Foods and Meal in Japan

What is Japanese cuisine? Basic Japanese meal Popular Japanese dishes Restaurants in Japan

Japanese confections Japanese tea Japanese alcoholic drink

What is Japanese cuisine?

Characteristics Japanese Taste Main Ingredients Cooking methods of Japanese cuisine

Characteristics of Japanese cuisine

Traditional Japanese cuisine has the following features.

1. Little oil is used.
   Fried dish was introduced from overseas.
2. Dairy products such as butter, milk are not used.
3. Spice is used a little for accent of taste, so it doesn't dominate the taste.
4. Main ingredients are fish and vegetables, but meats are secondary.
5. Fresh raw food dish is one of the cuisine.
6. Cold dish is one of the cuisine.
7. The staple is rice.

Of course, some modern Japanese dishes created with the elements of Chinese and Western cuisines are also established in Japanese people.

Taste of Japanese cuisine

Dashi is the soup stock for Japanese cuisine.
It is made from shaved dried bonito fish, kelp called konbu, dried shiitake mushroom, etc.

So, the taste is very light and delicate fish soup, but it is never fishy.

After that, Shoyu (soy souse), Miso (paste of fermenting soybeans), Mirin (rice wine for cooking), Sugar are mixed to Dashi in specific proportions according to the dish.

By Mirin and Sugar, the taste of the soup is a little salty-sweet with above flavors.

Most Japanese dishes are made using above mixed soup.

As the spices for Japanese dishes, Wasabi, Ginger, Dried red pepper, etc. are used just a little.

Wasabi is indispensable spice to Sushi and Sashimi, and it is mostly planted only in Japan.
So, you will taste real wasabi when you visit Japan.

You can learn more what these are on the next page.

Base of Japanese cuisine

Ingredients for Japanese cuisine

Various vegetables and fruits are used for Japanese cuisine.

Probably, there are some ingredients which are not in your country.

There are also some seasonal ingredients, so Japanese people can feel the change of the seasons by eating the dishes using such ingredients.

Some seaweeds such as nori and konbu are important ingredients in Japan.
Nori is an important supporting food of Sushi, and konbu is used to make Dashi stock.

And, edible wild plants are used for the dishes in the mountain.

Pictorial Guide of Japanese Vegetable, Fruits

Fishes are the main ingredients for Japanese cuisine.
Japanese people differentiate many fishes, and the name of each fish is used for the name of its dish.

Apart from that, squid, octopus, shrimp, prawn, crab, shellfish, etc., various other sea foods are also eaten.

Fishes are cooked in various ways, but fresh raw fishes are the best foods for Japanese people.

On the other hand, meats such as beef, pork, chicken have been eaten since the 19th century in Japan.

Some popular Japanese dishes using the meats have already known in the world.
But, Japanese people basically don't eat raw meats.

Egg is used as an ingredient in the world.
In Japanese cuisine, egg is often used.

In a few dishes, raw egg is eaten like a tasty sauce.
The foreign visitors are surprised at that, but Japanese people like that.
Eggs in Japan are shipped after cleaning and sterilizing of eggshell.

Pictorial Guide of Japanese Fish, Meat, Egg

Some traditional Processed foods are used as ingredients of the dishes.

Tofu is a well-known processed food, and it is made from soy beans.
And there are some processed food made of Tofu.

Fishes are main ingredients, and various processed foods are also made from fishes.
Kamaboko, Chikuwa, Hanpen, Satsuma-age, etc., the products with various forms and tastes are made.

And, there are a few processed foods using unique ingredients in only Japan.

Pictorial Guide of Processed foods from Vegetable, Fish

Cooking methods of Japanese cuisine

Main cooking methods of Japanese cuisine are simmering, grilling and steaming.

These cooking methods are used to prepare main dishes and side dishes of Japanese cuisine.

But, for Japanese chefs, serving raw food is a way to showcase their skills.

They cut edible raw ingredients skillfully, and make an artistic and delicious-looking dish.
So, Sushi and sashimi are the star dishes of Japanese chefs.

Frying in oil was introduced from China and Western countries in the modern era.
Tenpura and Tonkatsu (Japanese pork cutlet) are popular Japanese dishes, but they are the recent dishes from the 19th century.

Let's take a look at each of the techniques used in Japanese cuisine.

Cooking methods of Japanese cuisine

Basic Japanese meal

Japanese meal basically consists of main dish, rice, soup.
A side dish and pickles are sometimes added.

In most cases, these are served at the same time as a set.
There is no rule of the order that you eat the dishes.

Eating rice is the main aim of Japanese meal.
So, the other dishes are the supporting roles to eat rice deliciously.

