of ramen.

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Street food

We can all enjoy a lovely fulsome Japanese meal of Katsu curry, ramen, soba, or sushi at any time of the week, but sometimes we forget that such delicious street food exists in Japan. Street food in Japan (known as “yatai”) is relatively cheap and hygiene standards are known to be very high (unlike in some countries in Asia). Here are 12 of the very best


Yakisoba-Pan

You can find Yakisoba-Pan being sold as street food all over the country. It contains those delightful yakisoba noodles that are very similar to chow mein from Chinese cuisine. The sandwich version of these noodles are best garnished with mayonnaise and shreds of pickled ginger.


Shioyaki

Quite simply, ‘fish on a stick’, Shioyaki has long been a popular street food in Japan. The type of fish used can vary, but usually you will find mackerel on which to bite!


Kare Pan

An amount of Japanese curry is wrapped in a piece of dough, and the dough then coated in bread crumbs, before being deep fried. This creates the Kare-Pan (curry bread). On occasion it is baked instead of deep fried, but deep frying is the most common method of cooking. As well as a firm favourite snack on the streets, Kare-Pan can also be found in bakeries and convenience stores.


Takoyaki

Although you can find Takoyaki almost anywhere, including high-end restaurants, the most authentic versions of these delightful octopus balls will be found on the roadside, cooked up by some old auntie with her precious secret recipe. Usually served with sauces and onion flakes, this takoyaki will be cooked in batter and made to order!


Kyuri

The Japanese believe that Kyuri (cucumbers) cool you down. Cucumbers on a stick with a little miso paste is the perfect food for hot summer nights, and along street markets and at festivals everywhere you will be able to try this local delicacy!


Yakitori

Yakitori is the Japanese meat (chicken) skewer. These are perfect items for street food as they can they be easily grilled by the vendor and easily consumed on the move by the consumer! Because of the popularity of yakitori, most street markets will always have countless vendors of this sumptuously smelling meat. Hurry, before they sell out!


Dango

Dango are Japanese mochiko dumplings on a stick. Typically coated in a sugary sauce. Some dango can be coated in crispy breadcrumbs for some added pizzazz! How to make your own Dango at home!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/mitarashi-dango/


Taiyaki

Taiyaki are amazing fish-shaped dessert pastries typically filled with red Azuki bean or vanilla custard. They are one of the more popular street foods that you will find in Japan, and now they have been exported all over Asia! How to make your own Taiyaki at home!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/taiyaki/


Jagabata Potato

If you wanted a baked potato but fancied eating it slightly different to usual, then Jaga Bata is for you! The skin is peeled off of the potato and it is covered in butter for a sticky eat! How to make your own Jaga Bata at home!
http://www.punkednoodle.com/starting...ith-jaga-bata/


Karaage Chicken

Karaage Chicken must be some of the finest style of cooked chicken anywhere in the world. This Japanese speciality goes through a cooking technique in which the chicken is deep fried in oil and then marinated in a mix of soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, then lightly coated with a seasoned wheat flour or potato starch mix, after which it is fried in a light oil. So basically, karaage chicken is twice-fried – and my advice is to get as much of it as you can! How to make your own Karaage Chicken at home!
http://iamafoodblog.com/chicken-kara...hicken-recipe/


Yaki Imo

Yaki Imo are baked sweet potatoes cooked over a wood fire. Yaki Imo trucks and carts fitted with wood stoves and drive around slowly shouting “yaki imo…yaki imo…yaki imo” on a loudspeaker. They are an aspect of old Japan that is quickly fading into the past, but you can always find them roadside if you look hard enough. How to make your own Yaki Imo at home!
http://recipesfortom.blogspot.com/20...otato.html?m=1


Chocolate Bananas

Finally, we get to the amazing Chocolate Banana! These are also known as Tokyo Banana, in homage to their place of origin. Bananas are coated in chocolate, sprinkled with sugar and left to harden until the next lucky guest stops by and orders one! How to make your own Chocolate Bananas at home!
https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/cho...8-5938533af0ab

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Desserts


Mochi Ice Cream

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake, which is especially popular during Japanese New Year celebrations, and can be wrapped in leaves. Mochi ice cream, which has a icy and creamy filling, is also a popular derivative of this little cake.


Melonpan is a flavoured bun that is not too dissimilar to the pineapple bun that is sold throughout Asia, but especially in Hong Kong and Singapore.


Kakigori is a traditional Japanese shaved ice dessert, similar to patbingsu in Korea and baobing in China. As you would expect, green tea flavoured ice is a predominant choice in Kakigori – and many other Japanese desserts!


Monaka is like the original ice cream sandwich, although presented in the inimitable Japanese elegance.

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Famous Japanese Drinks:


Japanese people swear by Green Tea!

Green Tea is the de facto hot drink in Japan – and everybody seems to love it! It is claimed that regular consumption of green tea can have health benefits, such as stress relief, and even reducing body fat over a longer period. Slightly less popular is Habushu, which is a form of Japanese snake wine made from the venomous habu snake. Finally, Sake is one of the main alcoholic beverages in Japan. It is known as the wine of the Samurai!


Sake is known as the ‘wine of the Samurai’

Bored and thirsty in Japan and fancy something to drink that doesn’t revolve around green tea and milk? Then try Habushu.



Habushu is an awamori-based liqueur and is named after the habu snake, which belongs to the pit viper family. Habu snakes are venomous and native to areas in Southeast Asia and other large island groups, including Japan and its territories. A bite from a habu snake can cause nausea, vomiting, and possibly death. There have been cases where victims report the loss of motor function in hands and legs following treatment.

Yet despite these dangers, habushu is believed by the Japanese to have medicinal properties and health benefits. For example, a habu snake can go without eating for as long as a year and still have immense energy, and they are apparently able to mate for as long as 26 hours, which causes some people to believe that drinking habushu may help sexual dysfunction and increase libido!


Habushu is considered a delicacy

Some brands of habushu come with the snake still inside the bottle and there are two methods of inserting it into the alcohol. Firstly, the maker may choose to simply submerge the snake in the alcohol and seal the bottle, thus giving it a fate of drowning. Alternatively, the snake may be put on ice until it passes out, at which point it is gutted, bled, and sewn up. When the viper is thawed and awakens, it will quickly die in an aggressive striking manner.



Similar kinds of snake products that are sold in Vietnam (oh, they LOVE snake in Vietnam!) and the horrible “whiskey” that is sold in most parts of Laos, which many backpackers infamously fall foul of.

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