Japanese Food Dictionary

Jiyamu-pan

2012-01-28T10:08:00.001+09:00

Jam bread. ジャムパン。A type of kashi-pan, sweet buns or buns with sweet fillings ("kashi" means "confectionery").

Very simple: a bun filled with strawberry jam. First made in 1900 by Kimuraya on the Ginza. The original jam bread contained apricot jam (anzu). The bread is oval to distinguish it from the round anpan (buns filled with paste of azuki beans) also made at Kimuraya. Now various types of jam buns are available in convenience stores and supermarkets throughout Japan.

Kare-pan

2012-01-27T08:24:00.000+09:00

Curry bread. カレーパン. A type of sozai-pan, buns with savory fillings ("sozai" is the term for the side dishes eaten with rice). It is a good and delicious example of "Japanese-style" bread.

Curry is so popular in Japan that it is even used as a filling for buns. A spoonful of curry is wrapped in dough, breaded in panko (bread crumbs), and deep-fried. Perhaps the idea came from the Russian pirozhki (pirozhki are also popular in Japan, both in their original form and with non-regular Japanese-style fillings. The Sogo department store in Kobe, for example, sells nice "piroshiki" in its depachika).

Curry buns are everywhere, from convenience stores to supermarkets and - freshly made - in bakery stores.

Other types of sozai-pan are: pizza toast (pizza-tostu), croquette bread (korokke-pan), fried noodle bread (yakisoba-pan), and toasted baguette with mentaiko (mentaiko-furansu). Foreign types (also available in Japan) are for example, besides the above mentioned piroshiki: salteña, panino, hamburgers and hotdogs, while also the Chinese baozi is related.

Meron-pan

2012-01-26T10:13:00.001+09:00

Melon bread, melon buns. メロンパン。A type of kashi-pan, sweet buns or buns with sweet fillings ("kashi" means "confectionery"). An example of "Japanese-style" bread.　

Melon buns are made from enriched dough covered in a thin layer of crisp cookie dough. The name comes from the fact that the top part of such round buns looks like the skin of a melon - the name has nothing to do with the taste - which is just generally sweet (that being said, there are some producers who give their melon-pan a melon flavor recently). The one below which I had on a train trip tasted buttery. The top was covered with sugar.

Other flavors also exist, and then the name "melon" may be dropped. The version with maple syrup is, for example, called "maple bread."

Fu

2012-01-25T09:39:00.001+09:00

Wheat gluten. 麩

"Fu", pure wheat gluten, originated as an ingredient of the Buddhist vegetarian kitchen (shojin-ryori), where it was served as a meat substitute. There are two types of Fu:

Raw (nama-fu). Solid gluten is mixed with glutinous rice flour and steamed. Often a natural coloring is added, such as mugwort (yomogi). It is usually cut in interesting shapes, such as autumn leaves (momiji) - this is the type that is used in shojin-ryori. It is also used in traditional sweets (wagashi).
Dry baked (yaki-fu). Baked into bread-like sticks. When these are cut, the yaki-fu looks like croutons. And that is how it is used, for example in miso-soup , sukiyaki or other one-pot dishes. This is the type available in supermarkets, for nama-fu one has to go to specialty shops (such as Fuka in the Nishiki Market in Kyoto).

Fu has a mild and pleasant flavor and is quite nutritious.

Kamameshi

2012-01-23T14:04:00.000+09:00

Mixed rice cooked in an individual pot of iron, clay or ceramic material. 釜飯

A form of mixed rice (takikomi gohan), rice cooked with various ingredients and seasoned with dashi and soy sauce. The difference is that an individual pot is used to cook each portion. These pots can be made of metal, clay or a ceramic material. ”Meshi" means "rice" and "kama" refers to the iron pot - in the past, large-sized kama were used to cook rice. These kama had a collar so that they could hang in the round opening above the cooking fire.