Rice & Bread Japanese soup Japanese pickles

Rice and Bread

Rice is the staple food of Japanese people.
This is indispensable for Japanese meal.

It is basically eaten in the style of simple boiled rice, but there are various rice dishes with other cooked foods and tastes.

The rice distributed in Japan is "Japonica rice", and it is different from another "Indica rice" produced in the southern part of Asia and Latin America.

The boiled rice is sticky and rather sweet, and it is less stiffened even when it becomes cold.
So, cold rice dishes such as sushi, onigiri (rice ball), bento (box lunch) exist as popular Japanese foods.

Bread is sometimes eaten as light breakfast or lunch instead of rice, and it is also eaten as snack.
Various types of bread are sold in Japan, and they are also popular among the foreign tourists.

Bread is now fully established in Japan, but it is regarded as the category of Western-style food.

Mochi is a cake made of glutinous rice.
After the rice is steamed and pounded, it becomes Mochi.
Mochi is eaten by toasting or simmering, and the cooked Mochi is very soft and sticky.

Mochi is mainly eaten as a special staple in new Year's day, and is also used for an ingredient of Japanese confectionery.

How do Japanese people eat Rice, Mochi, Bread?

Japanese soup

Miso-soup is the representative Japanese soup.
Miso paste is mixed in Dashi stock and a few ingredients are put into the soup.

Miso-soup is basically served with rice, so it is essential for Japanese meal.

Western people say "eat soup", but we say "drink soup" for Miso-soup.
It is the normal eating that we drink Miso-soup from the bowl directly.
(The ingredients in the bowl are eaten using chopsticks.)

Suimono is the soup without miso.
High quality Dashi stock is used and the soup is clear.
Suimono is mainly served in high-class meal instead of Miso-soup.

Various types of Miso soup & Suimono

Japanese pickles

Japanese pickles are very simple and vegetables are pickled with salt, vinegar, etc. without spices having strong fragrance.

It is a small side dish as a palate refresher in the meal.

Daikon (Japanese white radish), turnip, hakusai (Chinese cabbage), eggplant, cucumber, etc. are used for the pickles.

Umeboshi shaped in the form of small red ball is often served with rice.
It is a pickled fruit of Japanese apricot, and is very salty and sour.
Foreigners may dislike it.

By the way, some overseas Japanese restaurants sometimes serve "kimchi" as the pickles.
It is not Japanese pickles, but Korean pickles.
The owner of the restaurant is probably not Japanese, but Korean or Chinese.

Various types of Japanese pickles

Popular Japanese dishes

Sushi Donburi dishes Noodle dishes Flour-based Snack One-pot dish Okinawan dishes Japanized foreign dishes Bento, Ekiben

Sushi

Sushi is a dish of vinegared rice combined with fresh seafood.

Japanese people eat sushi on special occasions such as celebrations, or serve it to guests as a way of entertaining them.

On the other hand, sushi is also commonly eaten as takeout fast food or as part of a meal out.

Sushi is one of the most famous Japanese dishes for foreign tourists.

There may be sushi restaurants in your country, but the sushi you eat in Japan is probably completely different in terms of taste.

Major cities in Japan are located on the coast, and various types of seafood landed at the ports reach the restaurants in a short time.
And, to eat raw fish tasty, the technology to preserve freshness has been enhanced.

There are several types of sushi.

The sushi you imagine is probably bite-sized vinegared rice topped with raw fish.
It's called Nigiri-zushi meaning "hand-pressed sushi", because it's made by hand by a sushi chef.

This type of sushi was invented in the 19th century in Edo (current Tokyo) as a way to eat fish caught in Tokyo Bay.
Therefore, this is also called Edomae-zushi.

Authentic Edomae-zushi can be enjoyed at specialized sushi bars.
It's a high-class dish, so it's expensive.

Kaitenzushi (Conveyor belt sushi restaurants) use robots to mass-produce sushi, allowing you to easily enjoy Edomae-zushi and at a relatively low cost.

There are types of sushi other than Edomae-style sushi.

Let's learn about different types of sushi and how to eat them on the next page.

Various types of Sushi, How to eat Sushi

Donburi dishes

Donburi means ceramic bowl and is twice as large as the small bowl to eat rice.

Boiled rice is put in the Donburi and cooked food is topped on the rice.
It is a fast food that main dish and rice have been combined and we can eat them both together.

This type of dish is also called "donburi".
In English, it is translated as "rice bowl".

Each dish has a different name depending on the topping.
The names are in the format "xxx-don" using "don" which is an abbreviation for "donburi".

By putting rice and the main dish into Donburi, you can eat a meal in a short amount of time.
It is one of Japan's fast foods.

