Best Traditional Japanese Foods and Dishes

03 JAN 2024

Credit: Google Images

Tempura is a dish of battered and fried fish, seafood, or vegetables. Special care is given to the way the ingredients are cut as well as to the temperature of the batter (ice cold) and oil (very hot) for deep-frying, so that every piece is a bite of crisply fried perfection. In the Kanto region around Tokyo, tempura is eaten with a dipping sauce, while in the Kansai region around Kyoto and Osaka it’s dipped in flavored salt.

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Tempura

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. 

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Yakitori

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, as well as fruits like ume plum. Tsukemono not only add visual appeal to a meal with their bright colors, they’re also an extremely healthy food.

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Tsukemono pickles

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.

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Kaiseki

Udon is a dense and chewy noodle made from wheat flour. It’s one of the most popular foods in Japan due to its delicious taste, inexpensive price point, and versatility – udon can be eaten hot or cold and customized with any number of toppings.

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Udon

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. 

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Soba

Sukiyaki is a one-pot dish of beef, vegetables, and tofu cooked with a sweet soy sauce broth in a shallow cast iron pot. It became highly popular after the centuries-long ban on eating meat was lifted during the Meiji period, and is the perfect way to enjoy Japan’s incredibly rich and tender wagyu beef.

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Sukiyaki

Centuries before Japanese people were eating sushi, they first enjoyed raw fish without the rice. While the name “sashimi” refers to any thinly sliced raw food, including raw beef (gyuu-sashi), chicken (tori-zashi), and even horse (basashi), fish and seafood are the most popular varieties.

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Sashimi

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. 

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Miso soup