Nabemono is the name encompassing numerous Japanese one-pot dishes, cooked with a variety of ingredients. In restaurants, they are usually prepared tableside and served to the guests. The name derives from the traditional pot in which the ingredients are cooked, called nabe, while mono means things, referring to an array of ingredients used in the dish.
Nabemono is primarily a communal dish, in which the pot is placed in front of the guests and filled with dashi broth, sake, and soy sauce. A myriad of ingredients, meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles, are placed on the table and subsequently placed in the pot.
VARIATIONS OF Nabemono
MOST ICONIC Nabemono
View moreA delicious combination of tempura and donburi - hence the name tendon - this classic Japanese one-bowl meal consists of battered and deep-fried seafood or vegetables laid over freshly steamed rice. The most popular ingredients for tendon include ebi or shrimps, which can be found in virtually all tempura dishes, and Japanese eggplant called nasu, but also other vegetables such as daikon radish and kabocha squash.
Tendon is usually drizzled with the umami-imparting tentsuyu, a savory tempura sauce made with dashi soup stock and a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar called kaeshi. Alternatively, to make your tendon bowl look even more appetizing, the tempura pieces can be separately dipped in any dashi or soy-based sauce before being neatly arranged on top of a steamy bed of rice.
MOST ICONIC Tendon
View moreMAIN INGREDIENTS
Kake soba is a traditional version of soba noodles-based dishes and the most basic way to eat soba noodles in a hot dish. In order to prepare it, soba noodles are boiled, drained, and served in a bowl while still hot. A hot broth consisting of soy sauce, mirin, and dashi is then poured over the noodles and the dish is ready to be slurped.
Kake soba is characterized by its mild flavor, but the dish can be enriched with sliced scallions or a sprinkle of shichimi pepper on top, as well as slices of kamaboko fish cakes or soft-boiled pickled eggs (ajitsuke tamago), if desired.
Chawanmushi is a delicate custard-soup, its name meaning steamed in a tea cup. Each portion of the dish is ideally served in a small, lidded cup, either as an appetizer or as a part of a bigger meal. The custard usually consists of an egg mixture that can be flavored with numerous ingredients such as dashi (Japanese stock), soy sauce, mushrooms, tofu, ginko nut, or steamed shrimp.
It is believed that the dish originated in Kyoto and Osaka during the Kansei period, later spreading to Edo and Nagasaki. Chawanmushi can be served hot, warm, or cold, and can be garnished with carrot shavings, Japanese parsley, or even more seafood.
VARIATIONS OF Chawanmushi
MAIN INGREDIENTS
A specialty of the Japanese Kantō region known as monjayaki is pan-fried batter, a type of pancake consisting of wheat flour (komugiko) and fish broth (dashi). The pancake is mixed with cabbage, seasonings, and other ingredients, cooked until it is crispy on the bottom and partially cooked on the surface.
The dish first became popular after World War II, when food was scarce, and the combination of dashi and komugiko provided an inexpensive way for numerous families to eat. Originally, monjayaki is derived from funoyaki, a batter-only snack that was often served during Buddhist ceremonies.
MOST ICONIC Monjayaki
View moreMAIN INGREDIENTS
Tempura udon is a Japanese dish which consists of thick udon noodles served in a flavorful dashi stock. The combination is typically topped with crisp tempura vegetables and shrimps. The broth is usually seasoned with soy sauce and mirin and can vary in saltiness and color.
Next to whole battered shrimps, tempura udon is occasionally garnished with various toppings such as sliced scallions, fish cakes, or the spicy shichimi seasoning. This hearty hot udon dish can be found on the menus of traditional Japanese udon restaurants throughout the country.
MOST ICONIC Tempura udon
View moreCommonly eaten as a side dish or an appetizer, agedashidofu is a popular dish consisting of deep-fried tofu that is typically served with tentsuyu dipping sauce, made with dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. It is a well known, old dish, and the recipe for it was included in a 1782 Japanese tofu cookbook called Tofu Hyakuchin, alongside other tofu dishes such as simmered and chilled tofu.
Although it is easy to prepare, one can find agedashidofu in almost every Japanese restaurant. The dish is commonly topped with chopped negi spring onions, grated daikon, or dried bonito fish flakes.
MOST ICONIC Agedashi tofu
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Kitsune udon is a famous Japanese dish which consists of thick udon noodles served in a fragrant dashi broth which is then topped with sliced or whole deep-fried tofu known as aburaage. The name of the dish is translated as fox udon, following the old folk tale which suggests that foxes are great admirers of deep-fried aburaage.
Even though the origin of this dish is vague, it is believed that it originated in the 19th-century Osaka, from where it spread throughout Japan and became one of the most common dishes served in traditional Japanese udon restaurants.
MOST ICONIC Kitsune udon
Miso soup is a traditional soy-based soup made from a stock called dashi, miso paste, and various additional ingredients such as seaweed or tofu. It is estimated that more than 70% of Japeanese people consume the soup for breakfast, although it is commonly available at any time of the day.
In Japanese restaurants in the United States, miso soup is often offered as an appetizer. The soup is thought to have medicinal properties, as it alkalizes the blood and revives the nervous system. The main ingredient is called miso - a combination of rice, salt, water, and fermented soybeans, shaped into a paste that is similar to peanut butter in texture.
MOST ICONIC Miso Soup
View moreOnsen tamago is a traditional delicacy made by slow-cooking eggs in baskets that are submerged in onsen hot springs. The eggs are cooked in their shells so that the yolk becomes soft-set and the egg white develops a loose consistency. It is believed that the secret is in the hot springs' temperature, which causes the egg to be creamy and flavorful on the interior.
Traditionally, onsen tamago is consumed by placing the egg in an indentation in steamed rice and drizzling some soy sauce or broth around it, preferably with some grated daikon on the side. It is recommended to garnish the dish with finely chopped spring onions on top.
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