Teriyaki Salmon

Although there are many “Teriyaki Salmon” recipes available on the Internet, I noticed most of the recipes are quite different from how the Japanese make it at home.  Here are the main differences. No Teriyaki Sauce Bottle In Japan, we do not have bottled “teriyaki sauce” like the ones you can find in grocery stores here in the U.S.  We always...

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Soba noodles are available in Japanese food stores, whole food stores, and some supermarkets. You can add any vegetables to this dish that you enjoy or have on hand."         Ingredients: 1/2 cup sesame seeds ...

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Tokoroten

A firm clear noodle made with seaweed that's usually served cool in summer topped with ingredients such as soy sauce and nori. It's generally not sweet but is often considered a desser...

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Monjayaki

Tokyo's answer to the Okonomiyaki savory pancakes of Osaka and Hiroshima. The primary difference is that Monjayaki uses a more liquid dough resulting in a thinner and crispier pancak...

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Yakizakana

Yakizakana is a catch-all term for Japanese style grilled fish that's often served whole. Although Japan is best known for raw fish, Yakizakana is a far more common dish than sushi in the lives of most people in Japan. It's an extremely popular breakfast food and also makes regular appearances at lunch and dinner. Yakizakana can be a somewhat challenging dish...

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Kakuni

Kakuni is thick cut pork belly simmered in dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake. A specialty of Nagasaki but popular throughout Japan. Served with Karashi hot mustard on the side. ...

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Zosui

Zosui is sometimes referred to as Japanese risotto. It's a thick Japanese rice soup with vegetables, seafood or meat. Zosui is traditionally a way to use up leftover soup after a Japanese hot po...

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Kiritanpo

Kiritanpo are essentially a way to bbq rice. Rice is cooked, mashed and formed into cylinders at the ends of cooking sticks. This can be cooked over an open fire or bbq. Kiritanpo is a specialty of Akita Prefecture in northern Japa...

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Hosomaki

Hosomaki are thinly rolled sushi that usually have nori on the outside and a single ingredient on the insid...

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Yakisoba Pan

Japan has invented plenty of strange sandwiches. Perhaps the best example is Yakisoba-pan. It's essentially fried ramen-like noodles in bread often with beni shoga on top....

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Chikuwa

Chikuwa are fish sausages with a characteristic hole in the center. The word can be translated "bamboo ring" in reference to their shape. Ingredients include fish paste, salt, sugar, starch and MSG. Chikuwa are often deep fried as a snack or included in noodles or stews. They can also be grilled on a stick over an open fire or bb...

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Sasamaki

Makizushi (sushi rolls) wrapped in bamboo lea...

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Kamameshi

Kamameshi is a rice dish prepared in an iron pot with small amounts of meat, seafood and vegetables. It's typically flavored the usual suspects: soy sauce and mirin. Kamameshi is traditionally a communal food served at events. It's also prepared in times of crisis such as after an earthquake. Kamameshi is also available precooked from grocery stores and is...

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Shioyaki

Shioyaki is salted and grilled whole fish, usually sea bream....

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Shirasu

Baby Sardines served raw or cooked on rice or in sushi. A specialty of Enoshima Islan...

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Kenpi

Kenpi are strips of candied sweet potato that look something like french fries. They're hard and sugar...

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Nanbanzuke

Nanbanzuke can be translated "southern barbarian pickle." It's a dish of fried fish in a vinegar marinate. A wide variety of fish can be used in the dish including Japanese jack mackerel and Wakasagi smelt. Nanbanzuke was historically inspired by a Portuguese dish called Escabeche and was introduced through trading ports in Kyuushu. It's still considered...

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Kuromame

Kuromame are a dish of sweet black beans that are commonly found in bento. They are one of many foods that's considered lucky to eat at New Years. Traditional recipes for Kuromame include instructions to soak the beans with a few rusty nail...

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Ankimo

Monkfish liver steamed in salt and sake. Traditionally topped with grated daikon, negi and ponzu sauce....

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Imoni

Imoni is a thick potato and meat soup that's typically cooked over an open fire at autumn events and parties in northern regions of Japa...

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Tebasaki

Tebasaki are chicken wings that are deep fried without batter until crispy and seasoned with a spicy-sweet sauce. A specialty of Nagoya. ...

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Nasu Dengaku

Egg plant cut in half length wise and baked in miso paste. ...

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Kyoho

Kyoho are large blackish-purple Japanese grapes with a sweet, lush, pleasing taste. They are typically pealed before eating as they have a somewhat thick skin. At the height of their season, Kyoho can be as large as a plu...

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Motoyaki

Motoyaki is a dish of seafood in a oyster shell. It's topped with a mayonnaise sauce and bake...

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Inarizushi

An aburaage pocket filled with sushi rice. Named for the goddess Inari because her fox messengers like aburaag...

