Recipes › Japanese

Japanese cuisine

Every Japanese dish we have, with the recipe for each — 100 of them, each one written for this site rather than adapted from anybody else's.

By protein

• Chicken (11)
• Pork (17)
• Beef (12)
• Duck (1)
• Lamb (1)
• Fish (46)
• Shellfish (14)
• Egg (38)
• Vegetarian (18)
• Vegetables (6)
• Desserts (15)
• Pastes, sauces and basics (10)

By region

• Asian recipes (968)

Every Japanese dish

• Agedashi dōfu, sourced from Japan. Tofu pressed, dusted in starch and fried, with the broth poured round it and never over it. Fish, Tofu.
• Ankimo, sourced from Japan. Liver de-veined, cured, rolled into a cylinder and steamed, then chilled before slicing. Fish.
• Anpan, sourced from Japan. A soft enriched bun round bean paste, with a cooked flour paste in the dough for softness. Egg, vegetarian.
• Buckwheat tea, sourced from Japan. Roasted groats brewed with genuinely boiling water, and then eaten as well as drunk. vegan.
• California roll, sourced from Japan. An inside-out roll built on cling film, with the rice outside and the nori hidden. Shellfish, Egg.
• Castella, sourced from Japan. A honey sponge with no butter and no raising agent, lowered in temperature as it bakes. Egg, vegetarian.
• Chawanmushi, sourced from Japan. A savoury custard steamed with the lid ajar, set just firm enough to hold a spoon's dent. Chicken, Fish, Shellfish, Egg.
• Chazuke, sourced from Japan. Hot tea or dashi poured over cold rice at the table, assembled and never cooked. Fish.
• Chikuzenni, sourced from Japan. Root vegetables fried in oil before any liquid, then simmered down until the pan is nearly dry. Chicken, Fish.
• Chirashizushi, sourced from Japan. Seasoned rice cooled with a fan while it is cut with vinegar, scattered rather than rolled. Fish, Shellfish, Egg.
• Chūkadon, sourced from Japan. A stir-fry thickened in its own wok liquid and tipped straight over rice. Pork, Shellfish.
• Curry bread, sourced from Japan. A proved bread roll filled with cold set curry, crumbed in panko and deep-fried. Egg.
• Daifuku, sourced from Japan. A soft rice dough made in a microwave in three bursts, wrapped round bean paste while hot. vegan.
• Dango, sourced from Japan. Two rice flours together, boiled then grilled, with a glaze thickened by starch. vegan.
• Dashi, sourced from Japan. A stock made in twenty minutes without boiling, where every temperature is deliberate. Fish.
• Dorayaki, sourced from Japan. Two pancakes browned evenly on one side only, rested so the batter goes glossy. Egg, vegetarian.
• Ebi chili, sourced from Japan. Prawns velveted in egg white and starch, in a sauce built on ketchup as much as chilli bean. Shellfish, Egg.
• Ebi furai, sourced from Japan. Prawns slit and stretched straight, crumbed with the tails left clean, and fried in two minutes. Shellfish, Egg.
• Green tea ice cream, sourced from Japan. A custard base with the matcha sifted and pasted, never spooned straight into liquid. Egg, vegetarian.
• Gyoza, sourced from Japan. Dumplings fried, steamed and fried again in one pan, with a lacy skirt made from a flour slurry. Pork.
• Gyūdon, sourced from Japan. Thin beef and onion simmered until the liquid almost goes, with no egg binding it. Beef, Fish.
• Hamburg steak, sourced from Japan. A patty bound with milk-soaked panko, thrown between the hands and dimpled before it cooks. Pork, Beef, Fish, Egg.
• Hayashi rice, sourced from Japan. A brown stew built on tomato and red wine with no spice at all, thickened by a dark roux. Beef, Fish.
• Hiyashi chūka, sourced from Japan. Noodles washed in iced water and dressed in a sharp cold sauce, with toppings in stripes. Pork, Fish, Egg.
• Horumonyaki, sourced from Japan. Offal boiled and scrubbed clean first, then grilled fat side down over a high heat. Beef.
• Hōtō, sourced from Japan. Unsalted flat noodles cooked in the miso broth itself, thickening it as they go. Pork, Fish.
• Imagawayaki, sourced from Japan. Two batter discs cooked in rings and pressed together round the filling while still wet. Egg, vegetarian.
• Inarizushi, sourced from Japan. Fried tofu pouches de-oiled, simmered sweet, squeezed out and filled with cold sushi rice. Fish.
• Japanese curry, sourced from Japan. A brown roux cooked twenty minutes and stirred in off the heat, mild and thick and faintly sweet. Beef.
• Japanese milk bread, sourced from Japan. A tall square loaf with a cooked flour paste in the dough, baked lidded for flat sides. Egg, vegetarian.
• Jingisukan, sourced from Japan. Lamb grilled on a domed pan with the vegetables in the trough catching everything that runs down. Lamb.
