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Cuisine

Japanese Cuisine

East Asian Cuisines

The cooking traditions of Japan, built on short-grain rice, dashi stock, soy sauce, miso and a strong seasonal calendar governing what is served when. Washoku, the traditional dietary culture of the Japanese centered on this seasonal, rice-anchored table, was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013. Regional variation runs from the delicate, dashi-forward cooking of Kyoto and the Kansai region to the heartier, soy-forward cooking of Kanto around Tokyo, with Hokkaido in the north known for seafood and dairy the rest of the archipelago historically lacked.

Facts
Signature Technique
Precise raw fish preparation for sushi and sashimi, dashi stock making from kombu and dried bonito, and soybean fermentation for miso and soy sauce are hallmark techniques. 1
Origin Region
The Japanese archipelago, historically shaped by Buddhist restrictions on eating meat and later by Western culinary influence after 1868. 2
Connections

Associated With

Expresses Tradition

Source Larousse Gastronomique

Features Dish

Chankonabe, Dishes
Source Chankonabe, Wikipedia
Chawanmushi, Dishes
Source Chawanmushi (Wikipedia)
Chicken katsu, Dishes
Source Chicken katsu (Wikipedia)
Curry, Dishes
Source Curry (Wikipedia)
Curry Bread, Dishes
Source Curry bread - Wikipedia
Dashi, Dishes
Source Dashi - Wikipedia
French Toast, Dishes
Source French toast - Wikipedia
Gyoza, Dishes
Honey Toast, Dishes
Source Honey toast (Wikipedia)
Kakigori, Dishes
Source Kakigori (Wikipedia)
Katsu Curry, Dishes
Source Katsu curry - Wikipedia
Kyaraben, Dishes
Source Kyaraben (Wikipedia)
Miso Soup, Dishes
Source Morioka jajamen (Wikipedia)
Source Muroran curry ramen (Wikipedia)
Negimaki, Dishes
Source Negimaki (Wikipedia)
Ogura toast, Dishes
Source Wikipedia, Ogura toast
Okinawa Soba, Dishes
Source Okinawa soba (Wikipedia)
Okonomiyaki, Dishes
Source Okonomiyaki (Wikipedia)
Onigiri, Dishes
Source Onigiri (Wikipedia)
Onsen tamago, Dishes
Source Onsen tamago (Wikipedia)
Osechi, Dishes
Source Osechi (Wikipedia)
Oyakodon, Dishes
Source Wikipedia: Oyakodon
Ramen, Dishes
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Salt bread, Dishes
Source Salt bread (Wikipedia)
Shabu Shabu, Dishes
Source Wikipedia: Shabu-shabu
Soki, Dishes
Source Soki (Wikipedia)
Stew, Dishes
Source Stew (Wikipedia)
Sukiyaki, Dishes
Source Sukiyaki (Wikipedia)
Sushi, Dishes
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Takoyaki, Dishes
Source Takoyaki (Wikipedia)
Tempura, Dishes
Tonkatsu, Dishes
Source Tonkatsu (Wikipedia)
Unadon, Dishes
Source Wikipedia: Unadon
Yakitori, Dishes
Source Yakitori (Wikipedia)
Zongzi, Dishes
Source Zongzi, Wikipedia
Zosui, Dishes
Source Zosui (Wikipedia)

