Best Foods to Eat in Japan

Yummy! Japan is a country that leaves that particular expression on people after they taste its food. Japan has a rich assortment of various foods that will leave you amazed and wanting to visit the country. In this article today, I will be telling you about the best foods to eat in Japan and, boy oh boy, you will love these foods

They are:

Sushi

Sushi is one of the first foods that spring to mind when we think about Japanese cuisine. This delicacy was one of the first Japanese dishes exported to the US after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, and since then its popularity has steadily increased year after year. The word ‘sushi’ refers to any dish made with Japanese rice that has been seasoned with rice vinegar. Common varieties of sushi include makizushi (sushi rice and fillings rolled up in nori seaweed), nigiri sushi (shaped, bite-size mounds of sushi rice with single slices of raw fish or similar draped over the top) and inarizushi (sushi rice stuffed inside pockets of inari; a type of seasoned, fried tofu). The dish is no doubt very popular and well known; it is also one of the best foods to eat in Japan.

Ramen

Ramen is one of the most popular options at the moment when choosing something to eat in Japan and is one of the best foods to eat in Japan. It is a bowl of wheat noodles served in a soy sauce or miso soup mixed with many kinds of ingredients. The most typical ingredients are slices of pork, green onions, seaweed and egg. I can´t compare the flavour of this dish with anything else I have tasted before. The most important part of this dish is the soup. It has the tastiest flavour and can range from soft to strong depending on where you order it. The way the pork is cooked makes it so soft that sometimes it breaks into pieces as soon as you catch it with your chopsticks. With one order of ramen and a side dish of rice, you can be sure that you will be satisfied when you finish your meal… if you can!

Tempura

Tempura is a Japanese fried dish made mostly from seafood and vegetables. It is seasoned with a sauce made with soy sauce, ginger and sugar. Tempura can be made using almost any and every vegetable. The size of the piece has to be able to be eaten in one bite and despite being deep-fried; Tempura does not have an oily texture. Tempura is usually served with Tetsuyu sauce that is a mix of consommé, sweet sake, soy sauce, ginger, radish and spices, which really brings out the dish’s popularity as one of the best foods to eat in Japan.

Udon

One of the three main noodle varieties eaten in Japan and one of the best foods to eat in Japan; udon noodles are thick, chewy, and traditionally made from wheat flour and brine water. Udon can be served in a number of different ways (mixed into stir-fries, added to hot pots, served cold with a tsuyu or tentsuyu soup base on the side for dipping), but are most commonly used in noodle soups, where they are served in a savoury soup broth with different garnishes. Some of the most common udon noodle soup dishes include kitsune udon (‘fox udon’, topped with aburaage fried tofu), tempura udon (topped with tempura battered seafood and vegetables), and chikara udon (‘power udon’, topped with grilled mochi rice cakes).

Kare-Raisu

This is a very popular, simple and delicious dish in Japan, Kare-Raisu is just rice with curry but the taste is certainly different from any other curry dishes. To make Japanese curry, you can use a variety of meats and vegetables. The basic vegetables are onions, carrots and sweet potatoes, and the meats used are chicken, pork, beef and sometimes duck. There are different levels of spiciness for curry: mild, regular and hot are the most common.

Tofu

Although tofu is mainly thought as a health food in Western countries or a vegetarian alternative, in Southeast Asian countries like Japan, tofu (particularly silken tofu) is enjoyed by everybody and is a common part of the traditional diet. Tofu is soymilk that has been coagulated, with the resulting curds being pressed into blocks. These blocks come in differing levels of firmness and can be eaten uncooked (perhaps with a couple of savoury garnishes), boiled in hot pots, or fried into tasty pieces of aburaage and used as a garnish. Tofu is no doubt one of the best foods to eat in Japan.

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is similar to a pancake with the way it is pressed on a griddle but the ingredients are much more diverse and it is usually considered a savoury dish. It is typically made with flour, yam and egg, but you can add almost anything you like. The most common additions are green onions, beef, shrimp, squid, vegetables, mochi and cheese. In some restaurants, the experience is more interactive because the chef goes to the table and makes it on a griddle while the customers help the chef by adding other ingredients.

Donburi

This rice bowl dish is almost as popular as ramen in Japan and a common lunchtime choice among busy Japanese workers. Donburi is made by preparing (normally by simmering or frying) various meats, fish and vegetables and serving over steamed rice in large bowls.

While donburi can be made using just about any assortment of ingredients, the most common types include oyakodon (simmered chicken, egg, and green onion), gyudon (sliced beef and onion simmered in a soy sauce soup base), tendon (fried tempura pieces drizzled in tsuyu), and katsudon (breaded and deep-fried pork cutlets, or tonkatsu, simmered in tsuyu with onion and egg).

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Written By: William Nwokoji

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