Japanese Food and Drink FAQ

Quick answers about Japanese food and drink: sushi, noodles, sweets, seasoning, bread, sake, beer and more. Each answer links to the full guide. See the main Japan FAQ or browse all articles.

How did sushi begin, and what is nigiri?

Nigirizushi (hand-pressed sushi) began in early nineteenth-century Edo (the city now called Tokyo) as street-stall fast food: a small oval of vinegared rice topped with a slice of seasoned fish, eaten standing up in two bites. The oldest form of sushi, narezushi, looked nothing like the pieces on a modern plate. Two centuries later the same idea sits behind the cedar counters of some of the most admired restaurants on earth. Read the full guide: How Sushi Went From Edo Street Snack to the Art of the Counter

How is sake made?

Sake is brewed more like beer than like grape wine. Steamed rice is transformed by a mold called koji, yeast turns the resulting sugars into alcohol, and the mash is pressed and aged. In Japan the drink is properly called nihonshu, while the word sake can refer to alcohol in general. Read the full guide: Sake Explained: Koji, Polished Rice, Grades and How to Order a Cup

Why is Kagawa called Udon Prefecture?

Kagawa, on the island of Shikoku and Japan's smallest prefecture by area, has hundreds of udon shops (tourism sources count more than 600), and its tourism office once rebranded it as Udon Prefecture. Sanuki udon is named for the old name of the area and has a square cross-section with flat edges, prized for its firm chew called koshi. Read the full guide: Sanuki Udon and Beyond: Why Kagawa Is Japan's Noodle Heartland

What is gyoza and where does it come from?

Gyoza are pan-fried dumplings, served as a side with ramen, a snack with beer or a main dish with rice. They descend from jiaozi, a family of Chinese dumplings with a history that stretches back some two thousand years. The cities of Utsunomiya and Hamamatsu compete for the title of gyoza capital. Read the full guide: How Chinese Dumplings Became Japan's Crispy, Garlicky Gyoza

What is oden?

Oden is a nabemono (one-pot dish) of eggs, radish, fish cakes and other items simmered slowly in a broth of dashi (Japanese soup stock) and soy sauce. It is a winter comfort food served at convenience stores, izakaya (casual pubs) and dedicated oden restaurants, and it varies from Tokyo to Nagoya to Shizuoka. Read the full guide: Oden, the Winter Pot That Warms Japan From Konbini to Izakaya

What is yakisoba?

Despite its name, which means fried buckwheat, yakisoba is not made from buckwheat. It uses Chinese-style wheat noodles (chukamen), steamed and stir-fried with sliced pork and vegetables such as cabbage, onion and carrot. It is the unofficial anthem of festival food, sold at yatai (food stalls) at a matsuri (festival). Read the full guide: Yakisoba and Matsuri Stalls: What to Eat at a Japanese Festival

What is taiyaki?

Taiyaki is a fish-shaped cake, usually filled with sweet red bean paste and cooked in cast iron molds. The fish is the tai (red sea bream), a symbol of celebration whose name echoes medetai, meaning auspicious or joyous. A round cousin of taiyaki is called imagawayaki. Read the full guide: Taiyaki and Japan's Street Sweets: Fish-Shaped Cakes and Their Cousins

What are anko and dorayaki?

Anko is a sweet paste made from azuki beans, boiled until soft, sweetened with sugar and mashed or sieved to the desired texture. Dorayaki is two soft golden pancakes with a layer of anko between them, a snack for children, a gift box at the office and, for millions of fans, the favorite food of the blue robotic cat Doraemon. Read the full guide: Dorayaki and Anko: The Red Bean Paste Behind Japan's Favorite Pancake

What is miso?

Miso is a fermented seasoning paste made from steamed soybeans, salt and koji (a mold-cultured grain), left to ripen over months or sometimes years. Rice or barley is often added, which changes the flavor. It can be smooth or chunky, pale cream or dark, and it varies dramatically from one region to the next. Read the full guide: Miso Unmasked: The Fermented Heart of Japanese Cooking, Region by Region

What are the main types of Japanese soy sauce?

Shoyu (soy sauce) has five official types, and the two most common are koikuchi and usukuchi. It traces back to a salty fermented condiment from China. Famous producing places include the cedar barrels of Shodoshima Island and the towns of Noda and Choshi. Read the full guide: Shoyu Explained: Japan's Soy Sauce, From Shodoshima Barrels to Noda

What does toriaezu biru mean?

