Food, Glorious Food!

Pretty much everyone asks me the question "what made you want to move to Japan?" and I'm not ashamed to admit that one of my (many) reasons was that I love Japanese food! Japan has soooo many different and delicious kinds of foods (it's not just sushi lol) and although you can find some variations of these foods outside of Japan or attempt to cook them at home nowhere does Japanese food as well as in Japan itself! So here's an insight into some of my favourite foods to eat in Japan.

1. Kushikatsu

I absolutely lovvvve kushikatsu (which is probably why it's the first food I'm writing about!) It's fried, covered in breadcrumbs and come on easy to eat off of skewers, what's not to love! Kushikatsu is nearly always served with tonkatsu sauce (it's kind of like barbecue sauce) but at some places you can choose from a variety of sauces such as ponzu and miso sauce. It is also something that pretty much anyone can eat as you can choose from a wide variety of deep fried goodies including many meats, fish, vegetables, carbohydrates and dairy! Plus it has the added bonus of being fairly cheap (depending on how much you order though of course!)
 

2.Tempura

Tempura is a simple yet satisfying dish which although highly popular in Japan, actually originates from Portugal (what?!) and is a dish that Japan has adapted and popularised. It is another meal that involves deep frying but unlike kushikatsu it uses batter and is not served on a skewer. The types of foods that are served tempura style are typically, vegetables like pumpkin, aubergine, lotus root, sweet potato, chicken, tiger prawns, squid, fish, and even egg. It is also normally served with a delicious tentsuyu dipping sauce and either rice or soba noodles, making it an incredibly filling meal. Also side not for any fellow Brits, if you love fish and chips you will probably love tempura!

3.Teppanyaki

So teppanyaki is not exactly a food per se but is a style of cuisine where your food is cooked on a metal grill right in front of you. You have the choice of a teppanyaki restaurant where the chef cooks your food for you on an open grill whilst you watch or you can choose a restaurant where the grill is built into individual tables and you can cook your own food teppanyaki style! Personally I prefer the latter as its much more fun! The range of foods to be cooked in this style is pretty endless with a variety of meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, dairy and more!

4.Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki for me is essentially great comfort food. People often liken it to a savoury pancake or to a Japanese style pizza but in my opinion its not really like either of these...It does however involve batter! The batter used for okonomiyaki is usually a basic mixture of flour, dashi, eggs, shredded cabbage, and (depending on your okomiyaki choice) some meat, fish, seafood or cheese. This mixture is then placed on an open grill until cooked through. Once cooked it is topped with tonkatsu sauce, mayonnaise and other toppings of your choice. There are also restaurants where you can cook your own at your table!

5.Japanese Curry

This is another food which is good for comfort eating, and especially during the winter!  Japanese curry is a little different from other curries as there are various ways it can be served. You can eat it with rice (standard), with udon or in bread (yes in!) You can also choose from many different types of meat, fish and dairy to have in your curry, such as katsu curry (the most common), fried chicken curry, croquette curry, scrambled egg curry and more! And yes, I know it doesn't look the most appetising, but it really does taste soo good!


There we have it, 5 of my favourite foods to eat in Japan!