Japan
Dashi, precision and seasonal restraint — sushi to ramen.
Iconic recipes
Chicken Katsu Curry
Crispy panko-crusted chicken cutlets over fluffy rice with a glossy, gently sweet Japanese curry sauce.
Shoyu Ramen
Tokyo-style soy-based ramen with chicken-pork broth, chashu pork and a soft-boiled egg.
Nigiri Sushi
Hand-pressed vinegared rice topped with sashimi-grade fish.
Chicken Katsu Curry
Crispy panko-crusted chicken cutlet over rice with thick Japanese curry.
Okonomiyaki
Osaka-style savory pancake of cabbage, batter and pork belly, topped with okonomi sauce, mayo and bonito.
Miso Soup
Dashi-based broth with miso, tofu and wakame — Japan's daily bowl.
Tonkatsu
Crisp panko-fried pork loin served with shredded cabbage and tangy tonkatsu sauce.
Jingisukan
Hokkaido's mutton and lamb grilled on a domed skillet with vegetables and a soy-based dipping sauce.
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Zangi
Hokkaido-style marinated fried chicken — juicier and more heavily seasoned than mainland karaage.
Ishikari Nabe
Hokkaido salmon hot pot in miso-dashi broth with tofu, potato and seasonal vegetables.
Gyutan Yaki
Sendai's charcoal-grilled salted beef tongue, sliced thick and served with barley rice and pickled cabbage.
Wanko Soba
Iwate's bite-sized bowls of buckwheat noodles served endlessly with toppings until the eater surrenders.
Monjayaki
Tokyo's soupier cousin of okonomiyaki — a runny batter cooked directly on a teppan and scraped up with a spatula.
Chankonabe
Tokyo sumo-stable hot pot — a huge shared bowl of chicken meatballs, tofu and vegetables in dashi.
Yakitori (Momo)
Charcoal-grilled chicken thigh skewers glazed with tare, a soy-mirin sauce reduced with chicken bones.
Tempura Moriawase
Assortment of seafood and vegetables in a light, icy batter — Edo-style tempura with tentsuyu.
Miso Katsu
Nagoya's crispy pork cutlet dressed in a rich hatcho-miso and dashi sauce.
Hitsumabushi
Nagoya grilled eel rice eaten three ways — plain, with condiments, then as ochazuke with dashi.
Takoyaki
Osaka street snack — spherical wheat batter balls filled with octopus, tenkasu and pickled ginger.
Kitsune Udon
Osaka udon in kombu-bonito broth topped with sweet simmered abura-age.
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Sukiyaki
Kansai-style tabletop hot pot of thinly sliced beef, tofu and vegetables simmered in warishita and dipped in raw egg.
Hiroshima Okonomiyaki
Layered Hiroshima okonomiyaki — a thin crepe, mountain of cabbage, pork, yakisoba and egg.
Sanuki Udon
Kagawa's famously chewy thick udon, served kake-style in hot dashi or bukkake-style with a chilled dip.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Hakata (Fukuoka) ramen — creamy pork-bone broth boiled at a rolling boil, with thin straight noodles.
Motsunabe
Fukuoka hot pot of beef offal in garlicky soy or miso dashi with a mountain of cabbage and nira.
Nagasaki Champon
Nagasaki's Chinese-inflected noodle soup — pork, seafood and vegetables stir-fried, then simmered in creamy pork-chicken broth.
Karaage
Oita-style Japanese fried chicken thigh, marinated in soy and ginger and double-fried to a shattering crust.
Goya Champuru
Okinawa's signature stir-fry of bitter melon, tofu, pork belly and egg.
Rafute
Okinawan braised pork belly — cubes cooked low and slow in awamori, soy and brown sugar until spoon-tender.
Onigiri
Salt-shaped rice triangles wrapped in nori, filled with umeboshi, salmon or bonito.
Yaki Gyoza
Utsunomiya-style pan-fried pork and cabbage dumplings with a crisp lace bottom.
Tamagoyaki
Rolled Japanese omelette, gently sweet with dashi — a classic bento and sushi-bar staple.
Oden
Winter one-pot of daikon, eggs, fishcakes and konnyaku simmered in light kombu-bonito dashi.
Zaru Soba
Chilled buckwheat noodles served on a bamboo mat with a soy-dashi dipping sauce.
Unagi Donburi
Grilled freshwater eel glazed in sweet soy tare, served over a bowl of steamed rice.
Dorayaki
Two honey-sweet pancakes sandwiched around chunky sweet red bean paste.
Ichigo Daifuku
Whole strawberries and sweet red bean paste wrapped in stretchy mochi dumplings.
Melonpan
Soft milk bread rolls topped with a crisp, sugar-crackled cookie shell — no melon required.
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Matcha Latte
Uji-style matcha whisked to a jade foam and topped with steamed milk — hot or iced.