23 Essential Japanese Recipes You’ll Want to Make on Repeat (2024)

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Michelle No

Michelle No

updated Nov 20, 2023

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23 Essential Japanese Recipes You’ll Want to Make on Repeat (1)

There’s no wonder why Japanese is one of the most beloved cuisines in the world. Besides being responsible for sushi, Japanese cuisine also commands a deep understanding of umami or deeply satisfying, savory flavor. What’s more, it’s a cuisine that’s full of simple, accessible recipes, going far beyond the expensive raw fish or days-long ramen recipes by which it can be commonly defined.

So whether you’re completely new to Japanese cuisine, or you just need a quick refresher, we’ve rounded up some of most popular yet classic recipes to help you get started. From a crispy tonkatsu recipe to comforting udon, these Japanese dishes (and a couple of Japanese-American iterations) will inspire your kitchen adventures ahead.

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Tonkotsu Ramen

Making a great bowl of ramen is 100% doable at home.

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Salmon Teriyaki

Roasted and broiled salmon is coated in an easy four-ingredient teriyaki sauce.

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Yakisoba

An endlessly flexible noodle dish, yakisoba adapts beautifully to any vegetables and thick cuts of meat you have on hand.

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Tamago Kake Gohan (Egg Over Rice)

This hot, savory breakfast of rice, egg, soy sauce, mirin, and hondashi is super simple to make, yet offers a really comforting and nutritious start to the day.

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Japanese Pancakes

A step-by-step guide to making fluffy, soufflé-like Japanese pancakes at home.

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Katsu Sando

Crispy pork cutlet, kewpie mayonnaise, and thinly shredded cabbage sandwiched between slices of plush milk bread.

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Tonkatsu Sauce

A dark-brown sauce that’s served alongside tonkatsu (crispy deep-fried pork cutlet). It’s a beloved condiment in Japanese home cooking for a reason.

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Shoyu Ramen

With tender pork, jammy eggs, chewy noodles, and extra-flavorful broth, everyone will ask when you’re making this again.

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Tsukune

A popular street food found in Japan, tsukune are chicken meatballs that are threaded on skewers, grilled, and brushed with a sweet and salty syrup-like sauce.

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Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelet)

This slightly sweet Japanese rolled omelet is the perfect side for rice.

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Japanese Milk Bread

Soft and fluffy Japanese milk bread is the perfect everyday sandwich loaf, and it's surprisingly simple to make.

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Chili Crisp Mazemen

This saucy, highly slurpable Japanese noodle dish is all about the kaleidoscope of toppings.

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Miso Soup

Your favorite pre-sushi soup is actually one of the easiest recipes to make from scratch at home, and only requires a handful of ingredients. One of them is dashi — a very simple broth made from kombu (a dried seaweed) and dried bonito fish flakes.

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Hiyashi Chuka (Cold Noodle Salad)

Not only is the Japanese chilled noodle salad absolutely refreshing, it also features the sweetest, crispest vegetables: tomatoes, corn, cucumbers. Plus a light and tangy sauce that takes no time to whip up.

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Paitan-Style Ramen

Paitan ramen is one of the coziest types of ramen because of its thick and creamy broth.

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Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

Rice, steamed broccoli, and carrots turn sweet and savory teriyaki chicken into a complete meal.

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Stovetop Japanese Rice

Short-grain Japanese rice is quite different from long-grain basmati or jasmine rice, so achieving the right texture — glossy and tender but not sticky — calls for a particular cooking method.

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Salmon and Black Sesame Onigiri (Rice Balls)

These rice balls are a perfect answer to the mid-afternoon homemade snack craving. Fair warning that they’ll harden and lose their freshness in the fridge, so they’re best eaten as soon as they’re packed. If you’d like to make them ahead, you can also store the rice mix in an airtight container and wrap them when you’re ready to eat.

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Udon Noodle Soup with Bok Choy and Poached Egg

Cook bok choy and noodles in some chicken broth and you can have a very satisfying bowl of soup within 15 minutes of walking in the door.

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Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)

This simple Japanese meal consists of chicken and egg cooked in an umami-rich sauce served atop freshly cooked rice.

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Teriyaki Sauce

Teriyaki sauce can be drizzled over meats and veggies or served on the side as a dipping sauce.

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Dashi Broth

Dashi is an incredibly simple broth, and it forms one of the culinary cornerstones of Japanese cooking. It’s made in about 10 minutes with just three ingredients: water, kombu (dried kelp), and bonito fish flakes. The resulting clear broth tastes like the essence of the sea.

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Mochi Ice Cream

These small Japanese-American frozen confections combine two components – a ball of cool, creamy ice cream and a soft, chewy shell made from glutinous rice flour – into the perfect bite.