Kamameshi is more luxurious than ordinary mixed rice. A great variety of ingredients can be added to it - so much, that there are even restaurants serving only various types of kamameshi. Popular items are crab, chicken, shrimp, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms etc.

This dish is eaten piping hot and is a popular winter fare. The rice at the bottom of the pot may get slightly burned. This is called okoge and popular with children. Kamameshi is also often sold as ekiben (a station lunch box).

Shumai

2012-01-16T09:55:00.001+09:00

Steamed, round Chinese dumpling. シュウマイ。

Dim sum item (siu mai) that has been Japanified, like gyoza. Cups of thin wheat pastry with a filling are steamed. Fillings are manifold, from pork to shrimp, crab or even beef. Seasonings are onion, ginger, pepper, salt and soy sauce. Often eaten with mustard.

Monaka & Dorayaki

2011-11-02T07:51:00.000+09:00

Here we introduce two traditional Japanese sweets, monaka and dorayaki.

Monaka (最中). Stuffed wafer cake. A typical Japanese sweet (wagashi). Rice (mochi) is made into a light, crisp wafer, which is stuffed with bean paste (an). Developed in the early 19th century. The wafers can be pressed into a great variety of shapes and sizes, for example like cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums etc. The filling can also be varied by adding sesame seed, chestnuts, etc. To be eaten with green tea.

Dorayaki (どら焼き, どらやき, 銅鑼焼き, ドラ焼き), also called mikasa (三笠). Stuffed pancake. Another typical Japanese sweet. Two small pancake-like patties made from castella sponge cake are filled with bean paste (an). "Dora" means "gong" and the shape of the sweet indeed resembles this instrument. A totally unreliable legend tells that the famous Benkei once forgot his gong when staying in a farmer's home, and the farmer then used the gong to fry the pancakes. The current shape was developed in the early 20th century.

In the Kansai area, this sweet is called "mikasa" rather than dorayaki. Mikasa is a triple straw hat, and also the nickname of Mt. Wakakusa in Nara (which resembles the shape of such a hat). Local people see the shape of this hill before their eyes when eating a mikasa, and in Nara especially large specimens are sold.

[Japanese sweets from Tsuruya in Kyoto: to the left "monaka" and to the right "mikasa," also called "dorayaki," flavored with green tea. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Mabodofu

2011-11-01T09:21:00.000+09:00

Mapo doufu. マーボー豆腐、麻婆豆腐。

Small squares of tofu in a mixture containing ground pork seasoned with leeks, ginger, sesame seed oil and soy sauce.

Originally a very hot dish called "mapo doufu" from Sichuan Province in China. The Chinese name is probably gibberish, but literally means something like: "Pockmarked-Face Old Woman's Tofu". Not a very attractive name for a food! It is more probable that the character "ma" refers to the numbing hotness of the original dish, rather then to a "pockmarked face."

In Japan, the dish is called "mabodofu" (マーボー豆腐). It was introduced by one Chen Kenmin who opened the first Sichuanese restaurant in Tokyo in the 1950s (according to Wikipedia). Chen adopted sweet bean paste in the recipe to make the dish less spicy and less oily - and so more to the Japanese taste.

It is one of the most popular Chuka dishes in Japan.

[Mabodofu. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Konnyaku

2011-10-17T09:26:00.005+09:00

Konjac, taro gelatin. "Devil's tongue." (Amorphophallus konjac). かんにゃく、蒟蒻。

Konjac is the name of a tuberous plant and the product made from its root. The tuber is rinsed, peeled, sliced, dried and ground into a powder. That powder is next mixed with water until it becomes a gelatin-like paste. Then as a coagulating agent lime is added and the paste is formed into firm but elastic blocks and cakes. These are then boiled, and finally cooled in cold water.

