Delightful & Popular Japanese Cuisine

Some delightful and popular Japanese dishes:

1. Sushi: Sushi is one of the best known Japanese foods around the world. It is offered in various ways and prices, from the entertaining kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi), where visitors can enjoy sushi for a reasonable price of about 100 yen per plate, to high-end, long-established, traditional Edomae sushi. Sushi usually refers to a dish of pressed vinegared rice with a piece of raw fish or shellfish, called a neta, on top. Sushi is generally eaten with soy sauce and wasabi.

2. Sashimi: Sashimi is another must-try food. Similar to sushi but without the rice, sashimi is raw fish sliced into easy-to-eat pieces. Just like sushi, diners can enjoy dozens of varieties of sashimi. Some of the most common and popular varieties are maguro and other tuna varieties, salmon, mackerel, and sea bream. 

Sashimi is typically eaten with soy sauce for flavoring. You can also add a dot of wasabi to the top of the sashimi for extra heat.

3. Tempura: : Tempura is a dish involving ingredients like seafood, meat, and vegetables covered in batter and deep-fried in oil. The batter usually contains flour and egg. Tempura is generally dipped in a special sauce called tentsuyu before eating. 

4. Udon: Udon is a unique dish known for its thick noodles, and is a very popular and traditional Japanese dish. The dough is made from flour and salt water that is well-kneaded and cut into noodles. After udon noodles are boiled in hot water, udon is enjoyed in seafood broth soup, or by pouring soup and toppings like tempura on top of it. 

5. Donburi: This can be translated as "rice bowls." You may have tried some of the more famous versions of the dish—gyudon, katsudon, and oyakodon (beef, chicken etc.,)—and if you are, then you know how easy to make and tasty they can be.

6. Yakitori: Yakitori is a dish of bite-sized cuts of chicken grilled on a skewer. It makes use of every part of the chicken — including heart, liver, and even chicken comb — to avoid wastefulness, an important element of Japanese food culture. Unlike other traditional Japanese foods, yakitori has only been eaten since around the mid-17th century, as eating meat was largely taboo in Japan for several centuries.

7. Teppanyaki : Teppanyaki uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan, which is the metal plate which it is cooked on and yaki, which means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried. In Japan, teppanyaki refers to dishes cooked using a teppan, including steak, shrimp, okonomiyaki, yakisoba and monjayaki.

8. Sukiyaki: Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the Japanese hot pot style. It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.

9. Unagi

Unagi, or eel, is a fish known to be found mainly in rivers. In Japan, it is a delicacy typical in high-class Japanese dining. There are also many casual restaurants that specialize in unagi dishes. At unagi restaurants, you will be able to enjoy kabayaki, where the unagi is put on skewers and grilled with a special sauce containing soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake. 

10. Hitsumabushi 

A specialty dish from Nagoya, is another must-try traditional dish. Its appearance may surprise people––cut-up kabayaki on top of white rice––but it can be eaten in several ways, such as with condiments like green onion and wasabi, or as ochazuke by pouring warm green tea or broth over it. Unagi is also loved as a health food to prevent summer heat weariness for its protein and because it is good for digestion.

11. Kaiseki

The ultimate in Japanese fine dining, kaiseki is a tasting course comprised of small, seasonally themed dishes crafted with the utmost precision and attention to detail. Kaiseki was born from the traditional tea ceremony, where small morsels of food were offered alongside the bitter green tea, and over time these offerings evolved into a multi-course haute cuisine meal.

12. Tsukemono pickles

Tsukemono are traditional pickles that have been eaten in Japan since prehistoric times. Made with a wide variety of ingredients, including vegetables like daikon radish and eggplant and fruits like ume plum, tsukemono not only add visual appeal to a meal with their bright colors but are also an extremely healthy food.

13. Miso Soup

Miso soup may seem deceptively simple, but it’s an essential Japanese food that’s served with any traditional meal. The soup is made from dashi stock – either fish or kelp stock – combined with miso bean paste to bring a savory umami element to any meal. Tofu and sliced green onions, as well as ingredients like fish, clams, and pork, can be added and may vary by the season.

14. Soba

Soba is another type of noodle dish that has been eaten in Japan for centuries. Made from buckwheat flour, soba has a long thin shape and firm texture and is very healthy. Like udon noodles, soba can be served in a hot broth or chilled with a dipping sauce, making it a delicious and healthy option any time of year.

-- Raja Mitra