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23 Essential Japanese Recipes You’ll Want to Make on Repeat (2024)

FAQs

23 Essential Japanese Recipes You’ll Want to Make on Repeat? ›

In addition to rice, every Japanese meal includes soup. It's almost always served hot. A miso-based soup (miso shiru) is the most common, and the ingredients are only limited by the chef's creativity. Dashi-based soup (sumashi jiru) is also popular and can include numerous vegetable, protein, and seafood combinations.

What 2 foods are served at every meal in Japan? ›

In addition to rice, every Japanese meal includes soup. It's almost always served hot. A miso-based soup (miso shiru) is the most common, and the ingredients are only limited by the chef's creativity. Dashi-based soup (sumashi jiru) is also popular and can include numerous vegetable, protein, and seafood combinations.

What is Japanese comfort food? ›

Another favorite is tonkatsu, a breaded and fried pork cutlet that is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Other traditional comfort foods worth trying include okonomiyaki, a savory pancake filled with various ingredients, and onigiri, a rice ball stuffed with tasty fillings.

What is an important component of every meal in Japan? ›

Rice plays a central and essential role in Japanese meals. It is considered the staple food of the Japanese diet and is consumed with almost every meal. Japanese cuisine places great importance on rice, both as a source of sustenance and as a cultural symbol.

What is Japan's number 1 food? ›

Japan's most internationally famous dish, sushi is also internationally misunderstood. Most people are mistaken in believing that sushi is simply raw fish. Rather, good sushi is a vigilant combination of vinegared rice, raw fish and vegetables and comes in many different forms.

What is the most eaten meal in Japan? ›

Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes inside Japan, as well.

What food Japanese eat daily? ›

The most common are edamame, tofu, miso, soy sauce, tamari, and natto. Fruit and vegetables. Usually, fruits are eaten raw or pickled while vegetables are steamed, sautéed, pickled, simmered in broth, or added to soups. Seaweed.

What do Japanese eat daily? ›

What is the traditional Japanese diet? The traditional Japanese diet is largely fresh and unprocessed, with very few refined ingredients and sugar. In fact, it isn't that dissimilar to a traditional Chinese diet, with staples including rice, cooked and pickled vegetables, fish and meat.

What do Japanese eat when they're sick? ›

Japanese sick food
  • Okayu (Japanese congee) ...
  • Ginger Honey Okayu (Japanese Rice Porridge) - La Fuji Mama. ...
  • Japanese Chicken Rice Porridge (鶏肉お粥 - Toriniku Okayu) Recipe on Food52. ...
  • Gluten Free Japanese Curry. ...
  • Etiquette and table manners when eating Japanese food. ...
  • Yaki Onigiri Chazuke (Grilled Rice Ball Soup) 焼きおにぎり茶漬け

What food do Japanese love? ›

Popular Japanese Meals

When going out to eat at Japanese restaurants, people are extremely likely to order skewers of yakitori, platters of sushi or sashimi, deep fried tonkatsu, and bowls of ramen, soba or udon noodles. These can all be quick and casual meals but also allow for a sit down dinner.

What is a Japanese comfort woman? ›

Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese ianfu (慰安婦), which literally means "comforting, consoling woman".

What do Japanese eat with rice? ›

Rice in a Traditional Japanese Meal

A standard traditional meal in Japan is often referred to as "ichi-juu san-sai", or "one soup, three sides". This describes a meal that includes a bowl of rice, a soup, and three side dishes which could consist of a protein like fish or tofu, a salad, and so on.

What do Japanese eat for breakfast? ›

However, certain elements are commonly found in a typical Japanese breakfast. These include steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, pickles, natto (fermented soybeans), tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), nori (seaweed), and a variety of side dishes such as vegetables, tofu, or salad.

Do they eat salad in Japan? ›

Japan's varied climate with its four distinct seasons allows for a wide range of seasonal vegetables that are used in an extensive variety of appetizing salads and side dishes - here's a selection of some of the most popular.

What food is eaten every day in Japan? ›

The diet is rich in steamed rice, noodles, fish, tofu, natto, seaweed, and fresh, cooked, or pickled fruits and vegetables but low in added sugars and fats. It may also contain some eggs, dairy, or meat, although these typically make up a small part of the diet.

What are 2 Japanese eating customs? ›

Typically the Japanese eat at low dining tables and sit on a cushion placed on tatami floor (a reed-like mat). In formal situations both men and women kneel (“seiza”), while in casual situations the men sit cross-legged and women sit with both legs to one side.

What do Japanese eat every day? ›

typical meal consists of rice(main) or noodle, miso soup(main) or other, fish(main) or meat(pork and chicken is main), and some side dish. natto fermented soybean, nori seaweed and pickled vegetables. mugicha toasted barley tea is our mainstay beverage, and dessert is the seasonal fruit.

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