It means beer, for now. It is a very common first order at a Japanese izakaya, followed by a cheerful kanpai (cheers). Commercial beer in Japan is only about 150 years old, and nearly all of its famous names were born in the Meiji era (1868 to 1912). Read the full guide: Japanese Beer: From Meiji Breweries to Super Dry and Craft Taprooms

Why does a ramune bottle have a marble inside?

Ramune comes in a Codd-neck bottle, a design patented in 1872 by Hiram Codd, a soft drink maker in London. You push a plastic plunger down onto the bottle, hear a gentle hiss, and the marble drops into the neck with a clink. Japan also gave the world Calpis, a milky, tangy drink, and made bottled green tea an everyday product. Read the full guide: Ramune, Calpis and Green Tea in a Bottle: Japan's Soft Drink Story

What is a bento?

A bento is a Japanese packed meal, arranged in compartments: for example rice topped with a pickled plum, grilled salmon and a golden omelet roll. The idea is very old, from dried rice carried by travelers in ancient times to the lacquered boxes of Edo-period outings, the first station bento of 1885 and the character bento that families share online today. Read the full guide: Bento Boxes Explained: From Edo Flower Viewing to Cartoon Faces

Why does the word gohan mean both rice and meal?

In Japanese the word for cooked rice, gohan, also means meal, which shows how deeply rice runs through daily life. Wet-field rice farming reached Japan during the first millennium BC with migrants from the Korean Peninsula, and short-grain varieties such as Koshihikari are prized for their taste. Read the full guide: The Grain Behind Every Japanese Meal: Koshihikari, Terraces and Gohan

What is yakiniku?

Yakiniku (literally grilled meat) is a meal where everyone cooks at the table: bite-sized pieces of mostly beef and offal, plus vegetables, grilled over charcoal or a gas or electric grill and dipped in sauce. Korean cooking traditions shaped it, and it has become one of Japan's most beloved ways to celebrate with family and friends. Read the full guide: Yakiniku: How Japanese-Korean Grilled Meat Became a National Favorite

How did bread become popular in Japan?

Bread arrived in Japan long after rice, noodles and rice cakes. The word pan comes from Portuguese. Japanese bakeries are known for anpan (a red bean bun), melon pan with its crisscross crust, curry pan and shokupan, the soft white milk bread that became the standard loaf. Shoppers pick up a tray and a pair of tongs and choose their own. Read the full guide: Anpan, Melon Pan and Shokupan: How Japan Fell for Bread

What does shun mean in Japanese cooking?

Shun is the seasonal peak of an ingredient, when seafood and vegetables are at their best taste and most nutritious. Food shops look like calendars: bonito in early summer, chestnuts, persimmons and mushrooms in autumn, and daikon radish, citrus and crab in winter. The first harvest of the year carries special excitement. Read the full guide: Shun: Why Japanese Cooking Waits for Each Ingredient's Perfect Moment

Is fugu (pufferfish) safe to eat in Japan?

In Japan, fugu is prepared by chefs who have trained for years and hold an official license, and a system of regulation keeps the dish safe. It is a winter delicacy closely tied to the city of Shimonoseki, and it is treated as a craft and a celebration. Read the full guide: Fugu: The Licensed Art of Serving Japan's Famous Pufferfish

What are yudofu and yuba?

Yudofu is a simple Kyoto dish of tofu warmed in water with a strip of kombu (dried kelp) and dipped in a soy-based sauce with scallion and bonito flakes. Yuba (tofu skin) is a quieter specialty with a long link to Buddhist temple cooking. Kyoto became the center of tofu culture. Read the full guide: Tofu and Yuba: Kyoto's Gentle Soy Cuisine and Its Temple Roots

What is yuzu?

Yuzu is Japan's most famous citrus, with a bright scent that blends lemon, grapefruit and something floral. It is believed to have originated in the upper Yangtze River basin in China and reached Japan by way of the Korean Peninsula before the Nara period. The peel scents soups, and whole fruits are floated in the hot winter solstice bath. Sudachi and kabosu are other well-loved Japanese citrus. Read the full guide: Yuzu, Sudachi and Kabosu: The Citrus That Perfumes Japanese Cooking