JAPANESE FOOD DISHES

10 Japanese Food Dishes You Must Try

1. Ramen

You will find Ramen (ラーメン) basically all over Japan, on almost every street corner. It is a wheat noodle soup dish that was originally imported from China. It is one of the most popular and inexpensive dishes in Japan. Ramen restaurants, or ramen-ya, can be found everywhere in Japan, and they serve countless regional variations of this common noodle dish. 

Shoyu Ramen is the most common type of Ramen. This is usually what is served when the menu does not specify a specific type of soup. Shoyu Ramen is clear, brown broth flavored noodle soup with soy sauce (shoyu).

The soup is usually made of chicken broth but often contains other meats such as pork, beef or fish depending on the region. It usually also contain hard-boiled egg and different vegetables, such as onion, mushrooms, bean sprouts, seaweed and corn.

Ramen are eaten with chopsticks, and as the noodles get soggy pretty quickly you should eat them immediately after they are served. As with other noodle dishes in Japan, a slurping sound is made when eating ramen. You can actually find Ramen restaurants by it`s sound. The slurping has several purposes however, as it enhances the flavors and helps cool down the boiling hot noodles as they enter your mouth. So remember to slurp as much as you possibly can when eating Ramen, it is not considered impolite! 

Ramen is popular as a lunch dish, and is considered a fast-food. At some Ramen restaurants you choose what kind of Ramen you want from a vending machine, pay and get a ticket that you hand over to the chef. And voila you get your Ramen served at your table. Easypeacy! 

2. Okonomiyaki

Is it a pancake? Or is it a pizza? Hmm, Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is a real must when it comes to what Japanese food to try, as it is delicious! It is pan fried and consists of batter and cabbage. Different toppings and ingredients are added, anything from sliced meat and seafood to wasabi and cheese. This variability is what gave it it`s name “Okonomi”, which means “to one’s liking”.

You will find Okonomiyaki all over Japan in restaurants that specialize in the dish, but it is most popular in the west, particularly the cities of Hiroshima and Osaka which have their own variations. We had Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima and Kyoto, and they were very different. The Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki includes a layer of fried Soba noodles.

At some Okonomiyaki restaurants the dining tables are each equipped with an iron griddle (“teppan”), and customers are given the ingredients to cook the Okonomiyaki themselves.

3. Udon

Udon (うどん) are thick white noodles made of wheat flour. They are thicker than Soba and Ramen noodles, whiter and chewier. Udon is very popular and available at specialty Udon restaurants (Udon-Ya) all over Japan, which usually also serve Soba noodles. Udon are served both hot and cold, with or without soup, and sometimes with vegetables, egg and meat.

The same goes for Udon as for Ramen and Soba – making a slurping sound when eating Udon is mandatory! 

4. Sushi

Sushi (すし, 寿司, 鮨) is raw fish and seafood packed together with rice and vegetables into beautiful pieces. Each little piece is almost like an art!

Sushi dates all the way back to the 4th Century BC, as a way to preserve the fish (sprinkled with salt and encased in rice).

Tokyo has some of the best Sushi restaurants in the world. You will however not find fresher Sushi than from the Sushi shops found around the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo.

5. Yuba

Yuba is a popular traditional dish in the Nikko area (north of Tokyo). Yuba is the skin that forms when making tofu out of soy beans. It is cut into stripes and used in everything from Udon dishes to Sashimi to fried bean buns. To tell you the truth, it doesn`t taste very much! 

6. Soba

Soba (そば) are noodles made of buckwheat flour, which make them grey/brownish in color. They are a Tokyo`s favorite, and date back to the Edo period (1603-1868) when they became popular among Samurais.

Soba noodles are roughly as thick as spaghetti and prepared in various hot and cold dishes with and without soup. They can be served with vegetables, tempura, raw egg and meat. Soba dishes are very popular and easy to find across Japan. Since 100% buckwheat Soba noodles tend to be brittle, many restaurants add some wheat flour when preparing their noodles.

Soba dishes comes in many different variations, but the most basic Soba dish is Mori Soba in which boiled, cold Soba noodles are eaten with a soya based dipping sauce (Tsuyu). You can also have green Soba, which is Green Tea Soba (Matcha Soba), where buckwheat flour are mixed with green tea powder.

Most of the Soba dishes are eaten throughout the year, but some are only available seasonally. A special kind of Soba dish is Toshikoshi Soba, a symbol of longevity, that is only eaten on New Year’s Eve.

Soba is served in special Soba and Udon restaurants, and also when eating Soba slurping is very normal and expected! 

7. Tempura

Japan can thank the Portuguese for Tempura (天ぷら or 天麩羅), as it was Jesuit missionaries in Nagaski who first introduced Japan to the art of batter frying in the 16th century. Tempura is chunks of seafood and vegetables dipped in a light batter and cooked in canola and sesame oil. The end result is far less stodgy than other deep-fried food that we have in the West. Tempura is normally eaten together with a bowl of rice.

8. Dumplings – Gyoza

Japan does not really have a “street-food” culture as other Asian countries like Thailand, but Gyoza or steamed Dumplings are the sort of food that you will find sold at street stalls around Japan and at train stations. It is originally Chinese, but has become very popular all over Japan. The dumplings have different kind of filling, like pork, beef, chicken, vegetables and beans.

9. Yakiniku

Yakiniku is the Japanese version of barbecue, which invites diners to cook slices of meat and vegetables on a plate or griddle in the middle of the table. Beef and offal are the most popular options at Yakiniku restaurants, but also pork, chicken and seafood are usually on the menu.

10. Japanese sweets

The Japanese are crazy about sweets and candy. They have some of the finest and most delicate candy and sweets, often with green tea flavor.

A typical green tea set is San-ten Nama Youkan & Macha Set. Youkan is a typical Japanese sweet made of jellied bean paste. They usually come in three different colors; brown is made of black soy beans, yellow/green is made of green soy beans while purple is made of purple sweet potato.

Japan sweets are really nice, cute and colourful, some of the most delicate sweets I have ever seen. Each piece looks like a piece of art. Japanese usually drink green tea together with sweets.Ice-cream is extremely popular in Japan, especially shaved ice (yep, normal frozen ice cubes that are shaved into small pieces) with different toppings.

The Japanese also make delicious small cakes, in different cute shapes like birds, leaves, trees and fish. One typical and popular cookie is Ningyo-yaki that you will see in all souvenir shops around Japan. Ningyo-yaki are made from fluffy batter filled with sweet bean paste, and they come in all different shapes from Hello Kitty to cute birds.