WHAT IS THAT DISH?

Food Dictionary

Your essential guide to identifying and understanding Japanese food.

✨For the Bold

Ochazuke — rice with toppings, with hot green tea or dashi poured over.

Rice Soaked in Green Tea or Dashi Broth with Toppings

❤️ Kaa-chan's Pick

Chawanmushi — a silky steamed egg custard made with dashi. Savory, not sweet.

Silky Savory Steamed Egg Custard

Steamed & Simmered

✨For the Bold

Seiro Mushi — meat and vegetables steamed together in a bamboo basket.

せいろ蒸し

Vegetables Steamed in a Bamboo Basket with Dipping Sauce

Steamed & Simmered

Oyakodon — a rice bowl topped with chicken, onion, and egg simmered in a savory-sweet dashi broth.

Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl in Dashi Broth

✨For the Bold

Tonyu Nabe — a hot pot with a creamy soy milk broth.

Creamy Soy Milk Hot Pot with Pork and Vegetables

❤️ Kaa-chan's Pick

Tonjiru — a hearty miso soup packed with pork and root vegetables.

Hearty Miso Soup with Pork and Root Vegetables

✨For the Bold

Buta Kimchi Itame — pork and kimchi stir-fried together, spicy and satisfying.

豚キムチ炒め

Buta Kimchi Itame

Spicy Stir-Fried Pork and Kimchi

❤️ Kaa-chan's Pick

Buta no Shogayaki — sliced pork loin stir-fried in a ginger soy sauce, a Japanese everyday classic.

豚の生姜焼き

Buta no Shogayaki

Sizzling Ginger Pork Stir-Fry

❤️ Kaa-chan's Pick

Buta no Kakuni — pork belly slow-braised until meltingly tender in a sweet soy glaze.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Braised Pork Belly

Steamed & Simmered

✨For the Bold

Sake Mushi — clams steamed simply in Japanese sake.

酒蒸し（アサリ）

Sakamushi (Asari Clams)

Sake-Steamed Clams in Light Broth

Steamed & Simmered

✨For the Bold

Mozuku-su — thin seaweed tossed in sweet vinegar, light and refreshing.

Slippery Seaweed in Sweet Vinegar Dressing

✨For the Bold

Sunomono — cucumber and wakame in a sweet vinegar dressing, a refreshing side dish.

Japanese Vinegared Salad with Seafood or Vegetables

Subuta — sweet and sour pork with crispy fried pork pieces, green pepper, onion, and pineapple in a rich brown sauce

Sweet and Sour Pork with Vegetables

Shoyu Ramen — ramen in a clear soy sauce-based broth, topped with chashu pork and toppings.

醤油ラーメン

Classic Soy Sauce Broth Noodles

✨For the Bold

Satoimo no Nikkorogashi — taro root rolled and simmered in a sweet-savory glaze.

里芋の煮っころがし

Satoimo no Nikkorogashi

Soy-Glazed Taro in Sweet Glaze

Steamed & Simmered

✨For the Bold

Unaju — grilled eel glazed in a sweet soy sauce, placed over rice in a lacquer box.

うな重・うな丼

Grilled Eel over Rice with Sweet Soy Glaze

✨For the Bold

Kamameshi — rice cooked with toppings in a small iron pot, served directly in the pot.

Rice Cooked and Served in an Individual Iron Pot

✨For the Bold

Chanko Nabe — a hearty hot pot packed with chicken and vegetables, the sumo wrestler's meal.

ちゃんこ鍋

Hearty Sumo Wrestler's Protein-Packed Hot Pot

✨For the Bold

Kimchi Nabe — a hot pot with a spicy kimchi-based broth.

Spicy Kimchi Hot Pot with Pork and Tofu

❤️ Kaa-chan's Pick

Motsu Nabe — offal and garlic chives simmered in a punchy garlic broth, from Fukuoka.

Hakata-Style Offal Hot Pot with Garlic and Chives

❤️ Kaa-chan's Pick

Nabeyaki Udon — udon noodles simmered in a clay pot with shrimp tempura, egg, fish cake, mushrooms, and green vegetables in a rich dashi broth

鍋焼きうどん

Udon Noodles Simmered in a Hot Clay Pot

✨For the Bold

Nagaimo no Shoyu-zuke — crisp mountain yam marinated in soy sauce, served as a snack.

長芋の醤油漬け

Nagaimo no Shoyu-zuke

Crispy Japanese Mountain Yam Marinated in Soy Sauce

❤️ Kaa-chan's Pick

Ozoni — Japanese New Year's soup with mochi, narutomaki fish cake, chicken, komatsuna greens, and yuzu zest in a clear dashi broth, served in a lacquer bowl

New Year's Mochi Soup

Chinjao Rosu — stir-fried beef strips with green pepper and bamboo shoots in oyster sauce

Stir-Fried Beef and Green Pepper Strips

A bowl of freshly steamed Japanese rice with steam rising, served in a dark ceramic bowl

Steamed Japanese Rice, Japan's Everyday Staple

❤️ Kaa-chan's Pick

Gyoza — pan-fried Japanese dumplings with a crispy bottom and juicy pork and vegetable filling

Pan-Fried Pork and Vegetable Dumplings

Tai Meshi — whole sea bream cooked directly in a clay pot with seasoned rice, garnished with green onion and mitsuba

Rice Cooked with Sea Bream

Kamo Nanban Soba — soba noodles in a rich dashi broth topped with tender slices of duck meat, grilled leek, snow peas, and narutomaki

鴨南蛮そば（うどん）

Kamo Nanban Soba (or Udon)

Noodles with Duck and Green Onion

Tsukemen — ramen noodles dipped into a rich, concentrated broth with chashu and soft-boiled egg.

Thick Noodles with Intense Dipping Broth

Mabo Tofu — soft tofu in a rich, spicy red chili sauce with minced pork

Japanese-Style Spicy Tofu and Minced Pork