Uses Ingredient

Miso, Ingredients
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Rice, Ingredients
Source Larousse Gastronomique
Soybean, Ingredients
Source Larousse Gastronomique
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004technique discussion: dashi and fermentation
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • entry: Japanese cuisine
  • Features Dish: Ramen
View the Source
The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014entry: Japan
Larousse Gastronomique
Hamlyn, 2009
  • Expresses Tradition: Narezushi and Fermented Fish, s.v. Narezushi
  • Uses Ingredient: Rice, entry: Rice
  • Uses Ingredient: Soybean, entry: Soybean
Okonomiyaki (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Okonomiyaki, Lead section
Quote, Features Dish: Okonomiyaki, Lead section
is a Japanese teppanyaki savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients cooked on a teppan.
View the Source
Takoyaki (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Takoyaki, History section
Quote, Features Dish: Takoyaki, History section
Takoyaki was first popularized in Osaka, where a street vendor named Tomekichi Endo is credited with its invention in 1935.
View the Source
Curry (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Curry, Wikipedia category listView the Source
Zongzi, Wikipedia
Features Dish: Zongzi, Wikipedia category listView the Source
French toast - Wikipedia
Features Dish: French Toast, Wikipedia category listView the Source
Curry bread - Wikipedia
Features Dish: Curry Bread, Wikipedia category listView the Source
Wikipedia, Ogura toast
Features Dish: Ogura toast, Wikipedia category listView the Source
Osechi (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Osechi, Wikipedia category listView the Source
Stew (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Stew, Wikipedia category listView the Source
Negimaki (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Negimaki, Wikipedia category listView the Source
Onigiri (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Onigiri, infobox associated_cuisine field
Quote, Features Dish: Onigiri, infobox associated_cuisine field
Japanese
View the Source
Morioka jajamen (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Morioka jajamen, infobox national_cuisine field
Quote, Features Dish: Morioka jajamen, infobox national_cuisine field
Japanese
View the Source
Yakitori (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Yakitori, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Yakitori, lead paragraph
In Japanese cuisine, yakitori (Japanese: 焼き鳥; lit. 'grilled bird') is chicken cooked on a skewer over a charcoal fire and seasoned with tare sauce or salt.
View the Source
Tonkatsu (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Tonkatsu, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Tonkatsu, lead paragraph
Tonkatsu (豚カツ, とんかつ or トンカツ; pronounced [toŋkatsɯ]; "Japanese pork cutlet") is a type of Japanese cutlet (カツレツ, katsuretsu) made from pork.
View the Source
Sukiyaki (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Sukiyaki, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Sukiyaki, lead paragraph
Sukiyaki (鋤焼; or more commonly すき焼き; [sɯ̥kijaki]) is a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the nabemono (Japanese hot pot) style.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Shabu-shabu
Features Dish: Shabu Shabu, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Shabu Shabu, lead paragraph
Shabu-shabu (Japanese: しゃぶしゃぶ, romanized: shabushabu) is a Japanese nabemono hotpot dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauces.
View the Source
Chankonabe, Wikipedia
Features Dish: Chankonabe, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Chankonabe, lead paragraph
In Japanese cuisine, chankonabe (Japanese: ちゃんこ鍋), also known as chanko or sumo stew, is a stew (a type of nabemono or one-pot dish) commonly eaten in vast quantities by sumo wrestlers while trying to gain weight.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Unadon
Features Dish: Unadon, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Unadon, lead paragraph
Unadon (鰻丼; an abbreviation for unagi donburi, "eel bowl") is a dish originating in Japan.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Oyakodon
Features Dish: Oyakodon, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Oyakodon, lead paragraph
Oyakodon (親子丼), literally "parent-and-child donburi", is a donburi, or Japanese rice bowl dish, in which chicken, egg, sliced scallion (or sometimes regular onions), and other ingredients are all simmered together in a kind of soup that is made with soy sauce and stock, and then served on top of a large bowl of rice.
View the Source
Katsu curry - Wikipedia
Features Dish: Katsu Curry, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Katsu Curry, lead paragraph
Katsu curry (Japanese: カツカレー, romanized: katsukarē) is a Japanese dish consisting of tonkatsu (pork cutlet) served with Japanese rice and curry.
View the Source
Dashi - Wikipedia
Features Dish: Dashi, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Dashi, lead paragraph
Dashi (出汁, だし) is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine.
View the Source
Muroran curry ramen (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Muroran curry ramen, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Muroran curry ramen, lead paragraph
Muroran curry ramen (室蘭カレーラーメン, Muroran karē rāmen) is a curry-flavored ramen noodle dish provided at many ramen restaurants in the cities of Muroran, Noboribetsu, Date, and Tōyako in Hokkaido, Japan.
View the Source
Kakigori (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Kakigori, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Kakigori, lead paragraph
Kakigōri (かき氷) is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and a sweetener, often condensed milk.
View the Source
Okinawa soba (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Okinawa Soba, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Okinawa Soba, lead paragraph
Okinawa soba (沖縄そば) is a type of noodle produced in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
View the Source
Chawanmushi (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Chawanmushi, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Chawanmushi, lead paragraph
Chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し, chawanmushi; literally "tea cup steam" or "steamed in a tea bowl") is a savoury egg custard dish in Japanese cuisine.
View the Source
Chicken katsu (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Chicken katsu, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Chicken katsu, lead paragraph
Chicken katsu (Japanese: チキンカツ, Hepburn: chikinkatsu), also known as panko chicken or tori katsu (鶏カツ), is a Japanese dish of fried chicken made with panko bread crumbs.
View the Source
Onsen tamago (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Onsen tamago, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Onsen tamago, lead paragraph
Onsen tamago (Japanese: 温泉卵 or 温泉玉子, lit. 'hot spring egg') is a traditional Japanese low temperature boiled egg which is slow cooked in the hot waters of onsen (hot springs) in Japan.
View the Source
Salt bread (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Salt bread, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Salt bread, lead paragraph
Salt bread, called shio pan (塩パン, shiopan) in Japan and sogeum-ppang (Korean: 소금빵; RR: sogeum-ppang) in Korean, is a Japanese buttery roll.
View the Source
Kyaraben (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Kyaraben, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Kyaraben, lead paragraph
Derived from the traditional bento box of Japan, kyaraben became a fun way to make meals for children beginning in the 1990s.
View the Source
Zosui (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Zosui, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Zosui, lead paragraph
Zōsui (雑炊; literally "miscellaneous cooking"), or ojiya (おじや), is a mild and thin Japanese rice soup akin to a rice-based vegetable soup.
View the Source
Soki (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Soki, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Soki, lead paragraph
Sōki (Okinawan: ソーキ) is an ingredient of Okinawan cuisine.
View the Source
Honey toast (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Honey Toast, lead paragraph
Quote, Features Dish: Honey Toast, lead paragraph
Honey toast (Japanese:ハニートースト), also known as Shibuya toast, brick toast, and hanitō is a Japanese dessert that originated from the district of Shibuya during the Japanese asset price bubble, often served at karaoke bars.
View the Source

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