There are many fast-food restaurants specializing in individual Donburi dishes in urban areas.

And, Japanese noodle restaurants (Udon, Soba) usually have a few types of Donburi dishes on their menus.

Various types of Donburi dish

Noodle dishes

Japanese noodle dishes are positioned as a light meal eaten as an alternative to rice.

Therefore, there are restaurants specializing in noodles.
Of course, noodle dishes can be made at home.

Traditional Japanese noodles are udon and soba.

Udon is a noodle made from wheat.
It is thicker and softer than spaghetti.

Soba is a noodle made from buckwheat.
The noodle is thin and having the color of light brown.

Let's look at the details on the next page.

Various dishes of Udon and Soba

Ramen is a relatively new Japanese noodle dish that was created in the early 20th century by combining elements of Japanese flavors with Chinese noodle dishes.

In the latter half of the 20th century, it spread throughout Japan.
Ramen has now become a representative dish of Japan.

Let's look at the details on the next page.

Various types of Ramen

Loud slurping noises is OK

Needless to say, Japanese noodles are eaten with chopsticks.
Unlike spaghetti, a fork is never used and the restaurant does not provide forks.

Mainly, Japanese noodles are usually served in soup.

Bring your face closer to the bowl.
Pick up the long noodles with your chopsticks and put them into your mouth.
(Each noodle is about 20 centimeters long.)
Then suck the entire noodle into your mouth.

At that moment, the sound of slurping noodles naturally occurs.

When you eat at any noodle restaurant, you may hear the noise that some people eat noodles with making loud slurping noises.

But they are not mannarless.

It's okay to make slurping sounds with your noodles in Japan.
It is a Japanese tradition since more than 300 years.

Flour-based Snack

There are popular snack dishes cooked on a griddle using wheat flour batter.

Okonomoyaki is like Japanese pancake using flour.
It is mainly cooked on a hot iron griddle in front of the customers.
So, Okonomiyaki is a snack that the customers can enjoy the process of the cooking.

There are two types of Okonomiyaki.

Kansai-style okonomiyaki is the standard style. Its center is Osaka.
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki originated in Hiroshima, and its preparation method differs from that of the Kansai style.

Takoyaki is a food that resembles small ball-shaped okonomiyaki.

Tako means octopus, so a small piece of octopus is put into food.
The inside of Takoyaki is very hot and creamy.

Takoyaki was born in Osaka.
In Osaka city, you can find many stands selling takoyaki and eat it as a snack on the street.

Let's look at the details on the next page.

How to make Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki

One-pot dish

A portable stove is set on the center of a table and a pot is put on it.
A few members of family or friends sit around the pot.

Various foods and soup are put in the pot and are stewed.
Each member eat the foods picking up from the pot.

This is called one-pot dish.
In Japanese, it is called Nabemono or shortly Nabe.

Especially, Nabemono is popular in the cold season.
The scene is like a small party for eating.

Most well-known dish is Sukiyaki.
Sliced tasty beef is main and tofu and various vegetables are stewed in the soup with soy sauce and sugar at the same time.

The cooking style of Nabemono is simple, so various Nabemono dishes are made by combination of ingredients.

Let's learn about the various types of Nabemono dishes.

Various Japanese Nabemono dishes

Okinawan dishes

Okinawa is the islands to the southwest of the mainland of Japan, and the islands are surrounded by the subtropical ocean.

Okinawa was a kingdom named Ryukyu until the early 17th century, so it has a unique culture different from the mainland of Japan.

Okinawan cuisine has also a unique dishes.
From the geographical location, the history and the climate, the cuisine is similar to the Chinese dishes in Taiwan and the southern China.

Though the islands are surrounded by sea, there are little dish of fish.
Instead of fish, pork is used much.
Whole parts of pig are the important ingredients, and tofu made in Okinawa is often used.

Konbu is an important seaweed for Japanese cuisine and is gathered only in the northern sea around Hokkaido island.
But, by the trade with China in Ryukyu period, Konbu had been known and treated in Okinawa.
So, Konbu is also an important ingredient in Okinawa cuisine.

The cooking method is mainly stewing, frying and deep-frying.

The use of dashi stock made from dried bonito flakes as a base is much the same as in the cuisine of mainland Japan.

Soy sauce and miso are also used as seasonings, but less so than in traditional Japanese cuisine.

The cuisine has evolved in modern times, especially because of the American military presence in Okinawa since the end of World War II (1945).

If you visit Okinawa, you will mainly eat such unique Okinawa cuisine.

Various Okinawan dishes

Japanized foreign dishes

In Meiji period (1868-1912), mass Western cultures flowed into Japan, because Japan had been under a policy of national isolation for over 200 years.

