Inarizushi (いなり寿司) or Inari Sushi is a popular type of sushi or rice ball. Seasoned sushi rice is stuffed into sweet-and-savory simmered Aburaage (fried tofu pouches). While inarizushi is technically sushi, it’s not typically found at upscale sushi restaurants. Instead, it’s readily available at supermarket delis and takeout sushi stores. Inarizushi is a casual, everyday sushi and makes a perfect picnic lunch because it’s designed to be eaten with your hands.
If you are a beginner for Japanese desserts and not so sure about jumping into sweet red bean paste concoctions, Green Tea Cookies might be the perfect place to start. Most people are familiar with western-style cookies, and this is certainly in the same family. It just has less butter and more flour (two different kinds, cake flour and cornstarch). Because of that, the texture of the cookies is more powdery, and the texture might be a little different from what you are used to. Also it’s not overly sweet. Nonetheless, it tastes good (and Japanese)!
Tempura is one of the most famous Japanese foods outside Japan. It is battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables. Tempura can be as formal as you want it to be at very expensive Tempura specialty restaurants in Japan, or casual home cooking. It is not that hard to fry Tempura, but you may need to practice a couple of times. However, it is worthwhile because freshly made Tempura is just so heavenly!
Chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し) is a Japanese hot appetizer. It is a type of egg custard, but not sweet. You might find it at sushi restaurants or a little more formal Japanese restaurants in Japan. “Chawan” means tea cup or rice bowl and “mushi” means steamed in Japanese, and it is indeed steamed food in a cup. Chawanmushi’s flavor comes mainly from Dashi, soy sauce and mirin, and even though Chawanmushi is a savory dish, the texture is similar to egg flan.
Gyudon is a popular Japanese rice bowl dish featuring thinly sliced beef and onion cooked in sweet and savory sauce which is piled on top of steamed rice. The rice absorbs all the flavorful sauce from the beef cooked in umami-rich dashi and soy sauce. It is a lunch time staple both at home and in restaurants in Japan.
Korokke are potato cakes coated with panko and deep fried. Korokke is a food people of all ages love in Japan. Well, who wouldn’t like deep fried mashed potatoes? It does not seem like a traditional style of Japanese food, but it in fact is since Korokke has been popular for 100 years. People in Japan may not have to make Korokke at home because they can find it anywhere, but we do when living outside Japan. It’s hard to get decent tasting Korokke here… Besides you can’t beat homemade Korokke anyway when it’s hot and crispy!
Shira-ae is a vegetable side dish mixed with mashed Tofu. It is a little different from regular salad since there is no dressing like oil and vinegar. Shira-ae is served chilled, so in a sense it’s like salad. Shira-ae is hard to get in ordinary Japanese restaurants in the US, but this is a kind of food we grow up with.
Takoyaki (たこ焼き) is a very casual fast food in Japan. It might not be easily found at Japanese restaurants in the US or other parts of the world even though it is a very popular dish. Takoyaki tastes a little bit like round-shaped Okonomiyaki, but it has a much different flavor from the tako (octopus) cooked inside.
Ozoni (お雑煮) is a special soup with Mochi (rice cake) in it that you eat in the morning on New Year’s Day in Japan. We decorate the house with Mochi to dedicate to the New Year, and eat it to celebrate and hope for a good year. We have a big meal called Osechi along with Ozoni, but we’ll talk about that some other time.
Mizutaki (水炊き) is a kind of hot pot dish (called Nabemono or simply Nabe) in which fish or other kinds of meat and vegetables are cooked in unseasoned fish broth and dipped in tangy Ponzu sauce. It is cooked in a ceramic pot called Donabe, right at the dinner table using a portable gas stove and we eat it as we cook. It is somewhat similar to Sukiyaki. But Mizutaki is an even more perfect food for cold weather.