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Food display outside izakaya restaurant
Chef serving Japanese fast food
Some highlights of Japanese cuisine
Rice
The staple of every Japanese meal. Steamed
gohan (cooked rice) is served as a side dish to
traditional breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and
no meal is complete without it.
Miso soup
Another staple accompaniment to most meals,
misoshiru is a light soup made from miso
(soybean) paste, often served with tofu and
spring onions. Miso soup is slurped from the
bowl, using chopsticks rather than a spoon.
Noodles
Udon and soba are two of the main types of
noodle found in the Japanese diet. Udon are
thick wheat noodles usually served in a broth
with tempura or vegetables or as an
accompaniment to meat and fish main dishes.
Soba noodles are thinner but are served in the
same way. A popular way to eat either udon or
soba is zaru, meaning basket, where the noodles
are served chilled on a wicker basket with a
topping of soy sauce, grated ginger, wasabi paste
(a type of fiery green horseradish), shredded nori
seaweed and spring onions.
Sushi and Sashimi
Sushi comes in several forms, of which
nigiri-zushi (a slice of raw fish placed on top of
a ball of vinegared rice), maki-zushi (a sushi roll
wrapped in seaweed) and inari-zushi (rice in a
pocket of sweet, fried tofu) are the most
common. Some variations involve cooked fish,
such as eel and prawn. The most common and
cheapest way of eating sushi is by finding a
kaiten-zushi bar. Here you sit at the counter and
chose your dishes from the revolving conveyor
belt – prices are indicated by the colour of the
plate and range from around a £1 to over £5,
depending on the cut and grade of the fish.
You can also ask the chef to prepare a favourite
dish or, if you are not sure what to choose,
you can ask for a sushi moriawase (a mixed set).
Sashimi is simply raw fish served without rice
and is often used as an appetiser for main meals.
Both sushi and sashimi are served with shouyu
(soy sauce) for dipping, wasabi paste and slices
of pickled gari (ginger).
Tempura
Tempura is the general name for any vegetable,
portion of fish or prawn fried in a light, crispy
batter. Tempura is usually served in a
lacquerware box with dipping sauce and grated
daikon (white radish) or tempura salt, and
comes with rice and crunchy pickles.
Yakiniku
Yakiniku or ‘Korean barbeque’ as it is also known
is a sociable dining experience. Various cuts of
beef including rump, tongue, stomach and fillets
are dipped in a rich dark sauce and cooked at
your table (by you) on a small grill. Originating
in Korea, the meat dishes can be accompanied
by kimchi – spicy Korean pickles – and bibinba,
which is a tasty and healthy Korean rice dish
cooked quickly to lock in freshness, often served
in sizzling stone bowls so hot that they actually
cook the ingredients in front of you.
Ramen
Now a common feature on the Japanese
menu, ramen is Chinese in origin. There are
countless variations, especially regionally, but
the basic concept of ramen is a bowl of noodles
in a flavoured broth (most commonly miso
paste or soy sauce) topped with vegetables and
meat, usually pork. Ramen is best accompanied
by delicious gyoza – steamed or grilled
Chinese dumplings stuffed with vegetables
and pork or prawn.
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a quick lunch option cooked
on an iron plate, and is often called a Japanese
pancake. A variety of ingredients including
batter, cabbage, pork, prawns and egg are
squashed together to form a flat, filled patty and
then served with a rich sauce and mayonnaise.
Kaiseki
Perhaps the most elegant and esteemed meal in
Japan, kaiseki ryori originates from Kyoto and is
the original accompaniment to a tea ceremony.
It now consists of many light courses of a range
of delicacies, chosen for their seasonality and
freshness. Presentation is highly important when
serving kaiseki dishes. Prices range from a
reasonable £25-30 per person to in excess of
£200 a head, depending on the quality and size
of meal you choose.
Japanese pub
An izakaya is the Japanese version of a pub and
serves a wide selection of casual dining options,
both Japanese and western, along with lots of
beer and sake. Izakaya restaurants are great fun,
good value and easy to spot – outside, they will
often have red lanterns bearing the name of the
restaurant and extensive picture menus, and
there will be plenty of noise coming from within.
Okonomiyaki ‘pankakes’
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