The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Japanese Foods. If you manage to be in an Japanese restaurant or you are visiting Japan, I recommend the following:
1. Sushi
Sushi is undoubtedly one of Japan’s most famous foods. It originated in ancient times and is the result of a process of preserving fish in fermented rice. Today it is made with vinegared rice and fresh fish and is presented in many different shapes and forms. Another important ingredient in sushi is Nori seaweed, which is often used as a wrapper or belt to hold the side dish to the rice. It is accompanied by soy sauce and wasabi for a more intense flavor. As you know, there are many types of sushi, both in terms of the accompaniment and the way it is presented. The best known are Maki, Nigiri and Oshi.
2. Yakitori
Yakitori is a dish of bite-sized cuts of chicken grilled on a skewer. All parts of the chicken are eaten, including the heart, liver and ridge because nothing is wasted; this is a very important concept in Japanese food culture. They are very common in traditional Japanese restaurants and also in street stalls. They are a perfect snack to satisfy our hunger on our long walks in Japan. In the cities, it is customary to have a yakitori with a beer after work and before going home.
3. Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a dish of meat, vegetables and tofu cooked with a sweet soy sauce broth in a shallow cast-iron pot. It became popular when the centuries-old ban on meat was lifted in the Meji period. It is the perfect way to enjoy the incredibly tasty and tender wagyu beef.
4. Onigiri
It is a delicious ball or triangle of rice with a filling inside, toppings on the outside and a nori seaweed to hold it. Traditionally, onigiri has been filled with pickled plum, salmon, kombu or tuna. However, the flexibility to experiment with this Japanese dish means that nowadays you can find a large number of variations and condiments. If you travel to Japan, you can’t miss the opportunity to try Onigiri, which is also an excellent dish to eat standing up, while walking or exploring the city.
5. Soba
This term is used to refer to thin noodles made from buckwheat flour. They are served cold with a sauce or broth in which they are dipped, or in hot broth like ramen. On the other hand, it is very common in Japan to refer to thin noodles as soba in contrast to udon. There are also varieties of soba to which matcha tea is added, giving the mixture a greenish color. Soba has also become a standard for Japanese food around the world, but in Japan itself it can be eaten everywhere.
6. Sashimi
These are thin cuts of fish and seafood, accompanied by soy sauce, ginger and wasabi and served (usually) raw. The purpose of the ginger is to be eaten between each piece of sashimi to cleanse the taste in the mouth so that the flavor can be tasted better. You might think that due to the simplicity of the preparation of this dish, there would be no difference between tasting it in Japan and in your home country, but you would be wrong! The essence of this dish lies in the quality of the raw material and we assure you that the Japanese are specialists in fish, working with quality and very fresh raw materials.
7. Tempura
Tempura is a dish of battered and fried fish, seafood or vegetables. In this dish, special attention is paid to the way the ingredients are cut, as well as to the temperature of the batter (ice-cold) and the oil (very hot) for frying, so that each piece is a mouthful of fried perfection. In the Kanto region near Tokyo, tempura is eaten with a sauce, while in the Kansai region near Kyoto and Osaka, it is dipped in flavored salt.
8. Udon
This is a type of thick Japanese noodle, made of wheat flour and with a diameter of 6 to 8 mm. This noodle is usually served with a broth, usually miso soup. In addition, all kinds of seasonings are added to make the dish more complete, including meat, fish, eggs, seafood, mushrooms and all kinds of vegetables. You can try as many different kinds of udon as you can imagine! For example Katsudon is udon with battered pork and tsukimi udon is udon with raw egg that is cooked in its own broth.
9. Unagi
Eel or unagi is one of the star ingredients of Japanese cuisine. It is a freshwater fish, with a very mellow, tender and tasty flesh. There are many traditional dishes with eel as the main ingredient, such as Unagi no kabayaki, Unadon, Unajyu, Unagi nigiri, Unagi bento, Umaki, Uzaku, Ikadayaki, Kimoyaki, Kimosui broth, Shirayaki, Unagi crackers and fried unagi bones. You should try any of these at least once during your stay in Japan.
10. Oden
It is a typical Japanese dish consisting of a pot preparation containing a good variety of ingredients cooked in konbu seaweed broth. It is a really popular dish in the winter season in Japan, considered by many to be a delicacy, as well as being a fairly inexpensive meal. The most common ingredients in oden are daikon (Japanese radish), tofu, hanpen (white surimi), konnyaku (known in the West as Konjak) in strips and noodles, as well as boiled potatoes and eggs. Other ingredients include seaweed, ganmodoki (fried tofu with vegetables), different varieties of surimi such as chikuwa and meat and chicken dumplings.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional Asian Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.
The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Japanese Foods. If you manage to be in an Japanese restaurant or you are visiting Japan, I recommend the following: