What Are Japanese Food Specialties?

Japanese cuisine is a showcase for extraordinary taste sensations. The western traveller is used to sushi, teriyaki, ramen, and tempura; however valuable insight about Japan can be gleaned from sampling and savouring other lesser known but traditional Japanese favourites.

Chanko Nabe

Typically made from seafood, chicken, pork, potatoes and an array of vegetables and noodles, this is a hearty stew eaten on a daily basis by sumo wrestlers trying to gain weight. Meat balls made from ground fish, pork or chicken are also added for extra protein. 

Chawanmushi

Chawanmushi is an elegant egg custard appetizer served during a traditional Japanese meal. Very light and delicate, this steamed dish is usually filled with savoury ingredients such as seafood, chicken, ginkgo nuts, shiitake mushrooms, and vegetables. Flavoured with dashi (broth), soy sauce and mirin, chawanmushi is eaten with a spoon. 

Kaiseki  

The art of Kaiseki cuisine has its roots in Buddhism and dates back hundreds of years to the origins of the tea ceremony. The basic guidelines for this haute cuisine is that it celebrates nature by featuring fresh seasonal ingredients designed to imitate leaves, trees, flowers, mountains, rivers and sea. The shapes, textures and colors of the food are all displayed to reflect these elements found in nature.

There is a sense of culinary theatre as a progression of courses is followed including an appetizer, a clear soup, a fish dish, a mountain and sea dish, a grilled course, a simmered food, a deep fried course, a vinegar style dish accompanied by rice and pickles, a final course, and then a selection of seasonal fruit.

These courses are all served on hand painted porcelain, lacquer bowls and boxes, handmade wicker baskets, rare pieces of pottery, and other exquisite serving dishes that subtly suit the food to the appropriate season. For example, in the autumn season, a menu would focus on Fall ingredients such as chestnut, matsutake (pine) mushroom, sweet potato, persimmon, pumpkin, and seasonal fish. Each course is a visual and edible work of art following a tranquil traditional order.

Kaiten Sushi

Fast service, reasonable prices, and fresh ingredients can be found at Kaiten Sushi restaurants. Although lacking the atmosphere of a small neighbourhood sushi restaurant, Kaiten Sushi are convenient for western travellers as they only have to grab their favourite item from the conveyor belt.

As these restaurants tend to be popular and busy, the turnover of ingredients is continuous and therefore fresh.  The final bill is calculated on the number and colour of the plates chosen.  

Kaki Furai

Since Japan is an island nation, oysters are bountiful and enjoyed raw, steamed, simmered, baked, grilled and deep fried. The main oyster producing regions are Hokkaido, Mie and Hiroshima. As there are six rivers that channel into Hiroshima Bay providing optimum growing conditions, this area is well known for its delicious oysters. Deep fried oysters or kaki furai is a treat in the spring, fall and winter months.

The best oyster season in Japan is during the winter when there are numerous oyster festivals not only in Hiroshima but also in Hokkaido. 

                                                 Kakiage

Kakiage is a delicious type of tempura that looks like a western style fritter. It is popular with cooks because it combines whatever seasonal ingredients are on hand, for example: shrimp, cuttle fish, squid, and strips of mixed vegetables such as onions, carrots, or burdock.

The batter is made from flour, water and egg. Kakiage is usually served over hot rice but another version - Kakiage Chazuke -  serves kakiage over leftover rice over which hot green tea is poured and then garnished with thinly cut dried seaweed. 

Kare Raisu

Curried rice or Japanese curry has a distinctive flavour that makes it unique from Indian, Malaysian, Sri Lankan and Thai curries. A favourite comfort food all over Japan, this dish combines a European style stew  of beef, chicken, or seafood simmered with Indian spices. Toppings vary from soft boiled egg, to cheese or mushrooms, and condiments are usually brightly coloured pickles.  Kare Raisu tends to be quite mild, however different restaurants offer variations of spiciness. 

Kushiage

This style of cooking involves breaded seafood, meat, or vegetables that is deep fried on sticks. Since the ingredients are fresh and the breading is crunchy, the resulting textures and flavours are addictive, especially with a glass of beer. Normally served in Izikaya style pubs, kushiage is a very popular snack after work.

Mehari Zushi -

The regional specialty of the Kumano area in Wakayama, mehari zushi are rice balls wrapped with the salt pickled leaves of mustard greens. They are a light refreshing snack.

Nabemono

Nabemono dishes are very popular during the winter months as diners can socialize while cooking a diverse array of ingredients in a communal hot pot known as a donabe. There are many kinds of nabemono, and ingredients vary according to region and season, but they usually include meat, chicken, or seafood and tofu with an assortment of fresh local vegetables and chrysanthemum leaves. 