[The tuber of konjac. Photo from Wikipedia]

Konnyaku is grown in Gunma, Tochigi and Fukushima. It grows on mountain slopes and after three years bears a large trumpet-shaped flower. This flower, by the way, led to the English name "devil's tongue" (see photo below). The root is usually dug up after about 3 years, when it is 2.5 kilos heavy.

[The flower of konnyaku indeed looks like a "devil's tongue." Photo from Wikipedia]

More than 2,000 years ago konjac was introduced from China as a medicine. From the 13th c. on (Kamakura period) it became a popular vegetarian food among priests at Zen temples. In the 17th c. it became generally popular as a meat substitute in soups among commoners.

Konnyaku is devoid of calories and therefore makes an excellent diet food. Rich in dietary fiber, it helps relieve constipation. Itself tasteless, it takes on the taste of the ingredients with which it is served. It has a chewy character and should always be boiled briefly before eating.

Konjac can have various colors: made from peeled roots it is pale white (its natural look), from unpeeled roots and usually with the addition of hijiki seaweed it takes on a grayish dark color (its most common look). When chili peppers are added, it has a red color and when green tea powder is added, green. Types of flavored konnyaku are also on the market.

[Block of konnyaku. Photo from Wikipedia]

Konjac is used in oden (winter hotpot with various ingredients) and simmered dishes. Coated with miso it is like dengaku (originaly dengaku is made from tofu). White or colored varieties are used as vegetarian sashimi ("yama fugu") - these are often eaten with sweet miso sauce.

Thinly sliced into fine, gelatinous noodles it is called shirataki ("white waterfall") and used in sukiyaki. Sliced into slightly thicker strings it is called ito-konnyaku ("string konjac") and used in nabemono (hotpots).

,
[Slices of flavored and slightly spicy konnyaku, served as a side dish. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Kabocha

2011-10-15T01:18:00.000+09:00

Japanese pumpkin, winter squash. (Cucurbita moschata). かぼちゃ、南瓜。

Japanese pumpkin is smaller and sweeter than the Western variety. It has a thick, dark green skin and bright, deep orange flesh. After cooking, the flesh becomes sweet and creamy.

Cut in small pieces and simmered in dashi, sugar and soy sauce, it is one of the most popular home-style dishes of Japan. The skin becomes soft enough to eat. Cut in slices, it is delicious as tempura. It can also be steamed or served as aemono.

Kabocha (if uncut) can be stored for a long time and was therefore an important source of vitamins in the winter months in the past. Nowadays, it is available year-round, but best in autumn.

[Simmered pumpkin (kabocha). Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Hokke

2011-10-11T08:57:00.000+09:00

Arabesque greenling, also called Okhotsk Atka mackerel.　(Pleurogrammus azonus).　ほっけ。

Hokke is a species of mackerel. It is a grey fish with a light brown stripe, about 40 cm long. As a species it is is closely related to and therefore often confused with the Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius). Caught in Japan's northern waters (Northwest Pacific: Sea of Okhotsk and Kuril Islands down to Ibaraki Prefecture and Tsushima and the Yellow Sea) from early winter to spring. This type of fish is found exclusively in the northern Pacific.

[Grilled Hokke. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

High fat content. Usually eaten grilled (as in the photo above) or simmered. In the past not very popular (it was even called "rat fish") as it looses its freshness rather quickly, but that is in modern refrigerated times no problem anymore. The Japanese started eating hokke when the herring around Hokkaido disappeared due to over-fishing. Hokke formed an important source of protein in the years after WWII. It also became a fixed item on the menus of izakaya. The fact that the bones are easy to remove also added to its modern popularity.

Fuki

2011-10-05T10:53:00.001+09:00

Japanese butterbur. (Petasites japonicus). ふき、蕗。

The stems of this vegetable look large large rhubarb stems. They can become more than a meter long. Before use, they are blanched (akunuki) and peeled. Often used in simmered food, sauteed with miso, in pickles and also as tempura or candied. The taste is somewhat reminiscent of celery.

