Stir-Fried Eggplant Pork Miso Don is a fulfilling dish. Pork and eggplant are tender. The combination of Eggplant, Pork and Miso is great. Also I added Taberu Rayu which is frie...

Takikomi Gohan is a very popular food, and especially eaten in fall in Japan. You can add and/or substitute fall ingredients like Kuri (Chestnuts) and/or Satsumaimo (Japanese pu...

Salad Udon is considered as a healthy summer dish in Japan. You can add any vegetables you like. This dish is super easy to make at home. When I was in Japan, I went to a restau...

Spicy Cod Roe Pasta is very popular in Japan. Spicy Cod Roe is originally from Korea. “Mentaiko” in Japanese means “The Child Of Cod Roe” in English. “Mentaiko” came from Korean...

Would you like to cook a super easy and tasty dish at home? If so, spicy stir-fried pork is for you. Pork has a tender texture. You can enjoy eating this dish with rice. This di...

Hiyashi Chuka is an easy summer dish in Japan. We can add a lot of summer vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers into this dish. The sauce has sweet and sour flavors, and cold n...

Doria is a Western style Japanese dish which usually consists of white sauce and rice. Doria looked like a European dish, however it was invented by a Swiss chef in Japan. Appar...

Agedashi Tofu is a comfort food as well as a very popular food on the Izakaya (Japanese Pub) menu in Japan. I remembered that my mother made this dish a lot at home when I was i...

Sake Nori Bento is one of the traditional bentos in Japan. You would see it at convenience stores, Bento shops, grocery stores, department stores and so on. Bento is a meal whic...

Ichigo Daifuku is one of the most popular Japanese sweets (Wagashi, 和菓子 in Japanese) in Japan. The combination of Ichigo (Strawberry), Anko (Sweet red bean paste) and Daifuku (A...

Japanese people cook stir-fried meat and vegetables a lot. You can substitute ham or bacon for sausage. Also you can use any leftover vegetables in your refrigerator. This dish...

“Chasoba” is a kind of soba noodle, usually made of Matcha green tea, soba powder, bread flour and water. It is a very famous local noodle in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. Shizuok...

“Harumaki” in Japanese means “spring roll” in English. Spring roll is very popular in Japan. Spring roll is originally from China. Egg roll is a Chinese American dish. Apparentl...

Some of you may have never heard of a burdock root before. “Gobo” in Japanese means “Burdock root” in English. Burdock root is a plant and native to Northern Asia and Europe. Ja...

This Butter Soy Sauce Rosemary Steak is so easy to make using only a frying pan. It has a rosemary aroma, a sweet savory flavor, a very juicy, and a tender texture. Butter soy s...

Asian Style French Toast Sandwich is very easy to make and you can cook it on only a frying pan. It is not that sweet like a typical French Toast, but it’s so tasty. It is good...

“Tonjiru” is a kind of miso soup which is very famous in Japan. “Ton” means “pig” and/or “pork” in Japanese. “Jiru (Shiru)” means “soup” in Japanese. My mother often made this s...

Ebi Pilaf is a common food in Japan. Especially, we eat Ebi Pilaf for lunch. When I was an elementary school student, I had this dish as school lunch. “Ebi” means “Shrimp” in Ja...

Gratin is very popular to eat especially in Winter in Japan and is similar to casserole. We have a variety of gratin in Japan such as potato gratin (Please see my other article)...

Chocolate Brownies are very popular to bake in Japan. The key ingredient is a Japanese pan cake mix. This ingredient is very versatile and can be used not only for the Japanese...

Cheese Sake Fry is good to eat with white wine. Japanese people eat salmon a lot in general. “Sake” means “salmon” in Japanese. Salmon is one of the most popular fishes in Japan...

Sui-Gyoza Soup is popular to eat especially in winter in Japan. This dish will warm your body up in cold weather. Also the dish has a lot of vegetables. Gyoza means potstickers...

Yakibuta tamago meshi is from Imabari city, Ehime prefecture, Japan. This dish is a very popular local food in Imabari city. This dish was originally “Makanai” (A meal provided...

Stir-fried chicken is a common dish in Japan. The combination of chicken, potato and cheese is very good. However, you can substitute the chicken with any kind of meat. I just u...

“Toshi Koshi Soba” is a Japanese traditional dish which Japanese people normally eat on New Year’s Eve. This custom of eating Soba noodles on New Year’s Eve dates back to the Ed...

