Japan

A Japanese savory steamed egg custard made by setting a precisely proportioned dashi-and-egg mixture at low, controlled heat to achieve a silky, barely-trembling texture, served hot in a lidded ceramic cup with traditional garnishes of shrimp, ginkgo nut, and mitsuba.

A Japanese comfort dish of thick, mildly sweet, roux-thickened curry sauce — built on a triad of onion, carrot, and potato — ladled over steamed short-grain white rice.

Young soybeans harvested while still in their fibrous green pods, briefly boiled or steamed in lightly salted water and served as a hand-held shareable snack.

Japanese pan-fried crescent dumplings of thin wheat-flour skin enclosing a seasoned pork-and-garlic-chive filling, cooked by a two-stage steam-fry that yields one crackling crust and one tender, translucent face.

A traditional Japanese multi-course tasting menu that expresses the season through a precise progression of small, carefully composed dishes.

Bite-sized pieces of chicken thigh marinated in soy sauce, sake, and fresh ginger, dredged in potato starch, and deep-fried twice to a paper-thin, shattering crust over a juicy interior.

A Japanese rice bowl (donburi) topped with a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet that has been simmered with onion in a sweet-savory dashi sauce and bound with beaten egg.

A Japanese soup of dashi broth with dissolved fermented soybean paste (miso), typically containing tofu, wakame seaweed, and seasonally appropriate vegetables or garnishes.

A Japanese cake of glutinous rice pounded into a smooth, sticky, elastic mass, eaten plain, grilled, or filled with sweet bean paste.

Whole soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis var. natto, producing a pungent, sticky mass of beans bound by glutinous poly-glutamic acid threads, eaten primarily over rice.

A Japanese savory pancake of wheat-flour batter bound with large amounts of shredded cabbage, griddle-cooked with pork or seafood and finished with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and aonori.

A hand-formed Japanese rice piece—most commonly triangular—made from salted short-grain white rice pressed by moistened hands into a cohesive shape, optionally enclosing a savory or pickled filling, and partially or fully wrapped in dried nori.

A whole egg cooked slowly at a low, constant temperature so the white is just barely set and the yolk is thick and custard-soft, served in seasoned dashi.

A Japanese donburi in which bite-sized chicken and beaten egg are simmered together in a sweet-savory dashi-mirin-soy tsuyu and tipped — still loosely set — over a bowl of hot steamed short-grain rice.

Ramen is wheat noodles served in a rich, seasoned meat or fish-based broth, topped with chashu pork, marinated egg, nori, and green onions.

A Japanese tabletop hot pot in which paper-thin slices of beef and vegetables are briefly swished in a mild kombu broth and dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce.

Japanese thin noodles made from buckwheat flour, served either chilled with a dipping sauce (tsuyu) or hot in a dashi-based broth.

Steamed White Rice is a staple food of East Asia consisting of short‑ or medium‑grain rice cooked by steaming to produce fluffy, cohesive grains.

Sukiyaki is a Japanese one‑pot dish of thinly sliced beef, tofu, and vegetables simmered in a sweet‑savory soy‑based warishita broth, cooked and eaten at the table.

Sushi is a Japanese dish of vinegared short‑grain rice seasoned with sugar and salt, combined with fresh or cured seafood, vegetables, or other toppings, and shaped by hand or rolled, traditionally served with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

Round, golden balls of savory wheat-and-dashi batter, each with a chunk of octopus at its center, cooked in a special dimpled pan and topped with takoyaki sauce, mayo, bonito flakes, and aonori.

A Japanese omelette of beaten egg seasoned and cooked in thin successive layers that are rolled upon each other in a rectangular pan to form a tight, sliceable log.

A Japanese dish of seafood and vegetables coated in a light, lumpy ice-water-and-wheat batter and deep-fried briefly at high heat so the crust stays pale, lacy and crisp.

A Japanese deep-fried pork cutlet coated in coarse panko breadcrumbs, sliced into strips and served with shredded cabbage and a thick, sweet-savory tonkatsu sauce.

The Japanese category of preserved vegetables (and occasionally fruit) cured in salt, rice bran, miso, soy, vinegar, sake lees or koji, served in small portions as a palate-cleansing accompaniment to nearly every traditional meal.

Thick, chewy white wheat-flour noodles, classically served in a light dashi-and-soy broth and topped with green onion and other garnishes.

Bite-size pieces of chicken skewered on bamboo and grilled over binchotan charcoal, seasoned either with tare glaze or salt.