Fuki is indigenous to Japan. Von Siebold brought the plant to Europe and you can find it now as a decorative growth in forests in the Netherlands (but it is not eaten in Europe).

[Fuki. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Yakitori

2011-10-04T21:28:00.003+09:00

Pieces of grilled chicken on skewers. やきとり、焼き鳥。

A popular food with beer, sake or other drinks. Many izakaya have yakitori on the menu and there are also specialized restaurants. These can range from obscure joints "under the tracks," to quite upscale establishments. Yakitori is also sold in supermarkets.

Yakitori is eaten with either tare (a thick sweet sauce) or a dip of salt.

In making yakitori, nothing of the chicken is thrown away. So, besides the obvious negima (pices of white meat alternating with spring onion), momo (soft white meat), sasami (chicken breast) and tsukune (balls of ground chicken meat), we also have haatsu (chicken hearst pierced on a stick), rebaa (the liver), sunazuri (chicken gizzards), tebasaki (the wings), kawa (the skin, usually of the neck) and nankotsu (chicken cartilage) or shiro (the small intestines)...

Preparing yakitori is difficult as the sticks have to be grilled on the charcoal fire in such a way that the outside is well-done and hearty, but the inside still tender.

[Yakitori, above tsukune and below negima, Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Mizuna

2011-09-30T07:41:00.000+09:00

Potherb mustard. (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica). みずな、水菜.

Lit. "water greens." The vegetable got its name because it is grown in fields that are shallowly flooded with water. Mizuna is a delicate plant from the mustard family with slender spear-shaped leaves. It grows in clumps and is characterized by a mildly spicy flavor. It is crisp and piquant.

Mibuna is typically used in stir fries and one-pot dishes, but can also be enjoyed raw in salads. In Kyoto it is a also a popular vegetable for pickling, as it has a firm texture despite its tender appearance.

Mizuna is one of the few vegetables that is indigenous to Japan.

[Mizuna. Photo from Wikipedia]

As mizuna has for many centuries been cultivated in and around Kyoto, it is especially associated with that city and also called Kyona ("Kyoto greens"). A closely related variety is Mibuna ("Mibu greens"), which belongs to the branded "traditional vegetables from Kyoto." Mibuna (壬生菜) is named after the Mibu Temple in central-western Kyoto. This variety has broader leaves and its scientific name is Brassica campestris var. lanciniifolia.

[Kyo Mibuna. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Ohagi

2011-09-26T08:56:00.002+09:00

Inside-out rice cake. おはぎ、お萩。

Normally, rice cakes are made with a filling of bean paste (an), either sieved (koshian) or unsieved (tsubuan). Here, the rice cakes are "inside-out," that is to say, the filling has become the coating and the rice (a mixture ordinary rice and glutinous rice) is on the inside.

Ohagi are named after the bush clover, which flowers in early fall, in the season of the Autumn Equinox (and the Buddhist festival of remembering the dead called Higan). Although they are available the year round, they have a special connection with this season. In spring, during the Spring Equinox (when the same Buddhist festival is celebrated), they are called "botan mochi" or "peony rice cakes" after a typical spring flower.

Ogahi are simple, but delicious. The photo below shows some other coatings than tsubuan (behind on the left), such as an mixed with green tea powder (left front) or kinoko powder (middle). This set is called Goshoku Ohagi, "Five-colored Ohagi."

[Five-colored Ohagi. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Kaki

2011-09-24T08:20:00.002+09:00

Japanese persimmon. (Diospyros kaki). かき、柿

Persimmon is the fruit of autumn and when you travel in japan in that season, you can see the bright orange fruit hanging in the trees, against a blue sky. And in winter strings of persimmons hang under the eaves of the farmhouses to dry. A beautiful, seasonal decorative effect.

[Kaki tree. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

The kaki is among the oldest plants in cultivation - 2,000 years ago it was already grown in China. The kaki tree is similar in shape to an apple tree, but can grow to ten meters. It blooms from May to June. In Japan the main harvest time for kaki is in the months of October and November. Unusually, the trees have already lost their leaves by the time of harvest.

