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- When you go to Japan, be sure to eat these 10 traditional Japanese dishes. In this article, find out what to dine on to enjoy Japan's rich washoku food culture fully, from sushi to miso soup, unagi eel, tempura, soba, udon, and rice balls.
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- Sushi. Sushi is a traditional Japanese food made by combining vinegar rice and seafood (although sometimes other ingredients are also used). There is a type of fermented sushi, known as nare-zushi, but the most typical types of sushi are nigiri-zushi and temaki-zushi.
- Tempura. Tempura is a Japanese dish made from seafood, fresh vegetables and other ingredients dipped in a flour and egg batter and fried in oil. While you can enjoy tempura at all sorts of restaurants, if you want to try it at its best, we recommend going to a specialist tempura restaurant, where each dish will be brought to your table as soon as it is ready, even if you order a lot!
- Sukiyaki. Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish in which meat and vegetables are stewed in an iron pot. The sauce, known as warishita, is made from soy sauce and sugar.
- Ramen. Ramen is a noodle soup dish which has grown to become incredibly popular and is thought of as a byword for Japanese food. Originally, the soup was made from a chicken bones, but in recent years, pork, beef and seafood also being used in the soup, creating a diverse range of tastes.
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May 24, 2024 · What to eat in Japan – Best Japanese food. 1. Udon (thick noodle) Udon is a type of thick white noodle traditionally made from wheat flour and very popular in Japanese cuisine. Udon noodles can be found in specialty restaurants (Udon-Ya) all over Japan and are served either hot or cold, and with or without soup.
Feb 6, 2024 · Discover the rich culinary heritage of Japan with our comprehensive guide to the famous food in Japan. From sushi and ramen to matcha desserts and mochi, explore the flavors, history, and cultural significance of Japan's most beloved dishes!
May 2, 2024 · Ramen and sushi are perhaps the most recognizable Japanese dishes, but there are many more bizarre and delicious foods to try when you visit Japan! Japanese cuisine is famous worldwide for its creative, bold, pungent, and iconic dishes.
- What Is Traditional Japanese Food?
- Popular Japanese Foods
- Japanese Fish / Seafood Dishes
- Japanese Meat & Poultry Dishes
- Japanese Noodle Dishes
- Japanese Mixed Ingredient Dishes
- Japanese Desserts / Drinks
- Japanese Food Tours
- Japanese Cooking Classes
- Final Thoughts on Japanese Food
Traditional Japanese foodor washoku is characterized by its sense of balance, aesthetics, and the seasonality and freshness of its ingredients. Different dishes are served depending on the season. Rice is a staple dish in Japanese cuisine, and to a lesser extent, so are noodle dishes like soba and udon. Like many countries in Asia, rice is combined...
If you don’t have a lot of experience with Japanese cuisine and want to try the most popular dishes, then you can start with these ten famous Japanese foods.
11. Kaisendon
Kaisen is the Japanese word for “seafood” while donburi translates to “rice bowl”, so kaisendon literally means “seafood rice bowl”. It refers to a family of Japanese dishes made with raw fish and seafood sashimi topped over unseasoned white rice. Kaisendon isn’t to be confused with a similar-looking dish called chirashizushi. At first glance, both dishes look the same but chirashi is topped over vinegared sushi rice while kaisendon is made with plain steamed rice. You can find kaisendon at m...
12. Anago Meshi
Anago meshi is a very similar dish to unagi donburi, but instead of freshwater eel, it’s made with anago which is saltwater or conger eel. Compared to unagi, anago is softer in texture and glazed with a sauce that isn’t as sweet as kabayaki sauce. It’s more subtle in flavor and not quite as oily. Anago is often used as an ingredient for sushi but anago meshi is considered a specialty dish of Hiroshima prefecture. RECIPE: Anago meshi
13. Zuke
Zuke refers to an old Japanese method of preserving raw fish by soaking fish fillets in a soy sauce mixture. It was a technique long forgotten since the onset of refrigeration but has seen a resurgence in recent decades as a method of food preparation in Japan. Today, thinly sliced fillets of raw fish are marinated in the zuke method not for preservation, but for flavor. We had this delicious bowl of maguro and shake zuke (tuna and salmon) at a restaurant in Nagasaki. RECIPE: Tuna zuke
19. Gyoza
Gyoza refers to Japanese dumplings filled with ground meat and vegetables wrapped in a thin sheet of dough. They’re originally from China but they’ve become very popular in Japan as well. Gyoza are typically filled with ground pork, chives, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and other ingredients. They’re usually pan-fried but they can be served steamed or deep-fried as well, either on their own or as a side dish to more substantial dishes like ramen. RECIPE: Gyoza
20. Karaage
Karaage is a Japanese cooking method that involves deep frying meat, poultry, or seafood in oil. Chicken karaage is most common though other types of meat and fish are also used. Karaage is similar to tempura except the ingredients are marinated before being coated in a heavier wheat flour, potato or corn starch. This results in a thicker, crunchier coating. RECIPE: Karaage
21. Japanese Curry
Curry rice is hugely popular in Japan. It was introduced to Japan by the British during the Meiji period but it wasn’t until the late 1960s that it exploded in popularity when it became widely available at supermarkets and Japanese restaurants. Today, Japanese curry rice is considered by many to be a national dish of Japan. It’s available throughout the country and commonly served over rice, over udon, and in savory Japanese pastries. A Japanese curry meal typically consists of curry sauce, r...