The prepared ingredients are lightly cooked and then dipped in individual bowls of ponzu seasoned with grated radish, pepper, and chopped scallions. Towards the end of the meal, rice or noodles are usually added to the broth which contains all the flavours and goodness from the cooked ingredients and is lightly seasoned with sake and soy sauce. 

Mizutaki

This type of stew or nabemono dish is typically made from simmering ingredients such as chicken, napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, tofu and chrysanthemum leaves in fish broth. 

The cooked ingredients are then dipped in a ponzu sauce (a complex sauce that combines citrus, soy sauce, sake, kelp, and sugar).

Ochazuke

A classic comfort food in Japan, ochazuke is a favourite snack eaten for breakfast or at the end of a meal. It is made from steamed rice topped with green tea and various garnishes such as ume boshi, seaweed, sesame seeds, katsuo bushi, and salmon flakes. 

Oden

Oden is a wintertime comfort food like nabemono but is also eaten year round and can be seen simmering away in enormous cauldrons at the counters of neighbourhood convenience stores, like the ubiquitous Family Mart. A kelp based broth is used to simmer fish cakes, potatoes, daikon, konnyaku, fried tofu, konbu, and hard boiled eggs. In a restaurant, the diner can order his or her individual pieces which are served in a bowl with broth and hot mustard.  

Okonomiyaki

A specialty of Osaka and Hiroshima, okonomiyaki is a cross between a pancake and an omelette. With Osaka style, all the ingredients - chopped cabbage, seafood, pork and vegetables - are mixed in batter and then fried on both sides on a hot grill by the diner, whereas Hiroshima style is made by the chef who layers the batter gradually with other ingredients. Monjayaki style uses a thinner batter and is mostly cooked in the Tokyo area. Okonomiyaki is brushed with a special sauce as well as Japanese mayonnaise, pickled ginger, seaweed powder, and katsuo-bushi.

Omuraisu

A delicious fusion of Japanese fried rice and western style omelette topped with a flavourful sauce made of tonkatsu sauce and ketchup, omuraisu is irresistible to children and adults alike.   Served at any time of the day, omuraisu is a Japanese comfort food that is great for using up leftover rice and other ingredients.

Onigiri - 

Lady Murasaki, who wrote the classic "The Tale of Genji" in the eleventh century,  mentions in her diary that rice balls were enjoyed outdoors at picnics. Before that time written records show that samurai took rice balls wrapped in bamboo to snack on before battle.

Ever since, onigiri have become a favourite traditional snack food in Japanese cuisine. Essentially balls of rice wrapped with nori seaweed, they contain a wide variety of fillings ranging from flaked salmon to umeboshi to cooked chicken or Japanese pickles.

Onigiri are the equivalent of the western style sandwich and can be bought at convenience stores, department store food floors, railway stations and grocery stores. They are delicious, nutritious, and easy to transport.  

Ramen

A Japanese staple, ramen has a myriad of variations depending on tradition and region. The best ramen shops always have a line of patient diners waiting for a chance to taste their favourite noodle dish. Essentially the broth is what makes or breaks a really delicious bowl of ramen and is usually made from chicken, pork or fish broth.

Tonkotsu Ramen uses pork bones that have been simmered for a long time into a richly flavoured stock. Shio Ramen has a lighter broth flavoured with salt. Miso Ramen uses chicken or fish broth that is flavoured with miso. whereas Shoyu Ramen flavours its broth with soy sauce. Typical toppings include roast pork, fish cake, scallions, corn, bamboo shoots, seaweed and soft boiled egg.

Remember that slurping is acceptable when eating ramen as it helps to cool down the hot noodles!  

Shabu Shabu

Named after the sound of the beef swishing back and forth in the broth, shabu shabu offers a cozy communal experience as diners can prepare their own portion. Types of  broth can vary from konbu stock to collagen broth or soy milk. Artfully presented platters of vegetables and tofu are placed alongside the grill.

The cooked beef is enjoyed by dipping it into either a sesame sauce or a ponzu sauce that has grated daikon and chile pepper added. At the end of the meal, rice or noodles  are added to the flavour rich broth. 

Soba

Soba is delicious served hot or cold in a light broth with a variety of ingredients such as grated daikon, fish cakes, or vegetables. It is a healthy light alternative to western style pasta. Although soba is made from buckwheat flour, the ratio of buckwheat flour to wheat flour decreases in cheaper restaurants. More expensive restaurants will have soba noodles with a higher percentage of buckwheat flour so visitors with gluten allergies should not assume that all soba is non gluten.

Kake Soba is served in a bowl of broth with other ingredients while Mori Soba is served separately on a bamboo screen and then dipped into a bowl containing broth flavoured with wasabi and scallions.