Kaki is a sweet, slightly tangy fruit. The high tannin content makes the immature fruit astringent and bitter. At the same time, the unripe fruit can be rather hard. As tannin levels are reduced as the fruit matures, it is best to allow it to rest. The texture will gradually soften and the taste becomes sweeter. This being said, there are several varieties, some of which remain very astringent (the Japanese cultivar "Hachiya") and others that are naturally sweet ("Fuyu"). Kaki can also be made into a confection after drying.

The high proportion of beta-carotene makes the kaki fruit nutritionally valuable. Throughout Asia, different healing properties are attributed to kaki. They are said to be helpful against stomach ailments and diarrhea. Immature fruits are said to be a treatment for fever. The juice of unripe fruit is said to lower the blood pressure and the fruit stem to relieve a cough.

[Kaki. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

This post contains information from the Wikipedia article on kaki.

Daikon oroshi

2011-09-13T09:01:00.002+09:00

Grated rettich. 大根卸し（だいこんおろし）。

Daikon or giant white radish (aka rettich) is an important root vegetable in the Japanese kitchen. It is consumed in many ways, and here we look at the grated type.

Grated daikon is added to the dip sauce of tempura because it helps with the digestion of oily foods thanks to the enzyme diastase. Daikon oroshi is also added to noodle dishes.
Daikon oroshi can also be eaten as such, with a flavoring of soy sauce. The combination with fatty types of grilled fish is again very good. Mixed with baby sardines you get the dish jako oroshi. When red hot peppers are added to daikon oroshi you get a reddish dish that is called momoji oroshi.

The white parts of daikon taste best. Daikon contains lots of vitamin, calcium, iron and fibers. In the past, it even was used as a treatment for common cold in winter!

[Daikon Oroshi. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Okonomiyaki

2011-09-11T08:31:00.000+09:00

Savory pancake. お好み焼き、おこのみやき。

Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake on which you can select a number of ingredients “as you like,” – the meaning of “okonomi.” The pancake is made from thick batter consisting of flour, finely cut cabbage, grated yam, eggs and dashi or water to which ingredients are added that give character to the pancake: beef, pork, squid, octopus, shrimp, oysters, etc.

The okonomiyaki is baked on both sides on a iron plate. Metal spatulas are used for turning the okonomiyaki around and to cut it in pieces when it is ready. Before that, it is coated with a thick, sweet sauce and topped with green seaweed flakes (aonori) and bonitoflakes (katsuobushi) – due to the heat, those flakes seem to dance on the pancake! Nowadays, also mayonnaise is added.

[Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima style. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Okonomiyaki is eaten everywhere in Japan. There are several local varieties. The usual one served all over the country is the one in Osaka style, where all ingredients are mixed together. This one really resembles a pancake. The second popular style is from Hiroshima, where the ingredients are not mixed with the batter, but stacked in layers and where also three to four times as much cabbage is used. Fried noodles are also often added.

In Okonomiyaki-restaurants you usually sit at a table with an iron plate so that you can prepare your own pancake – happily, the restaurant staff also helps out because the right timing is not so easy!

Tenkasu

2011-09-10T09:01:00.001+09:00

Crunchy bits of deep-fried flour batter. てんかす、天かす。

Also called agedama. This is the same batter as used in making tempura. Small bits come of during the frying process and these are scooped out of the oil as otherwise they would start burning.

They can be re-used (and are sold separately for that purpose in supermarkets) by adding them to the soups of udon or soba, or sprinkled over cold udon noodles. Of course they fit well with tempura udon etc., but Tenkasu also can add taste quickly when there are little ingredients in the soup. But be careful not to be too liberal with them, as the taste soon gets oily.

