Goma-ae is a popular Japanese side dish consisting of vegetables dressed with sesame sauce. The most popular goma-ae variety is made with spinach that is topped with sesame seeds and miso paste. The name of the dish is derived from two words: goma, meaning sesame, and ae, meaning sauce.
Commonly 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
One of the favorite Japanese street food varieties is a serving of tender grilled squid known as ikayaki. It can employ different types of squid in varying sizes. Serving styles usually range from chopped squid rings to skewered whole pieces. Squid tentacles can be left out or incorporated into the dish, and occasionally they even make the central part of ikayaki.
Usual accompaniment to the dish is soy or teriyaki sauce, or a traditional Japanese marinade which typically includes rice wine, miso paste, ginger, and soy sauce. The squids are prepared quickly, which leaves them tender and plump. The squids should be served immediately once they are off the grill.
MOST ICONIC Ikayaki
Tororo is a unique Japanese side dish that can also be used as an ingredient when added to other dishes. It consists of grated yam and is rich in vitamins and minerals. Traditionally, tororo is combined with wasabi, dashi, or spring onions. It is often added to noodle dishes in order to improve the flavor of the dish.
Tororo is always served cold, and many people like to pour it over rice or salads, but it can also be consumed on its own, since it is very healthy. Its sticky, slimy texture is very appreciated in Japan because it is quite hydrating and acts as a refreshment, especially during the hot summer days.
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Hiyayakko, consumed mostly on hot summer days, is a block of soft tofu that is served cold and topped with finely minced scallions, fresh ginger, and flavorful dried flakes of bonito, a type of oily fish from the mackerel family. The dish is often dipped in soy sauce for an extra boost of flavor.
In the Tofu Hyakuchin, a popular Japanese recipe book, it is said that hiyayakko is so famous that it needs no introduction or recipe. It is not hard to see why hiyayakko is a quintessential summer dish in Japan - it is easy to prepare, doesn't require the oven or the stove, and it provides a great example of how to appreciate all the delicate flavors of fresh tofu.
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Horenso no goma-ae is a traditional salad originating from Japan. The salad is usually made with a combination of spinach, soy sauce, salt, sugar, sesame seeds, and tahini (sesame paste). The spinach is boiled in salted water, drained, and cut into smaller strips.
It is then placed into a bowl and mixed with a combination of soy sauce, sugar, sesame paste, and sesame paste. This simple salad is often used in bento boxes.
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Ohitashi is a traditional dish and a technique in which vegetables (and sometimes seafood) are boiled and immersed in a dashi-based sauce. Nowadays, the dish is usually prepared with spinach that's boiled, topped with dried bonito flakes (katsuoboshi), and dressed with soy sauce.
The word ohitashi is derived from hitashi, meaning to immerse or to dunk. Once prepared, ohitashi spinach salad is usually served as a side dish with steamed rice, miso soup, tonkatsu, ot mapo tofu. If spinach is unavailable, ohitashi can also be prepared with eggplant, okra, and asparagus.
Nasu dengaku is a traditional dish that's usually served as an accompaniment. It consists of eggplants that are sliced, scored, brushed with a miso glaze, then grilled. The name of the dish literally means miso-glazed eggplant. The glaze is made with a combination of miso, mirin, sugar, and water, and it caramelizes as the eggplant cooks.
Once done, nasu dengaku is served as a side dish, often with steamed white rice. It's recommended to pair the dish with a glass of brown rice genmai tea.
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Kiritanpo is a traditional dish with origins in the Akita prefecture. It is made from cooked, half-smashed rice that is placed on a skewer, shaped into cylinders, then toasted over an open fire. The dish is traditionally consumed from autumn to spring, especially in November, when newly harvested rice is brought to the markets.
It is quite common to serve kiritanpo to guests and visitors in Japan. Locals usually place kiritanpo in a hotpot with chicken, green onions, Japanese parsley, and mushrooms, but kiritanpo can also be grilled over the fire together with miso. There are two theories about its origin: one says that the woodcutters used to wrap leftover rice around a stick and consume it with miso, while they were working in the woods, and the other theory says that bear hunters from Akita prefecture served it as an accompaniment to game meat dishes.
MOST ICONIC Kiritanpo
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The Japanese chikuzenni is a dish which combines chicken and vegetables that are slowly simmered in a flavorful broth infused with soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Originating from the Japanese Fukuoka region, known in the past as Chikuzen, it is usually made with shiitake mushrooms, konnyaku, and decoratively sliced root vegetables such as taro, burdock, lotus root, and carrots.
Traditionally served on New Year’s Day, chikuzenni is also commonly prepared as an everyday dish in many Japanese households and it is often included as a side dish in bento boxes.
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