Popular Dishes

basic information

Japanese cuisine offers a great variety of dishes and regional specialties. Some of the most
popular Japanese and Japanized dishes are listed below.

We have categorized them into rice dishes, seafood dishes, noodle dishes, nabe dishes, soya
bean dishes, yoshoku dishes and other dishes. Please note that some dishes may fit into
multiple categories, but are listed only once.

Rice Dishes

For over 2000 years, rice has been the most important food in Japanese cuisine. Despite
changes in eating patterns over the last few decades and slowly decreasing rice consumption in
recent years, rice remains one of the most important ingredients in Japan today, and can be
found in numerous dishes.

Rice Bowl
A bowl of plain cooked rice is served with most Japanese meals. For breakfast, it is sometimes
mixed with a raw egg and soya sauce (tamago kake gohan) or enjoyed with natto or other
toppings.

Sushi
Sushi can be defined as a dish which contains sushi rice, cooked rice that is prepared with sushi
vinegar. There are various kinds of sushi dishes.

Domburi
A bowl of cooked rice with some other food put on top of the rice. Some of the most popular
toppings are tempura (tendon), egg and chicken (oyakodon), tonkatsu (katsudon) and beef
(gyudon).

Onigiri
Onigiri are rice balls made of cooked rice and usually wrapped in nori seaweed. They are
slightly salted and often contain some additional food in the center, for example an umeboshi
(pickled Japanese plum), katsuobushi (dried bonito shavings), tuna or salmon. Rice balls are a
popular and inexpensive snack available at convenience stores.
Kare Raisu
Kare Raisu (Curry Rice) is cooked rice with a curry sauce. It can be served with additional
toppings such as tonkatsu. Curry is not a native Japanese spice, but has been used in Japan for
over a century. Kare Raisu is a very popular dish, and many inexpensive Kare Raisu restaurants
can be found especially in and around train stations.

Fried Rice
Fried rice or chahan has been originally introduced from China. A variety of additional
ingredients such as peas, egg, negi (Japanese leek) and small pieces of carrot and pork are
mixed into the rice when stir fried. It is a suitable dish for using left over rice.

Chazuke
Chazuke is a bowl of cooked rice with green tea and other ingredients, for example, salmon or
tarako (cod roe) added to it. It is a suitable dish for using left over rice.

Kayu
Kayu is rice gruel, watery, soft cooked rice that resembles oatmeal. It is a suitable dish for using
left over rice and is often served to sick people because it can be digested easily.

Seafood Dishes

Hundreds of different fish, shellfish and other seafood from the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers
are used in the Japanese cuisine. They are prepared and eaten in many different ways, for
example, raw, dried, boiled, grilled, deep fried or steamed.

Sashimi
Sashimi is raw seafood. A large number of fish can be enjoyed raw if they are fresh and
prepared correctly. Most types of sashimi are enjoyed with soya sauce and wasabi.

Yakizakana
Yakizakana means grilled fish. Many varieties of fish are enjoyed in this way.

Noodle Dishes
There are various traditional Japanese noodle dishes as well as some dishes which were
introduced to Japan and subsequently Japanized. Many of them enjoy a very high popularity.

Soba
Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour or a mixture of buckwheat
and wheat flour. Soba are about as thick as spaghetti. They can be served cold or hot and with
various toppings.

Udon
Udon noodles are native Japanese noodles made of wheat flour. Udon are thicker than soba
and can also be served either hot or cold and with various toppings.

Ramen
Ramen are Chinese style noodles prepared in a soup with various toppings. Ramen is one of
the many popular dishes that were originally introduced from China but have become
completely Japanized over time.

Somen
Like Udon noodles, somen are Japanese noodles made of wheat flour, but they are much
thinner than Udon and Soba. Somen are usually eaten cold and are considered a summer
speciality.

Yakisoba
Yakisoba are fried or deep fried Chinese style noodles served with vegetables, meat and ginger.

