Food in Japan

Korean barbecue is a cooking style in which fresh, seasoned ingredients such as thinly sliced beef and vegetables are grilled over a charcoal or gas burner and eaten with a dipping sauce.

Have you ever been so hungry that you could eat a horse? Well, you can in Japan where horse meat is a delicacy usually served up raw in thin sashimi slices called “basashi”.

Taiyaki is a waffle-like cake molded into the shape of a fish. It is traditionally filled with a red bean paste made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, cream or chocolate.

Shabu-shabu, meaning “swish swish”, is prepared by submerging thinly sliced beef and vegetables in a pot of boiling water and swishing it back and forth until cooked.

Chankonabe is the staple dish of sumo wrestlers. It is a nutritious Japanese hot pot, not usually cooked to a fixed recipe, in a protein-rich simmering stew of meat, fish and vegetables.

Sukiyaki is a hot pot of thinly sliced beef and vegetables simmered in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Sukiyaki is usually dipped into a lightly beaten raw egg before eating.

Miso ramen is a Japanese noodle dish that is a regional specialty of Hokkaidō. It is wheat noodles served in a broth flavored with miso and garnished with small pieces of meat and vegetables.

Furikake is a dry Japanese condiment usually sprinkled on rice or onigiri. Often brightly colored and flaky, it typically consists of dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar and salt.

Soup curry, popular in Hokkaidō, is a watery, broth-like curry sauce served with chunky ingredients such as a chicken leg and coarsely-cut vegetables.

Inago meaning “grasshopper” are rice field insects popular in rural Japanese communities. Marinated in sweetened soy sauce these edible locusts are apparently good sources of carbohydrates and proteins.

Kaley names the top 5 Japanese foods that she most looks forward to eating once she gets to Japan. The “Yaki” brothers rate highly on her list: Yakisoba, Yakiniku, Yakitori, Okonomiyaki.

Koume-chan is a brand character used for Lotte’s ume-flavored candies. Lotte also has limited-release, seasonal variations of the Koume candy line each with their own mascot character.

Chip!Chop are triangle-shaped crispy chips produced by the Japanese confectionery company, Meiji. The latest flavour is “Salty Caramel” which has a thin layer of caramel nestled in the middle of each chip.

Mentaiko is the marinated roe of a fish called suketōdara or Alaska pollock, spiced with powdered red pepper. Cheeserland vlogs the story of how her love affair with this spicy Japanese ingredient began.

Kaiten-zushi, also known as conveyor belt sushi, sushi-go-round or sushi train, is a sushi restaurant where plates of freshly made sushi are served on a conveyor belt that winds through the restaurant.

Aka Kabocha is an heirloom vegetable that is cultivated in Utsugi-machi, Kanazawa. It is a variety of kabocha squash with especially rich, sweet flesh and vivid red-orange skin.

Hyper Japan is a celebration of Japanese food, arts, anime, business, comedy and gadgets. Emily, the official Food and Drink photographer for this year’s event, presents her most delicious and tasty photos.

The Hyper Japan festival of food continues with Haikugirl’s photo coverage of the Eat-Japan Food Court serving up a wide range of Japanese cuisine, from sushi to curry to sweets and snacks.

Fake food samples appear in the windows and display cases of food-serving establishments throughout Japan with the handmade plastic models carefully sculpted to look like the actual dishes.

The Diamond Dining group operates an Alice in Wonderland themed fantasy restaurant in Ginza called “Alice in a Labyrinth” with a gothic lolita touch.

Tucked away in the foothills of Mount Takao is the Ukai Toriyama restaurant. Offering a private dining experience in a traditional setting, it is renowned for it’s chicken or beef barbecue grill.

Miso, a Japanese culinary staple, is a savory, high-protein, cultured seasoning made from grain (usually rice or barley), salt, water and fermented soybeans.

Yakisoba is Japanese fried noodles and is a popular dish at Japanese festivals. It is ramen-style noodles stir-fried with pieces of pork and vegetables and flavoured with yakisoba sauce.

Andrea describes some niche Japanese foods that she originally hesitated at, but after first taste, they had won her over. They are Konnyaku, Somen, Mountain Yam and Soba.

Nestlé has Kit Kat flavours in Japan that reflect food specialities of specific districts. Each flavour is sold exclusively in the region for which it was created, making the limited edition Kit Kats popular souvenirs.

Nagashi Sōmen (“flowing noodles”) is a festive way to eat sōmen noodles. It is a sea of noodles carried in ice-cold water flowing down a long flume of bamboo for diners to pluck out with their chopsticks.

Kushikatsu is a deep-fried cutlet of meat or vegetable skewered on bamboo skewers and eaten with a tonkatsu dipping sauce. Kushi refers to the skewers used while katsu means a deep-fried cutlet of meat.

Nattō is a powerful smelling, strong flavoured, sticky web of fermented soybeans that is highly nutritious, rich in protein and typically served with a Japanese breakfast over rice.

Since its return to the Japanese market in 2007, Burger King has opened over 30 stores across the Kanto region, but only recently did the chain open it’s first store in the Kansai area.

Makizushi is vinegar-flavored cold cooked rice formed into a long seaweed-wrapped roll around strips of vegetable or raw fish and sliced into bite-size pieces.