Especilally western-style dishes grew in popularity as gorgeous foods.
From this time, Japanese people began eating meat.

Japanese cooks invented the new western-style dishes liked by Japanese people.
They checked the dishes that the foreigners staying in Japan were eating.

They served rice instead of bread, and used ketchup and demiglace as seasonings.

At the same time, Chinese people built Chinatown in Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki cities.

They served cheap and common Chinese dishes, and these have also become popular.

Japanese people have absorbed the cuisine of other countries.
Above dishes are already popular for current Japanese people.

But the dishes have been changed from the original ones to Japanese favorite taste.

The followings are such Japanized dishes.
They are recognized as real Japanese dish.

Popular Japanized foreign dishes

Bento, Ekiben

Bento means a box lunch.
It is basically a homemade lunch to eat at a place of visit.
Rice and side dishes are packed in a lunch box.

Various Bento are also sold for takeout in many shops before noon.
They also are one of Japanese meals.

Especially, Bento selling in railway station is called Ekiben.
"Eki" means railway station and "ben" is from "Bento".

The long-distance trains in Japan have no dining car.
So, when you must stay in the train at mealtime, you can eat the Ekiben which you bought at the terminal station on the seat in the train.

So, in most terminal stations, many kinds of attractive Ekiben are sold and some of them use the foods with regional characteristics.

Bento & Ekiben

Restaurants in Japan

There are many restaurants in Japan.

Japanese restaurants are very common, but there are many Chinese restaurants, orthodox western restaurants including French and Italian in most cities.
Large cities also have restaurants that serve cuisine from the other countries.

Many Japanese restaurants specialize in a specific type of dish.
For example, sushi, ramen, tonkatsu, Japanese noodles, eel dish, crab dish, etc. are eaten in each restaurant for the dish.

You must visit a restaurant that you want to eat a dish in above dishes.

The restaurants are generally opened from around 11:00 to around 14:00 for lunch, and from around 17:00 in the evening.

Credit card is used in major restaurants, but the payment in many small restaurants are cash only.

Learn about Japanese restaurants on the next page.

Various Japanese restaurants

Japanese confections

In Japan, various candies, chocolates, cakes, etc, western-type of confectionaries are sold in the shops throughout Japan.

On the other hand, traditional Japanese confections have also been eaten since old times.

Rice flour, wheat flour and sugar are mainly used as the ingredients.
Milk and butter are basically not used.

Instead of cream and jam, sweet "an" (or "anko") is used as the filling for Japanese confections.
It is the paste made from red beans and sugar, and it is the main taste of Japanese sweets.

There are various types from cheap and simple confection to artistic and expensive confection for ceremony.

Let's check Japanese confections

Japanese tea

Green tea is the main tea drunk in Japan.
The color is light green or yellow.
Some kinds of tea have brown color.

The leaves of black tea are produced by fermenting, but the leaves of green tea are produced without fermenting.
So, the tastes are a little different from each other.

Also, basically, no sugar, milk, lemon, and so on is added to Japanese green tea.

Green tea is served in home, Japanese restaurants, etc.
And, in the cafe serving Japanese confections, green tea is the main drink.

Now, green tea as refreshing beverage contained in plastic bottle are sold in vending machine, convenient store, supermarket. etc.
You can drink it easily, when you travel around Japan.

There is "tea ceremony" as a traditional Japanese culture.

In the ceremony, special tea named "maccha" is used.
It is the tea powder made from high-class leaves of green tea, and the tea is made by stiring maccha and hot water in a bowl.

Let's check Japanese tea

Japanese alcoholic drink

Beer, whisky, wine, sake, shochu are mainly drunk as alcoholic beverages in Japan.
And various liqueurs are popular as cocktail or with soda water.

Sake is the Japanese traditional alcoholic beverage.
It is clear and colorless, but it has fruity aroma.
And, it has a little higher alcohol content than wine.

Both warmed sake and cold sake are OK as the method of drinking.

Sake is translated as "Rice wine" in English.
Like the words suggests, Sake is made by using rice and tasty water and farmenting them.

Sake breweries are dotted in many local areas in Japan.
The sake of each brewery has a brand name with a few kanji characters (Chinese character).

In the southern Kyushu island, the climate is too warm for sake brewing.
So, Shochu is mainly brewed.

Shochu is a distilled alcohol, and is made from rice, barley, buckwheat or sweet potato.

In Okinawa islands, Awamori is brewed as a distilled alcohol.
It is made from Indica rice which is planted in the tropical areas, so the taste is different from Shochu.

Let's check Alcoholic beverages in Japan

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