Nabe Dishes

Nabe dishes or hot pot dishes are prepared in a hot pot, usually at the table. Typical ingredients
are vegetables such as negi (Japanese leek) and hakusai (Chinese cabbage), various
mushrooms, seafood and/or meat. There are many regional and personal varieties, and they
are especially popular in the cold winter months. Some special nabe dishes are:

Oden
A nabe dish prepared with various fish cakes, daikon, boiled eggs, konyaku and kombu
seaweed, boiled over many hours in a soya sauce based soup.

Sukiyaki
A nabe dish prepared with thinly sliced meat, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu and shirataki
(konyaku noodles). The pieces of food are dipped into a raw egg before eaten.

Shabu-Shabu
Shabu-shabu is Japanese style meat fondue. Thinly sliced meat, along with vegetables,
mushrooms and tofu is dipped into a hot soup and then into ponzu vinegar or a sesame sauce
before being eaten.

Chanko Nabe
Chanko nabe is traditionally the staple diet of sumo wrestlers. There are many varieties of
chanko nabe. A few chanko nabe restaurants can be found around Ryogoku, the sumo district in
Tokyo.

Meat Dishes

Meat has been eaten in Japan in larger amounts only since the second half of the 19th century.
Nowadays there are a variety of Japanese meat dishes.

Yakitori
Yakitori are grilled chicken pieces on skewers. Most parts of the chicken can be used for
yakitori.

Tonkatsu
Tonkatsu are deep fried pork cutlets. Tonkatsu is usually served with shredded cabbage or on
top of cooked rice (katsudon) or with Japanese style curry rice (katsu kare).

Nikujaga
Nikujaga is a popular dish of home style cooking made of meat (niku) and potatoes (jagaimo).

Soya Bean Dishes

Yudofu
Yudofu are tofu pieces boiled in a clear, mild soup and dipped into a soya based sauce before
being eaten.

Agedashi Tofu
Agedashi Tofu are deep fried tofu pieces that are dipped into a soya based sauce before being
eaten.

Miso Soup
A bowl of miso soup often accompanies breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is made by dissolving
miso paste in hot water and adding additional ingredients such as wakame seaweed and small
pieces of tofu.

Yoshoku Dishes

A large number of Western dishes have been introduced to Japan over the centuries. Many of
them have become completely Japanized, and these dishes are now called Yoshoku dishes.
Some of the most popular ones are:

Korokke
Korokke has its origins in the croquettes which were introduced to Japan in the 19th century.
Korokke are breaded and deep fried, and come in many varieties depending on the filling. The
most common filling is a mix of minced meat and mashed potatoes.

Omuraisu
Omuraisu (abbreviation for omelet rice) is cooked rice, wrapped in a thin omelet, and usually
served with a gravy sauce or tomato ketchup.

Hayashi Raisu
Hayashi rice is Japanese style hashed beef stew, thinly sliced beef and onions in a demi-glace
sauce served over or along side cooked rice. It resembles kare raisu, and, like kare raisu, it is
also eaten with a spoon.

Hamubagu
Hamubagu is a Japanese style hamburger steak. It is typically served on a plate and usually
with a demi-glace sauce, but without a bun.

Other Dishes

Tempura
Tempura is seafood, vegetables, mushrooms and other pieces of food coated with tempura
batter and deep fried. Tempura was introduced to Japan by the Portuguese in the 16th century,
but has become one of Japan's most famous dishes internationally.

Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a mix between pizza and pancake. Various ingredients such as seafood,
vegetables and meat can be mixed with the dough and placed on the okonomiyaki as topping.

Monjayaki
Monjayaki is a Kanto region specialty that is similar to Okonomiyaki, however, the dough used is
much more liquid than the okonomiyaki dough.

Gyoza
Gyoza are dumplings with a filling usually made of minced vegetables and ground meat. Gyoza
were introduced to Japan from China. In Japan gyoza are usually prepared by frying them.

Chawanmushi
Chawanmushi is savory steamed egg custard that usually contains pieces of chicken, shrimp,
fish cake and a ginko nut mixed inside.

Tsukemono
Tsukemono are Japanese pickles. There are many variety of pickles, and a small dish of
tsukemono is usually served with Japanese meals.