Nikujaga is a traditional Japanese dish primarily made of two ingredients: niku (meat) and jagaimo (potatoes). It is one of the most popular comfort food in Japan. In this recipe, I used thinly sliced beef, stewed with potatoes, carrots, and onions. I also added snow peas! It is flavored with a slightly sweet soy sauce base….
Takenoko Gohan Bamboo Rice Recipe is a simple, rice dish flavored with Japanese seasonings and mixed with bamboo shoots. I also added aburaage (deep fried tofu) and konnyaku in this recipe. It is flavored with traditional Japanese seasonings. Bamboo rice is a seasonal dish that is often enjoy in Spring. Japan has seasonal dishes according…
Tsukune is a Japanese chicken meatball. Restaurants often skewer them, cook them on a grill and flavor them with a kind of teriyaki sauce. In this recipe, I show how to cook tsukune at home on a stove top with homemade tsukune sauce. I shaped them like a small hamburger steak and cooked them in…
Kinpira is a style of cooking. In this Japanese kinpira recipe I used konnyaku and carrots. It can be made with peppers, baby bamboo sprouts, chikuwa and others. It is often made with gobo and called kinpira gobo. Gobo is difficult to find in the US, except at Asian supermarkets, so in this recipe, I…
Asazuke is similar to tsukemono, but the method of cooking is quite different. Tsukemono can take days to cook while asazuke can be prepared and finished in less than 60 minutes! It is perfect for sides to accompany your main dish. Pickled vegetable asazuke contains cucumbers, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes. I like to flavor…
Cabbage roll or (ロールキャベツ) is a popular dish made by wrapping ground meat and diced onions in cabbage and simmering in a seasoned soup. It is a popular western-style Japanese food (yoshoku), just like hamburger steak, omurice, spaghetti napolitan, potato salad, and tonkatsu. Japanese cabbage rolls are definitely home cooking, and it is difficult to…
Somen is a seasonal Japanese dish served in the summer time. I lived in Japan for four years, and was surprised that the summers were so hot! Sometimes, I stopped by a restaurant and cooled down with cold somen noodles. I often wondered, why aren’t there more cold noodle or pasta dishes in the US?…
Japanese-style teriyaki chicken thighs are juicy and tender. They are easy to make and are an authentic Japanese dish. Japanese often make this dish at home. It is my favorite way to eat chicken legs and tastes amazing. It also does not require bottled teriyaki sauce! The sauce you will learn in this recipe is…
Gyudon literally means “beef bowl” in Japanese. It is served in many Japanese fast food restaurants. Sweet and savory, it is easy to make and topped on a mound of plain steamed rice. Today, I’m going to share with you the Japanese beef rice bowl recipe that I often make at home. Gyudon is a…
I lived in Japan for 4 years, and hadn’t heard of nikumaki onigiri until my wife recently introduced them to me. Evidently, there are special restaurants that specialize in nikumaki onigiri and they have recently become famous. At home, parent sometimes make nikumaki onigiri to enhance the flavor of the onigiri and make them easier…