32. Udon
Along with ramen and soba, udon is one of the most popular noodle varieties in Japan. It refers to a type of thick chewy Japanese noodle made with wheat flour. It’s typically served hot in winter or chilled in summer and can be topped with ingredients like thinly chopped scallions, tempura, abura-age, and kamaboko (fish cakes). Like ramen, the type of udon broth and toppings vary from region to region in Japan. Eastern udon tends to be darker brown in color while western udon is lighter. The...
33. Soba
Soba refers to thin noodles made from buckwheat flour. They can be served cold with a dipping sauce called tsuyu, or in a hot broth as noodle soup. Chilled soba noodles are often served on a bamboo tray (zaru) with a tsuyu of dashi, mirin, sweetened soy sauce, wasabi, scallion, and sesame seeds. To eat, you dip the buckwheat flour noodles into the tsuyu before slurping the noodles. Eating them chilled is said to be the best way of appreciating soba noodles. Allowing them to soak in a hot soup...
34. Champon
Like kakuni manju, champon is a Japanese-Chinese dish from Nagasaki. It’s a noodle soup dish made by frying pork, seafood, and vegetables with lard, then adding a soup made with chicken and pig bones. Champon ramen noodles are then added to the mix before boiling. Champon was first served in Nagasaki by Chinese restaurant Shikairo. According to the restaurant, it was based on a dish in Fujian cuisine called tonniishiimen. It was created during the Meiji period to provide a cheap, filling meal...
To be honest, I didn’t really know where to put these dishes. They aren’t predominantly meat or seafood dishes but I couldn’t categorize them as vegetarian either so I decided to create this section of mixed ingredient Japanese dishes.
41. Matcha
Matcha is an important part of Japanese culture. It refers to a finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves. Traditionally, matcha is mixed with hot water to make tea. It’s the central component in Japanese tea ceremonieswhich revolve around the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha as hot tea. The Japanese drink it often as it’s touted to have many health benefits. Pictured below is a cup of matcha with wagashi from an informal tea ceremony I enjoyed in Kana...
42. Mochi
Mochi is one of the most well-known Japanese sweets. It refers to a popular Japanese rice cake made from mochigome, a glutinous short-grain rice. The rice is pounded into a paste before being molded into the desired shape. Mochi can be enjoyed year-round in Japan though it’s traditionally eaten to usher in the Japanese New Year. It’s often eaten on its own but it can also be used as an ingredient in many products like confections and ice cream. Apart from attracting good fortune, it’s believe...
43. Hokkaido Dairy
Hokkaido is the biggest prefecture in Japan and home to a massive dairy industry. They produce about half of the country’s milk and 90% of its cheese. Dairy from Hokkaido is more expensive than dairy from other prefectures because of its reputation for quality and freshness. It’s so highly regarded that you’ll often find labels on packages proudly showing they were made with Hokkaido dairy. This is true even outside of Japan. Many dessert and pastry shops in Asia will often create and highlig...
No one knows Japanese food better than a local, so what better way to experience Japanese cuisine than by going on a food tour? A knowledgeable local will take you to the city’s best spots and markets and explain every dish to you in more detail. We’ve gone on food tours in Tokyo and Kyoto and enjoyed them both very much. If you’re visiting Japan, ...
Aside from food tours, we enjoy taking cooking classes when we travel. For me, it’s one of the best ways to learn about the local cuisine because you get to see the different ingredients and methods that go into making it. As described, I took a cooking class in Tokyo where I learned to make Japanese dishes like tempura, udon, and tamagoyaki. Befor...
We’ve been to Japan many times but I feel like we’re only beginning to scratch the surface of Japanese cuisine. We’ve visited less than half of the 47 prefectures in Japan so this Japanese food guide still has a long way to go. As described, it’s a labor of love that I’ll be expanding and refining after every trip to Japan. We enjoy the food in Jap...
Feb 26, 2023 · Japanese Ramen is a noodle soup dish made with wheat noodles, broth, and different toppings. It is one of the most popular traditional foods and a must-eat. The broth is usually soy, miso, pork, or salt, and you can pick and choose what you want at many restaurants.
Wondering what to eat in Japan? This list of the top 50 most popular Japanese food should help for your next visit to the Land of the Rising Sun! There are so many delicious foods to try in Japan, but it can be overwhelming if you don’t know what’s what or if the menu isn’t written in English.