Don't forget that Japanese people slurp when eating soba, ramen or udon. This is considered acceptable as it cools down the hot noodles so that they can be enjoyed before they have a chance to get soggy.  

Sukiyaki

Synonymous with Japanese cuisine so that there is even a song with the same name, sukiyaki is a popular nabemono dish that simmers thinly sliced marbled beef in a broth seasoned with sugar, sake and soy sauce. Onions, shiitake mushrooms, tofu and shirataki noodles are simmered together. The meat is eaten by first dipping it into beaten raw egg in individual bowls. Since the shirataki noodles are made from konyaku (a gelatinous non caloric superfood made from taro powder and water) diners who prefer non gluten foods will enjoy this dish.

Takoyaki

Basically octopus dumplings, this popular street food is sold at street stalls during market time or at festivals throughout Japan. They can also be found at snack bars and some convenience stores. 

Tiny morsels of boiled octopus are mixed into a batter flavoured with scallions and pickled ginger. These are then cooked in a specially formed grill that bakes the dumplings in their distinctive round shape. The finished product is then dabbed with a special sauce and mayonnaise and then sprinkled with finely shaved seaweed. 

 Tempura

Originally a food introduced many centuries ago by Portuguese missionaries and traders, tempura is the essential Japanese specialty. This is because it combines fresh seasonal ingredients with excellent cooking skills and beautiful presentation. The freshest seafood and vegetables are lightly coated in a batter of flour, eggs and ice water and quickly deep fried.

Tempura should be eaten right away by first dipping in salt or a sauce flavoured with grated radish. Alternatively, tempura can be served on top of soba, udon or rice. 

Teppanyaki  

The teppanyaki steak house offers an entertaining venue to eat an above average steak dinner. Different prices for prix-fixe menus are offered which reflect the cut of meat - filet or sirloin for example - and the grade of beef - regular grade to top grade wagyu - as well as the addition of different types of seafood - abalone, prawns, crab, lobster...  Teppanyaki chefs swiftly slice and grill these ingredients with supersonic speed and skill to the awe of the diners seated at the counter. As this style of restaurant can be quite expensive, it is best to go for lunch which is generally much cheaper than dinner. 

Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu is a classic family favourite in Japan made from deep fried pork cutlet and served with a special sauce on a mound of shredded cabbage. Flavour depends on the quality of the pork as well as the skill of the chef; the end result should be crunchy and crisp on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside. 

Tonkatsu originated with French cooking during the westernization of Japan in the 19th century. Since that time, it has developed into an inexpensive Japanese specialty. Usually served in a set meal or teishoku, tonkatsu is usually accompanied by rice, shredded cabbage, pickles and a bowl of tonijiru, a flavourful miso soup with slices of pork and root vegetables in a tasty broth made from pork bones that have simmered for many hours.

Udon

Like ramen and soba, udon is a beloved dish in Japan. Its thicker style noodles are made from wheat flour and have a chewy, satisfying texture. Udon is served in a variety of ways according to region, season, and ingredients on hand. It can be  eaten hot or cold, mild or spicy, in different types of broth and accompanied by ingredients ranging from fried tofu and seaweed to prawn curry. The options are endless. 

Unagi

The tastiest unagi (grilled eel) is both succulent and crispy. Different restaurants use unique sauce recipes to baste the eel and the highest grade of charcoal to grill it, both of which affect the flavour of the finished product.

Apparently eating grilled eel in the summer can give the diner stamina and vitality. But since grilled unagi meals can be quite expensive, a cheaper alternative would be to order it for lunch or eat it at specialty unagi restaurants in shopping malls.  

Just make sure the unagi is from Japan!

Yakitori

Sold at street stalls or restaurants, yakitori is a delicious snack to eat accompanied by an ice cold glass of beer. Skewers of chicken, chicken organs, ground chicken balls, and chicken skin as well as a selection of vegetables are basted in a sauce and grilled over charcoal. Each restaurant has its own sauce recipe and preferred charcoal to enhance the flavour of the ingredients.

Different yakitori restaurants might offer alternative breeds of poultry to choose from, for example organic or free range chicken, duck or guinea fowl. 

 Yoshoku

Yoshoku is a term for the Japanese adaptation of typical western dishes. This adaptation process began during the Meiji Restoration in 1868 when Japan began its westernization process. Originally European, dishes such as beef hash, pasta, hamburger, curry or even vegetable soup, to name but a few, have gradually evolved to recipes more suitable to the Japanese palate. 

Washoku

The term used for traditional Japanese style food that is healthy, well balanced and nutritional. Revered by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Washoku combines four elements namely rice, soup, pickles and three side dishes. The ingredients are seasonal and fresh and rich in variety,  and the rule of 5 is applied to colour, flavour, methods of cooking, and sensory appeal.