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.
Sukiyaki is one of the most popular hot pot dishes in Japan. It has a sweet and salty flavor a little bit like teriyaki sauce, but with beef and vegetable in the mix, it has its own Sukiyaki taste people love so much. We usually cook Sukiyaki in a cast iron Sukiyaki pot at the dinner table using a portable gas stove and eat it as we cook. It is a perfect dinner for family or great food to enjoy with guests.
Dorayaki is one of the most popular Japanese confectioneries known as Wagashi. Anko (sweet red bean paste) is sandwiched between sweet and fluffy pancakes. It is a traditional Japanese sweet beloved by the old and young. In the Kansai region, Dorayaki is also called Mikasa, named after Mt. Mikasa in Nara Prefecture.
Anko, a sweet red bean paste, is an essential ingredient for Japanese traditional confectioneries, called Wagashi. It is a paste made with azuki red beans and sugar, and it’s used in many Japanese dishes and desserts such as pastries, cakes, mochi, and ice cream.
Nikujaga (肉じゃが) is a Japanese dish of stewed beef and potatoes in a savory sauce. The name comes from the Japanese words for meat (niku) and potatoes (jagaimo). It is one of the most beloved home-cooked dishes in modern Japanese cuisine.