[Tenkasu or agedama. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Sumashijiru

2011-09-06T07:53:00.003+09:00

Clear soup. すましじる、澄まし汁。

Also called "O-sumashi." Ichiban dashi to which salt and soy sauce have been added.

In the picture below also very finely sliced negi, small pieces of nori and fu (the white circles) have been added.

This soup is also available as an instant product.

Sumashijiru is the homey form of suimono, the elegant soup served in a lidded bowl during the kaiseki meal.

[Sumashijiru. Photo Ad Blankestijn.]

Kujonegi

2011-09-03T08:11:00.000+09:00

Kujo spring onions. くじょうねぎ、九条葱。

One of the officially branded vegetables originally from Kyoto (Kyo-yasai). Kujo is an area in the southern part of Kyoto. The spring onions that used to be grown here (they are now grown a bit farther south at Jujo) are large and sturdy. They also have a deep green color. Kujonegi are harvested from November to February and have a sweet taste. Their main use is in sukiyaki and hotpot dishes (nabemono). The thinner variant can also be used in udon, soba and miso soup.

[Kujonegi. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Shichimi togarashi

2011-08-31T09:15:00.000+09:00

Seven spice chili mix. しちみとうがらし。七味唐辛子。

Lit. "Seven Flavor Chili." At least six different spices are added to togarashi (chili powder). The formula is flexible, depending on the region of Japan and the shop, but some elements usually added are: sansho (Japanese pepper), sesame, shiso, aonori.

A popular condiment for noodle dishes (the soups of udon and soba, so only the warm varieties of these noodles), nabemono (hotpot dishes) and yakitori.

[Shichimi togarashi. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Famous types are the Yagenbori shichimi of Tokyo and the Kiyomizu shichimi of Kyoto. That last one is sold in the 350 year old Shichimiya Honpo located on the hill leading up to Kiyomizu Temple (at the corner of Matsubaradori and Sanneizaka).

Another interesting condiment shop is in Kyoto Hararyokaku (est. 1703) on the corner of Hanamikoji and Shijodori, so in Gion. This shops sells for example black shichimi in nice bamboo containers.

Japan Times article about shichimi.

Nasu

2011-08-29T07:57:00.000+09:00

Eggplant, aubergine. なす、茄子。 (Solanum melongena)

The Japanese eggplant is short and slender and different in variety from the ones you find in Europe or the U.S. There are no seeds that have to be removed. The taste is sweet rather than bitter and it becomes creamy after cooking. Eggplants came to Japan via China in the 8th century.

Nasu is used as nimono, as tempura or shallow-fried in preparations with miso (nasu dengaku). Nasu are also popular as tsukemono and in that case make an excellent accompaniment to sake. Nasu are available the whole year in Japan, but taste best in autumn.

[Japanese aubergines. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Shungiku

2011-08-28T08:30:00.000+09:00

Edible chrysanthemum leaves. 春菊。(Chrysanthemum coronarium).

Lit. "spring chrysanthemum." Not the leaves of actual chrysanthemums, but a different type which is a real vegetable. Shungiku taste slightly bitter. The autumn variety is officially called kikuna.

Chrysanthemum leaves are in the first place used as a vegetable in nabemono, one-pot stews, such as sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, or torinabe. They are also used in ohitashi (parboiled chrysanthemum leaves with a mixture of dashi and soy sauce) and aemono (parboiled chrysanthemum leaves with a tofu or sesame dressing).

[Shungiku. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Daigaku-imo

2011-08-23T10:09:00.000+09:00

Candied sweet potato. 大学芋。

Sweet potatoes are deep-fried, cut into pieces and then sugar coated. It is a calorie rich snack, developed in modern times. The name means "university potato," and dates from the first half of the 20th c. when this snack was popular in college towns as it was cheap and filled the stomach. Today, you can buy it in supermarkets, but it also appears in stands at the many university festivals that color the Japanese autumn.

[Daigaku-imo. Photo Ad Blankestijn]