Fried rice is one of the delicious homemade dishes in Japan. You can use leftover meat, vegetables and rice to make it at home. In that way, you wouldn’t waste food and your ref...

Gyoza is a very popular dish to eat in Japan. Especially, Japanese people eat Gyoza as a side dish with Ramen noodles at Ramen restaurants. Gyoza is originally from China. Appar...

Hot pot is a very popular dish in Japan especially in Winter. Hot pot means “Nabe” in Japanese. Hot pot is the dish usually consisting of thin meat, vegetables, mushrooms and To...

Minced pork is popular in Japan. One of the reasons why Japanese people use the minced pork a lot is that it is cheaper than minced beef in Japan. Minced pork patty matches very...

Chicken karaage is a very juicy and tasty dish in Japan. Karaage is actually one of the Japanese cooking techniques which is deep-fried in oil. You can karaage meat or fish as w...

This is a popular dish for children in particular in Japan. Omurice can be found at Western style restaurants in Japan as well. You can draw anything you want on top of the Omur...

Curry flavored pork sauté is popular for children in Japan. This dish matches very well with steamed rice. This dish has little teriyaki and thick rich Japanese curry flavors. I...

Edamame is a very popular side dish in Japan. “Edamame” literally means “stem beans” in Japanese. My family in Japan grows Edamame and they eat Edamame a lot at home especially...

Gyu don is one of the most popular donburis in Japan. Gyu means cow / beef, don / donburi means a bowl of rice / a bowl in Japanese. You can see a lot of gyu don franchises in J...

Tonpei yaki is one of the very popular teppan (Iron plate) yaki dishes, especially in Kansai area like Osaka, Japan. “Ton” means “pig”, “pei” means “flat” in Japanese. It is sim...

Hayashi rice is a Western style dish (Yoshoku in Japanese) and very popular in Japan. This dish is originally from Hyogo prefecture, Japan. Hyogo prefecture is well known as Kob...

Tempura is one of the most popular deep-fried dishes in Japan. This dish is usually consisted of seafood, meat and vegetables, coated in tempura batter and deep-fried. It has a...

Would you like to try a unique Japanese dish which looks like a Chinese dish and you can make at home? If so, Tenshin chahan is the one for you! This dish is named from Tianjin...

Buta no shougayaki is one of the very popular set meals in Japan. Shougayaki means stir-fried or grilled with ginger and buta means pig in Japanese. Ginger and pork flavors go v...

This dish contains a lot of summer vegetables and fruits. I harvested a lot of cherry tomatoes from my garden this summer. This dish has a sweet tomato flavor. It is good to eat...

You can see a lot of Yakitori vendors at summer festivals in Japan. This dish is also very popular to eat with a glass of beer. If you are interested in Japanese beer, please se...

Soba noodles are one of the most famous noodles in Japan. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour, wheat flour, water and salt. You can eat soba noodles with cold or hot. You...

I thought it’s a good idea to share the most useful Japanese ingredients with everyone who is interested in cooking Japanese food. I hope it will help you to decide which Japane...

Typical Japanese family eats rice and drinks miso soup every day. Miso is fermented soybean paste. Miso soup is very easy to make at home with your choices of ingredients! I wou...

I found that the combination of Nori seaweed, bread and cream cheese is amazing. I used soy sauce and mustard to marinate tomatoes and cucumbers. I also used plastic wraps in or...

It is very common for Japanese people to put tartar sauce not only on fish but also on chicken like this dish. Teriyaki is a Japanese cooking technique and uses soy sauce, mirin...

This is not a typical Japanese food, but the combination of smoked salmon and cream cheese is great and it’s easy to cook. This dish has a thick creamy taste and the key ingredi...

This dish is originally from China, but one of the famous Chinese chefs invented a Japanese version and introduced it to Japan. His name is Chen Kenmin and he is the father of I...

Katsu don is a very popular donburi (a bowl of rice topped with meat and vegetables) in Japan. There are a variety of katsu don in Japan such as Sauce (vegetable & fruit sauce o...

Tonkatsu is one of the most popular Japanese deep-fried dishes. It is normally served with shredded cabbage. Tonkatsu has a crispy texture. Tonkatsu sauce has thick savory and s...

Cold Somen noodles are very popular in summer in Japan. It is served with Yakumi (condiments) like small pieces of green onions and grated ginger or ginger paste. Basically, Jap...

This is not "Tabemono” (food in Japanese), but I would like to introduce “Nomimono” (drinks in Japanese) for hot summer. "Mugi" means "barley", "Cha" means "tea" in Japanese. Th...

