MAIN INGREDIENTS
Similar to an omelet or a pancake, okonomiyaki is an immensely popular Japanese dish. The batter is made with eggs, flour, water, grated yam, and shredded cabbage. Additional ingredients such as fish, seafood, meat, vegetables or cheese are also occasionally added to the mix.
The batter is then pan-fried, similar to a pancake, and finally garnished with condiments such as Japanese mayonnaise, pickled ginger, fish or seaweed flakes, and topped with a sauce similar to the thick Worcestershire sauce. The dish is eaten everywhere in Japan, but it is usually associated with the Kansai region.
VARIATIONS OF Okonomiyaki
MOST ICONIC Okonomiyaki
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Ramen is a noodle soup that first appeared in Japan in 1910, when Chinese cooks combined the noodles with a salty broth. These curly noodles were of bright yellow color and more elastic than the Japanese noodles prepared at the time – the dough was kneaded with a sodium carbonate-infused mineral water called kansui.
In 1958, its name was derived from the pronunciation of the Chinese word lamian (pulled noodles), and that same year, Nissin Foods produced the first-ever instant version of noodles with a chicken-flavored broth called Chickin Ramen.
VARIATIONS OF Ramen
MOST ICONIC Ramen
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Tsukemen is a noodle dish from Japan that is eaten in a unique way. Cold noodles are dipped in the accompanying soup, broth, or sauce, which are served hot in a separate bowl. The noodles can also be dipped in vinegar or spiced up with chili sauce before consumption.
Unlike ramen, where the boiled noodles are placed in the soup bowl, tsukemen is characterized by first washing the noodles with water, which stops them from expanding. It is said that tsukemen is ideal for summer because it provides the wonderful flavors of ramen without the extra heat.
MOST ICONIC Tsukemen
Zōsui is a Japanese rice soup characterized by its thin consistency. It is made with rice, water, and additional ingredients such as meat or vegetables. The soup is commonly flavored with soy sauce or miso. Zōsui is believed to be an ideal soup for curing colds, so it is mostly served during winter.
In the past, it provided a great way to use all of the unwanted ingredients, so the cooks started reusing cold rice by combining it with miso soup, and the healthy zōsui soup was born. Today, cooks often use the stock left from Nabe hotpot, because when all the meat and vegetables are gone, what is left is a flavorful broth that pairs ideally with rice for the creation of a new zōsui dish.
MOST ICONIC Zōsui
Moist, chewy, and hearty, onigiri or omusubi are Japanese rice balls and a favorite picnic food since the 11th century, when they were known as tonjiki and recorded as such in the diary of Lady Murasaki, author of The Tale of Genji (which is believed to be the world's first novel!).
However, the origins of the dish are much earlier than the time of Lady Murasaki. In the Nara period, before chopsticks became popular, rice used to be rolled into small balls in order to be easily picked up and consumed. Typically, onigiri is wrapped in nori seaweed, but that practice did not come about until the late 16th century.
MOST ICONIC Onigiri
Okonomiyaki is a traditional dish that consists of batter and shredded cabbage. Two main variations come from Osaka (Kansai-style) and Hiroshima. The Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is not prepared by mixing the ingredients together like the Osaka-style variety.
Instead, the batter is cooked just like a thin pancake and all the ingredients are cooked separately and layered. Ingredients such as fried eggs, scallions, dried bonito flakes, bean sprouts, and sliced pork belly are placed on the pancake with the toppings, and the dish is served on top of yakisoba (or sometimes udon) noodles.