• Kabayaki, sourced from Japan. Steamed before it is grilled, then dipped and grilled three times to build the lacquer. Fish.
• Kaki furai, sourced from Japan. Shucked oysters dried hard, crumbed and fried fast so the inside stays liquid. Shellfish, Egg.
• Kakiage, sourced from Japan. A loose fritter of matchstick vegetables held by barely enough batter, slid in on a flat spoon. Shellfish, Egg.
• Kakigōri, sourced from Japan. Ice shaved into ribbons from a slow-frozen block, piled high and syruped in layers. vegetarian.
• Kakuni, sourced from Japan. Pork belly boiled twice before it is braised, so the braise itself stays clear and sweet. Pork, Egg.
• Kamameshi, sourced from Japan. Rice cooked in a small iron pot with a hard burst at the end to make a crust on the base. Chicken, Fish.
• Kamo nanban, sourced from Japan. Duck fat rendered into the broth and the leek charred in it, with the soba boiled apart. Duck, Fish.
• Karaage, sourced from Japan. Marinated thigh in potato starch, fried twice at two temperatures, with no batter at all. Chicken.
• Katsu curry, sourced from Japan. A plated dish about keeping the crust dry: sauce to one side, cutlet sliced at the last second. Pork.
• Katsu-sando, sourced from Japan. A cutlet between buttered crustless slices, pressed and rested before the crusts come off.
• Katsudon, sourced from Japan. A fried cutlet given ninety seconds in seasoned dashi, so one face stays crisp. Fish, Egg.
• Kelp tea, sourced from Japan. Powdered kelp dissolved in hot water rather than brewed, and drunk as a savoury cup. vegan.
• Kenchin-jiru, sourced from Japan. A clear vegetable soup where the tofu is crushed by hand and fried before any liquid. Fish, Tofu.
• Kinpira, sourced from Japan. Burdock cut in matchsticks, soaked to stop it browning, and fried before any liquid goes in. vegan.
• Kiritanpo, sourced from Japan. Half-pounded rice moulded round a skewer and grilled, then simmered in chicken broth. Chicken.
• Kushikatsu, sourced from Japan. Small pieces on skewers in a batter rather than egg wash, with one dip of the shared sauce. Pork, Shellfish, Egg.
• Makizushi, sourced from Japan. Rolled in a bamboo mat with a bare strip of nori at the far edge to seal it. Fish.
• Makunouchi, sourced from Japan. A packed box designed to be eaten cold, with everything cooled separately before it is filled. Fish, Egg.
• Manjū, sourced from Japan. A thin steamed skin round bean paste, with the dough mixed soft and left barely handled. vegan.
• Melonpan, sourced from Japan. A soft bun under a cookie lid scored in a grid, with the two doughs proved at different rates. Egg, vegetarian.
• Menchi katsu, sourced from Japan. A minced patty chilled hard before crumbing so it survives the oil, and fried from cold. Pork, Beef, Egg.
• Miso soup, sourced from Japan. Dashi with miso dissolved into it off the boil, because boiling miso is the one way to ruin it. Fish, Tofu.
• Mochi, sourced from Japan. Glutinous rice steamed whole and pounded until no grain is left, from one ingredient. vegan.
• Monjayaki, sourced from Japan. A deliberately runny batter cooked inside a ring of its own solids and eaten off the griddle. Fish, Shellfish.
• Motsunabe, sourced from Japan. Cleaned offal simmered in a garlic broth under a dome of cabbage and chives that is not stirred. Beef, Fish.
• Nanbanzuke, sourced from Japan. Fried fish put hot into cold marinade, so it drinks it instead of sitting in it. Fish.
• Naporitan, sourced from Japan. Spaghetti boiled soft, rested overnight if you can, and fried in ketchup.
• Nikujaga, sourced from Japan. A shallow simmer under a drop lid, where the liquid never covers what is cooking in it. Beef, Fish.
• Nikuman, sourced from Japan. A yeasted bun proved twice and steamed white, with the filling set firm by chilling. Pork.
• Oden, sourced from Japan. A long gentle simmer in an almost clear broth, with everything added at a different hour. Beef, Fish, Egg, Tofu.
• Okonomiyaki, sourced from Japan. A cabbage pancake bound by grated yam and dashi batter, pressed once and then never again. Pork, Fish, Egg.
• Omurice, sourced from Japan. Ketchup rice under an omelette taken off barely set, draped rather than wrapped. Chicken, Egg.
• Onigiri, sourced from Japan. Warm rice pressed into a triangle with wet salted hands, firm outside and loose inside. Fish, Egg.
• Onsen tamago, sourced from Japan. An egg held at 68C so the white stays loose and the yolk sets — the opposite of a soft-boiled egg. Fish, Egg.
