Taste Japan
日本
Japanese cooking is less a single cuisine than a set of regional conversations: dashi-led simmering in the Kansai region, richer soy and wheat in the east, island pork in Okinawa, and a national talent for making rice feel like a complete meal. Home cooking (washoku) sits beside ramen shops, kissaten coffee, convenience-store egg sandwiches and late-night yakitori.
32 recipes · 1 cuisine
Essential dishes
Shoyu ramen
醤油ラーメン
A soy-sauce ramen you can make at home without pretending you run a 20-year tonkotsu shop.
2 hrA bit of workNo chilli
Onigiri
おにぎり
Salted rice you can hold — a filling in the middle, nori if you want it, and no, it is not a California roll.
15 minEasyNo chilli
Miso soup
味噌汁
The everyday bowl: dashi, dissolved miso, tofu and spring onion — breakfast, not a starter you ignore.
15 minVery easyNo chilli
Tamagoyaki
卵焼き
A rolled omelette, a little sweet, cooked in thin sheets — bento gold, not a French fold.
20 minMediumNo chilli
Yakitori
焼き鳥
Chicken on a stick, salted or lacquered in tare, cooked hot — a bar snack that is also dinner.
35 minEasyNo chilli
Oyakodon
親子丼
Chicken and egg on rice — the parent-and-child bowl, simmered in one pan until the egg is just set.
25 minEasyNo chilli
Okonomiyaki
お好み焼き
Osaka's cabbage pancake — flour, dashi, a pile of cabbage, and whatever you like, finished with sauce and mayo.
35 minMediumNo chilli
Katsu curry
カツカレー
A breaded cutlet on Japanese curry rice — the student special that became a national comfort plate.
1 hrMedium🌶️
Hiyayakko
冷奴
Cold tofu, summer logic — silken, chilled, and finished with ginger, spring onion and soy.
10 minVery easyNo chilli
Ochazuke
お茶漬け
Tea poured over leftover rice — a late bowl with pickles, nori and whatever is in the fridge.
7 minVery easyNo chilli
Gyoza
餃子
Pan-fried dumplings, crisp on the bottom, steamed under a lid — Japanese potstickers with a garlic-forward pork filling.
55 minMediumNo chilli
Gyudon
牛丼
Thin beef and onion simmered in a sweet-soy broth, slid over rice — the chain-restaurant bowl you can make better at home.
22 minEasyNo chilli
Omurice
オムライス
Ketchup fried rice wrapped in a thin omelette — Japanese home cooking that is unashamedly yōshoku.
30 minMediumNo chilli
Nikujaga
肉じゃが
Meat and potatoes simmered in soy and dashi until the house smells like someone is home.
45 minEasyNo chilli
Yakisoba
焼きそば
Wheat noodles tossed on a hot plate with cabbage, pork and a brown sauce — festival food you can make in a frying pan.
27 minEasyNo chilli
Zaru soba
ざるそば
Cold buckwheat noodles on a bamboo tray, dipped in a smoky-soy tsuyu — summer lunch that should taste of the grain.
18 minEasyNo chilli
Ebi tempura
海老天ぷら
Prawns in a cold, thin batter, fried so the shell is lace — tempura as a technique, not a thick breadcrumb.
35 minMediumNo chilli
Shogayaki
生姜焼き
Thin pork in a ginger-soy glaze — the teishoku plate that is weeknight dinner in a lot of Japanese houses.
20 minEasyNo chilli
Agedashi tofu
揚げ出し豆腐
Lightly fried tofu in a hot dashi-soy broth — crisp for a minute, then silky, which is the point.
25 minEasyNo chilli
Japanese curry rice
カレーライス
The everyday Japanese curry — mild, a little sweet, thick enough to catch on rice, no cutlet required.
55 minEasy🌶️
Tamago sando
たまごサンド
Japanese egg salad in soft white bread, crusts off — convenience-store perfection you can copy.
27 minVery easyNo chilli
Goma-ae
胡麻和え
Blanched spinach in a sweet sesame dressing — the banchan-shaped side that belongs next to rice.
13 minVery easyNo chilli
Kitsune udon
きつねうどん
Fat wheat noodles in a hot dashi broth with a sweet fried-tofu pillow — the fox's favourite bowl.
25 minEasyNo chilli
Chicken Karaage
Chicken Karaage from Japan. Times were inferred from the source steps.
1 hr 15 minMediumNo chilli
Japanese Katsudon
Japanese Katsudon from Japan. Times were inferred from the source steps.
13 minMediumNo chilli
Katsu Chicken curry
Katsu Chicken curry from Japan. Times were inferred from the source steps.
2 hr 17 minA bit of workNo chilli
Teriyaki Chicken Casserole
Teriyaki Chicken Casserole from Japan. Times were inferred from the source steps.
1 hr 35 minMediumNo chilli
Tonkatsu pork
Tonkatsu pork from Japan. Times were inferred from the source steps.
21 minMediumNo chilli
Yaki Udon
Boil some water in a large saucepan. Add 250ml cold water and the udon noodles. (As they are so thick, adding cold water helps them to cook a little bit slower so the middle cooks through). If using frozen or fresh noodl
28 minMedium🌶️
Honey Teriyaki Salmon
Honey Teriyaki Salmon from Japan. Times are typical for this kind of dish.
35 minEasyNo chilli
Sushi
Sushi from Japan. Times are typical for this kind of dish.
30 minA bit of workNo chilli
Japanese gohan rice
Japanese gohan rice from Japan. Times were inferred from the source steps.
40 minEasyNo chilli
Regional cuisines
Think you know Japan food?
30 quiz dishes. Optional — Passport stamps still come from cooking.
Take the Japan food quizFood history
Courtly kaiseki, Buddhist shojin ryori, Portuguese-influenced tempura, and Chinese noodle houses all left marks without erasing one another. After the 19th century, wheat, dairy and meat entered everyday cooking, producing katsu, curry rice and the neighbourhood ramen bowl. Contemporary Japanese food is traditional and wildly adaptive at the same time.