15 Famous Japanese Food You Must Try

When Japanese cuisine invades somebody’s mind, they always think about Ramen or Sushi. The truth holds much more than any individual can contemplate. Japan is an astounding nation with unique and out-of-the-box cuisine. It encompasses much more than just rice and fish. This topic is going to elaborate a few Japanese culinary delights. It will help you to get an insight into the diverseness of their cooking. The next time you sit at a restaurant that specializes in Japanese delicacies, you won’t have to limit yourself.

Tempura

The first recipe worth mentioning is Tempura, which is more of a snack. It includes seafood and veggies, dipped and batter and deep-fried. The seasoning consists of an admixture of soy sauce, sugar, and ginger. Tempura can contain fish or even fowl.

Sushi

Of course, no list of Japanese delicacies is complete without sushi. Sushi is an iconic Japanese dish, and it is famous throughout the world. It contains a portion of rice seasoned with rice vinegar. Other than that, it includes several other ingredients like a variety of fishes, seaweed, and vegetables.

Kare raisu

A simple yet delicious dish that the entirety of Japan savors is Kare raisu. Japanese children enjoy eating it, and it contains nothing but plain rice and curry. Japanese curry differs from Indian curry because it uses different meats and vegetables. Some of the meats included are chicken, pork, beef, and duck. The basic veggies are carrots, onions, and potatoes.

Shabu Shabu

It is a dish which is a concoction of meat stew with vegetables, mushrooms, and other ingredients. The meat can be beef, shrimp, pork, or chicken. The vegetables include chives, chards, garlic, moyashi, shinkiku, etc. The mushrooms are either shimeji or shiitake. Other ingredients are konnyaku, udon, and kamaboku.

Yakitori

Yakitori is nothing but ‘grilled chicken’ in Japanese. It is also a Japanese variety of broiled chicken. The word ‘yakitori’ mostly refers to foods prepared on spits. The meats can be both poultry and non-poultry. Yakitori is synonymous to the Japanese term kushiyaki.

Udon

It is a thick noodle soup which is highly prevalent in Japanese cuisine. The noodle strands are thick, and they come from flour. The broth is of dashi, mirin, or shoyu. The basic udon becomes different when the chef adds other ingredients to it.

Onigiri

It is nothing but rice balls wrapped in Nori leaves. They are most triangular or oval. It is one of the favorite snacks in Japan. The fillings can vary but mostly includes fried salmon, katsuobushi, umeboshi, or other salty and sour ingredients.

Miso soup

A dish often consumed by the Japanese, Miso soup is a fermented broth made of soy. They prepare it using soy, tofu, chives, and hondashi. They also add a few vegetables to it sometimes. You will get it before almost every main course that you order.

Okonomiyaki

This dish is a pancake made of flour, yam, and eggs. The literal meaning of the word is ‘grilled as you like it.’ So, based on its name, you can choose the ingredients you want in the dish. The most preferred ones are green onions, beef, vegetables, shrimps, cheese, mocha, and squid.

Flavored sweets and green tea

Green tea is one of the most favorite drinks of the Japanese people. Other than them, almost all of Asia consumes it. Green tea has hundreds of health benefits, and its properties are still surprising the scientists. Unique Japanese sweets will accompany a cup of green tea in Japan. Their sweets are more works of art than just a dessert.

Omurice

This particular dish is a western delicacy which the Japanese people adopted. They gave it a twist of their own and made it famous in other countries as well, like Taiwan and Korea. It consists of omelet along with fried rice and ketchup topping.

Soba

It is a type of pasta which the Japanese made from buckwheat flour. The unusual color of these noodles comes from the flour used in it. The difference between soba and udon is the thickness. The noodle strands of udon are thicker than the ones of soba.

Gyudon

Another Japanese dish, Gyudon, consists of rice topped with onion and beef. They add a sauce to it of lightly sweet taste. They make the sauce from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. It also includes tofu and shirataki.

Katsudon

It is a traditional Japanese recipe which contains a bowl of rice covered with breaded pork chop, eggs, and other ingredients. The Japanese consider it an auspicious food item.

Ramen

Though it deserves to be much above this list, you must try the other delicacies mentioned in this topic. However, Ramen will retain its fame. It includes a bowl of noodles served in miso soup and soy sauce. The toppings constitute bits of pork, eggs, seaweed, and slices of green onions.