• Oshiruko, sourced from Japan. A sweet bean soup with the sugar added only after the beans are soft, and grilled mochi in it. vegan.
• Oshizushi, sourced from Japan. Rice and fish pressed in a wooden box and cut into blocks with a wet blade. Fish.
• Oyakodon, sourced from Japan. Chicken simmered in seasoned dashi with the egg added in two stages and never set hard. Chicken, Fish, Egg.
• Rafute, sourced from Japan. Skin-on belly simmered in spirit and raw sugar until the skin itself is the thing you eat. Pork, Fish.
• Satsuma-age, sourced from Japan. Fish paste beaten until it turns sticky and pale, then fried twice at two temperatures. Fish, Egg.
• Sekihan, sourced from Japan. Glutinous rice steamed in the beans' own cooking water, aerated to keep the colour red. vegan.
• Sencha, sourced from Japan. Brewed well below boiling and poured out in rotation so every cup is the same strength. vegan.
• Shabu-shabu, sourced from Japan. A plain kombu broth meat is swished through for seconds, with two dipping sauces doing the work. Beef, Fish, Tofu.
• Soba, sourced from Japan. A buckwheat dough with no gluten of its own, hydrated in three pours and worked fast. vegan.
• Spam musubi, sourced from Japan. Glazed fried luncheon meat pressed onto rice in the tin it came out of. Pork.
• Suimono, sourced from Japan. A clear soup where the dashi is the dish and everything else is arranged, not simmered. Fish, Shellfish.
• Sukiyaki, sourced from Japan. Beef seared in beef fat then braised shallow in sweet soy, dipped in raw egg to eat. Beef, Fish, Egg, Tofu.
• Sushi Rice, sourced from Japan. Short-grain rice dressed while hot, where the dressing is cut through with a slicing motion and never stirred. vegan.
• Taiyaki, sourced from Japan. A thin batter in a hot fish mould, filled on a half-set base and closed before it rises. Egg, vegetarian.
• Takikomi gohan, sourced from Japan. An everyday pot of rice cooked in dashi, folded through at the end and never crusted. Chicken, Fish.
• Tamago kake gohan, sourced from Japan. A raw egg beaten into rice hot enough to thicken it but not to cook it. Egg, vegetarian.
• Tataki, sourced from Japan. Seared hard for seconds on every face and chilled at once, so the inside stays raw. Beef, Fish.
• Tekkadon, sourced from Japan. Raw tuna cut thick and laid on cooled sushi rice, with nothing cooked at the final step. Fish.
• Temaki, sourced from Japan. A cone rolled at the table by each diner, where the nori has to stay crisp until the last second. Fish, Shellfish.
• Tendon, sourced from Japan. Tempura fried separately and brushed with sauce, the one donburi that is never simmered. Fish, Shellfish, Egg.
• Tenshindon, sourced from Japan. A soft crab omelette laid over rice, with a sharp sauce made separately and poured on after. Shellfish, Egg.
• Teriyaki, sourced from Japan. A glaze reduced onto the meat in the pan, from four ingredients and no bottle. Chicken.
• Tokoroten, sourced from Japan. Seaweed boiled to a jelly, set, and pushed through a box to make noodles. vegan.
• Tonjiru, sourced from Japan. Pork and roots fried in sesame oil first, simmered long, with the miso still added off the heat. Pork, Fish.
• Tonkatsu, sourced from Japan. A thick cutlet crumbed in panko and fried once at a steady heat, rested and cut across. Pork, Egg.
• Tsukune, sourced from Japan. Chicken meatballs grilled dry first and glazed only at the end, with cartilage for texture. Chicken, Egg.
• Udon, sourced from Japan. A very stiff salted dough kneaded underfoot, rested twice and cut thick. vegan.
• Umeboshi, sourced from Japan. Unripe plums salted under a weight for a month, then dried in the sun for three days. vegan.
• Unadon, sourced from Japan. Grilled eel over rice in two layers, with the sauce split between the fish and the grain. Fish, Egg.
• Yaki udon, sourced from Japan. Thick udon fried in a soy and dashi seasoning rather than a sauce, and dried before it goes in. Pork, Fish.
• Yakisoba, sourced from Japan. Steamed wheat noodles loosened with water, not oil, and sauced only at the very end. Pork, Fish.
• Yakisoba-pan, sourced from Japan. Fried noodles in a split roll, assembled around keeping the bread dry. Fish, Egg.
• Yōkan, sourced from Japan. Bean paste set with agar and boiled hard after it dissolves, which gelatine cannot do. vegan.
• Zōni, sourced from Japan. A clear dashi broth with grilled mochi added at the last second so it does not dissolve. Chicken, Fish.
• Zōsui, sourced from Japan. Rice rinsed and simmered in broth until it thickens, the pot's last course rather than a soup. Fish, Egg.

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