A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a blog called Just Hungry, written by a Japanese expatriate living in Switzerland. I found her blog while searching for a recipe for 中華そば (Chinese Cold Noodle); anyway, today Maki has posted a long, interesting, and delicious-sounding list of Japanese foods that people should try. The list includes foods widely available throughout Japan with various price ranges. I thought I’d share the list here, but also link you guys to her blog as well. The blog is really handy in terms of Japanese food explanations and healthily adapted recipes.
Enjoy!
P.S. I’ve highlighted the ones that I have tried so far, although there are a few I’m not sure about since I don’t have the kanji/explanations available.
A List of 100 Japanese Foods To Try At Least Once
- Properly washed and cooked, top quality new harvest white rice (shinmai)
- Freshly made tofu, as hiyayakko or yudofu
- Properly made misoshiru and osumashi
- Properly made homemade nukazuke
- Very fresh sanma (saury), sizzling hot from the grill, eaten with a drizzle of soy sauce and a mound of grated daikon radish
- Homemade umeboshi
- Freshly made, piping hot crispy tempura. I prefer vegetable tempura like shiso leaves, eggplant and sweet potato.
- A whole grilled wild matsutake
- Freshly made sobagaki with sobayu
- Mentaiko from Fukuoka, or tarako
- Onigiri with the three classic fillings: umeboshi, okaka, shiozaki
- Assorted fresh-as-possible sashimi
- Saba oshizushi
- Mugicha
- Kakifurai
- Morinaga High-Chew candy, grape flavor
- Karasumi
- A pot of oden, preferably with homemade components especially ganmodoki, boiled eggs and daikon radish
- Ika no shiokara
- Calpis
- Ankou nabe
- Unadon
- Komochi kombu or kazunoko
- Yamakake, either with maguro (red tuna) cubes or a raw egg
- Properly made gyokuro shincha
- Milky Candy
- Wanko soba
- Omuraisu with demi-glace sauce
- Handmade katayaki senbei
- Yohkan (yokan) from Toraya
- Ishi yakiimo – sweet potatoes cooked in hot stones, available from street vendor carts
- Natto
- Fresh seaweed sunomono (can also have some tako in it)
- Ikura or sujiko
- Tonkatsu
- Goma dofu
- Chawan mushi or tamago dofu – the same dish either piping hot or ice cold
- Freshly made mochi, with kinako and sugar, grated daikon and soy sauce or natto
- Gindara no kasuzuke
- Hoshigaki
- Inarizushi
- Chikuzen-ni
- Surume
- Yakinasu with grated ginger
- Tamago kake gohan
- Kabuki-age
- Nikujaga
- Spinach gomaae
- Fuki no tou
- Okonomiyaki
- Yakitori
- Ohagi
- Japanese style curry, with rakkyo and fukujinzuke as condiments
- Kenchinjiru
- Yakult
- Kakipea
- Takoyaki
- Sakura mochi
- Buta no kakuni
- Daigaku imo
- Kappa Ebisen
- Chicken tsukune
- Hakusaizuke
- Hayashi rice
- Goya champuruu
- Dorayaki
- Ochazuke
- Sakuma Drops
- Stewed kiriboshi daikon
- Takenoko gohan (or in fall, kuri gohan)
- Cream or potato korokke
- Fresh yuba
- Real ramen
- Monaka
- Ekiben of all kinds
- Edamame
- Chicken karaage
- Kuzumochi
- Mitarashi dango
- Konnyaku no dengaku
- Yukimi Daifuku
- Sukiyaki
- Nama yatsuhashi
- Panfried hanpen
- Nozawanazuke or Takanazuke
- Kiritanpo
- Amanatto
- Narazuke
- Aji no himono
- Baby Ramen
- Kobucha
- Kasutera
- Tazukuri
- Karintou
- Sauce Yakisoba
- Kamaboko
- Oyako donburi
- Atsuyaki tamago
- Kuri kinton
- Japanese potato salad
(Source: Just Hungry)