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Kamaboko

Loaves of Japanese fish sausage made from pureed white fish, often from unpopular types of fish. Kamaboko aren't nearly so bad as they sound and are a popular topping for noodle dishes. Although they look like a modern invention, they have been produced in Japan since the 14th centur...

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Katsuo Tataki

Tataki is a Japanese cooking method that sears meat or fish very briefly over a hot flame. The result is crispy on the outside and raw in the middle. The dish is then marinated in vinegar and thinly sliced. Katsuo Tataki is perhaps the best known tataki dish made with skipjack tun...

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Hijiki

Hijiki is a popular seaweed dish that's either good for your hair or poisonous, depending who you as...

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Tamago Kake Gohan

A simple breakfast of raw egg on rice. Traditionally eaten in difficult economic times, now it's usually enjoyed for its tast...

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Tofuyo

A fermented, aged tofu and delicacy of Okinawa with a pungent flavor similar to a strong aged cheese. Tofuyo is served in small portions and eaten with a dessert fork or a toothpic...

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Tsukemono

Tsukemono are vegetables pickled in vinegar, salt, miso, malted rice, sugar or sake. There are at least 50 types of tsukemono. They are typically served as a side dish or topping. For example, Beni Shoga is a topping for common dishes such as okonomiyaki, takoyaki and yakisob...

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Okinawa Soba

Okinawa Soba are thick wheat noodles in a broth of kombu, katsuobushi flakes and pork. Soba means buckwheat in Japanese but Okinawa Soba contains no buckwheat. The government tried to force Okinawa to drop the name on Okinawa Soba products after the reunification of Okinawa and Japan in the 1970s. Okinawa resisted and the government eventually backed down....

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Temaki

Temaki (literally: hand roll) are cone shaped sushi that are made by hand. It's common to make temaki at home because they are easy to make. Children can make the...

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Gomaae

A side dish made with vegetables, often spinach, and sesame dressing...

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Tororo

Tororo is grated Nagaimo, a type of yam. It that has a remarkably slimy texture and is served on rice or as a dip for noodles. ...

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Umeboshi

Umeboshi are pickled Japanese ume fruit that are known for their remarkably sour and salty taste. They are typically served with rice. For example, a hinomaru bento offers a single umeboshi in the center of white rice designed to look like the Japanese fla...

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Mentaiko

Mentaiko are the strong tasting raw roe of pollock or cod. They are served as a side dish with a good stiff drink. They are also a popular topping and ingredient in a wide array of dishes including Japanese spaghett...

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Gunkanmaki

Gunkanmaki (literally: gunship rolls) are a type of sushi. A hand formed oval of sushi rice is wrapped in nori to form a boat shape. The top of the boat is filled with soft ingredients such as fish roe. ...

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Oshizushi

Oshizushi is sushi that has been pressed in a wooden mold known as a oshibako. It's a specialty of Osaka. The most common type is Battera, pressed mackerel sush...

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Shogayaki

Shogayaki is thin-sliced ginger-fried pork. It's a basic Japanese dish that people cook at home. ...

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Kare Pan

Japanese curry wrapped in dough, breaded in panko and deep fried. The result is essentially a curry donu...

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Taiyaki

Taiyaki is a fish-shaped cake filled with anko, custard, cheese, or sweet potato. Another Japanese festival favorit...

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Yaki Onigiri

Onigiri rice balls grilled with soy sauce and butter until crunch...

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Ebi Furai

Prawns breaded in panko and deep fried. The term usually applies to reasonably large fried prawns that have a somewhat standardized size. Ebi Furai are a common bento item and are sold precooked at supermarkets and depachik...

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Chawanmushi

Chawanmushi can be translated "steamed in a tea bowl." It's a Japanese egg custard that's not sweet but instead has an umami flavor. Its ingredients read like a list of Japanese favorites: soy sauce, dashi, mirin and shiitake mushrooms. There's usually a single ginkgo seed near the bottom....

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Tonjiru

Tonjiru, literally: pork soup, is the most popular soup in Japan after miso soup. It's considerably heartier than miso. Tonjiru consists of pork, burdock root, konnyaku, onions, daikon, carrots, tofu, potatoes and mushrooms in a pork and dashi sou...

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Umibudo

Umibudo is a seaweed that resembles a string of green grapes. Each tiny ball of umibudo is filled with a salty liquid that's not sea water despite its light salt water taste. It's typically served marinated in a little vinegar and soy sauce. Umibudo is a well known specialty of Okinaw...

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Gyoza

A fried dumpling with a characteristic crimped edge filled with ground meat, spice and vegetables. Gyoza are the Japanese version of Chinese Jiaozi dumplings. They typically have a slightly thinner dough than the Chinese original....

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Ochazuke

A simple dish of green tea poured over cooked rice often with seafood such as salmon. Hot water or dashi can be used in place of tea. Common toppings include nori and sesame seeds. ...

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Ganmodoki

Ganmodoki is a fried tofu fritter made with egg whites and vegetables. It's said to taste like goose and its name can be translated "artificial goose...

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