This side dish is very easy. The combination of soy sauce and mayonnaise is fantastic. Green beans which I used are actually from my garden. It’s good to eat this dish in summer...

This is one of the authentic street food and noodles in Japan. If you go to outdoor festivals in Japan, you would see a lot of vendors serve Yakisoba. Yakisoba is made by stir-f...

This dish is very common in Japan. Apparently, cabbage roll is originally from Western Asia. It spread out widely to Europe, Northern China, North Africa, in the United States,...

Japanese people cook and eat Tofu and Shiitake mushrooms a lot. Shiitake mushroom has very unique and strong taste and smell. But the combination of Tofu and Shiitake is very go...

This dish is very simple and easy. All you need to do is just preparing, marinating the chicken drumsticks, and putting them into an oven. This dish has a very juicy texture and...

I asked my husband which Japanese dishes he likes the most. Here are his favorite dishes so far. I hope it will help you to determine which Japanese dishes to try cooking first...

Hi everyone, I’m Mayuko. I moved from Japan to the United States a few years ago. When I worked in Japan and the United States, I didn’t have much time and energy to cook after...

Loco moco is a famous comfort food in Hawaii. It consists of white rice topped with a hamburger (I used the leftover Japanese hamburg), a sunny side up egg (a fried egg), and br...

Niku means meat, "jaga-imo" means potatoes in Japanese. This dish is one of the most popular comfort food in Japan. Ingredients can be different for each region and family. My m...

Gratin is originally from France. But this dish is very popular in Japan. It looks like a casserole in the United States. This dish has very rich creamy flavor. It’s great to se...

Matcha is a type of green tea ground into a green powder. It is a very famous tea in Japan. This dessert is easy to make and good to eat especially in summer. Matcha mousse has...

Tara means a cod in Japanese. The cod is one of the popular white fishes in Japan. You can cook the cod in many ways such as steaming, grilling, putting in a hot pot, and deep-f...

Oyako literally means parents and a child. This dish also represents chickens (parents) and an egg (a child). Don means a bowl of rice. This dish is very common in Japan. Family...

Hosomaki means a thin roll in Japanese. This dish is one of the varieties of sushi in Japan. The common ingredients for inside the rolls in Japan are salmon, cucumber, fresh tun...

This is also one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Japanese people eat this dish a lot especially in winter. Ingredients are similar to curry rice, however cream stew sauce i...

This dish is super easy, and it takes only 5 minutes to cook. It’s good as a breakfast for busy people. It’s very common for Japanese people to put a tomato ketchup on top of th...

Udon noodles can be cooked in different ways. Yaki in this dish means “stir-fry” in Japanese. I will introduce stir-fried Udon noodles for your variety of dishes. This dish is e...

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish which is made by salted and fermented vegetables such as Napa cabbage and radish. But it is very popular in Japan. It has spicy and sour flav...

Buta means pig in Japanese. Don means a bowl of rice. This dish gives you a lot of energy. It has a tender texture and a sweet soy sauce flavor. Teriyaki is a cooking technique...

This dish is very popular for children in Japan. It tastes similar to meatloaf. I noticed that “Hamburg” in Japanese is called “Hamburger” in the United States. For Japanese peo...

Pan cake sounds sweet however, Japanese savory pan cake is not that sweet and not like a western style pan cake. This dish contains vegetables and meat. You can add cheese, rice...

Shrimp is very popular in Japan. Japanese people cook shrimp in almost every way such as boiling, stir frying, and deep frying. I would like to introduce super easy shrimp pasta...

This is one of my favorite fusion food in Japan. German potatoes are very famous in Japan. I would like to introduce the German potato with the basil pesto sauce. The combinatio...

Don (Donburi) means a bowl of rice topped with a variety of meat, fish, egg, and vegetables. Fresh salmon is one of the most popular toppings for donburi. However, I found that...

Originally, this dish is from China, but it is also a popular dish in Japan. The Japanese version can be mild and not so spicy compared to the Chinese one. The more you eat Mabo...

This dish is very common in Japan. The combination of asparagus and bacon is fantastic. My mom made it when I was a child. It’s good for a lunch box menu! Ingredients (For 3 pla...

One of the famous noodles in Japan. There are a lot of Udon restaurants near train stations in Japan. It is very easy to cook and the soup has thick flavor. I normally cook it f...

This is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Almost all Japanese people know about it. Basically, it is a half rice and a half curry in one plate. It is very different from...