Asia · Traditional

Japanese cuisine

Known for sushi, ramen, and delicate presentation.

Explore recipes Build a Japanese menu Wine pairings

Food history

Why Japanese cuisine is worth exploring

Japanese food tells the story of geography, trade, agriculture and family cooking. The cuisine has been shaped by the ingredients people could grow, preserve, carry and share, as well as by markets, festivals, migration and regional identity.

Why it is famous

Japanese cuisine is famous for dishes that feel strongly connected to place: everyday family recipes, celebration food, regional specialities and ingredients that give the cooking its recognisable character.

Regional food story

Japanese cuisine is not one single style. Treat the country page as a gateway into regional dishes, local ingredients, family recipes and occasion-led cooking.

How to cook it

Flavours, ingredients and menu ideas

Signature ingredients

Look for the ingredients that define Japanese cooking: staple grains or breads, seasonal vegetables, local herbs and spices, regional cheeses or dairy where relevant, preserved foods, seafood or meat traditions, and sweets linked to festivals or family gatherings.

Cooking style

The cooking style ranges from simple home dishes to more elaborate food for celebrations. Good Japanese recipes usually balance staple ingredients with texture, seasoning and a clear sense of occasion.

Build a menu

Build a Japanese menu by choosing a light starter, a signature main and a dessert that shows the country’s baking or sweet traditions. Add wine or drink pairings where the dish has enough richness, spice, acidity or sweetness to make the match useful.

Starters Mains Desserts

Cook by course

Japanese recipes

Start with a starter, choose a main, then finish with a dessert to build a complete country-inspired menu.

Starters

Japanese starters

Edamame with Sea Salt

Japanese edamame pods boiled briefly and tossed with coarse sea salt.

Starter 10 mins

Hiyayakko

Cold silken tofu with soy sauce, ginger, spring onion and katsuobushi.

Starter 10 mins

Sunomono

Cucumber and wakame vinegar salad with a light rice-vinegar dressing.

Starter 20 mins

Miso Soup

Classic Japanese miso soup with dashi, miso, tofu, wakame and spring onion.

Starter 22 mins

Agedashi Tofu

Crisp potato-starch tofu served in warm tentsuyu-style dashi with grated daikon and spring onion.

Starter 30 mins

Chawanmushi

Savoury steamed egg custard with dashi, chicken, prawn, shiitake and mitsuba.

Starter 43 mins

Takoyaki

Osaka octopus balls with dashi batter, spring onion, pickled ginger, takoyaki sauce and bonito flakes.

Starter 1 hr

Gyoza

Japanese pan-fried dumplings with pork, cabbage, garlic chives and crisp lacy bottoms.

Starter 1 hr 15 mins

Main courses

Japanese main courses

Zaru Soba

Cold buckwheat noodles served on a bamboo tray with chilled dipping sauce, spring onion and wasabi.

Main 23 mins

Gyudon

Thin beef and onion simmered in sweet soy dashi over rice.

Main 25 mins

Kaisen Don

Sashimi seafood rice bowl with tuna, salmon, prawns, ikura, nori and wasabi soy.

Main 25 mins

Oyakodon

Chicken and egg simmered in dashi, soy and mirin over steamed rice.

Main 30 mins

Chicken Teriyaki

Glazed Japanese chicken thighs cooked with soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar.

Main 35 mins

Yakisoba

Japanese festival fried noodles with pork, cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts and savoury-sweet sauce.

Main 35 mins

Tonkatsu

Crisp panko-coated pork cutlet served with shredded cabbage and tonkatsu sauce.

Main 40 mins

Unadon

Grilled eel glazed with sweet soy tare over steamed rice.

Main 40 mins

Omurice

Japanese ketchup fried rice wrapped or topped with a soft omelette.

Main 45 mins

Saba Shioyaki

Salt-grilled mackerel with grated daikon, lemon or sudachi and rice.

Main 47 mins

Ebi Tempura

Light Japanese prawn and vegetable tempura with crisp batter and tentsuyu dipping sauce.

Main 50 mins

Katsudon

Pork cutlet simmered briefly with onion and egg over steamed rice.

Main 50 mins

Nabeyaki Udon

Hot claypot udon with chicken, prawn tempura, egg, mushrooms, greens and dashi broth.

Main 50 mins

Okonomiyaki

Savoury Japanese cabbage pancake with pork, okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori and bonito flakes.

Main 50 mins

Yakitori

Japanese grilled chicken skewers brushed with tare or seasoned simply with salt.

Main 50 mins

Nikujaga

Japanese home-style beef, potato and onion simmered in soy, mirin, sugar and dashi.

Main 55 mins

Karaage

Japanese soy-ginger fried chicken with a crisp potato-starch coating.

Main 1 hr

Sukiyaki

Japanese hotpot of thin beef, tofu, shirataki, negi and mushrooms in sweet soy warishita.

Main 1 hr

Japanese Curry Rice

Mild Japanese curry with beef or chicken, onions, carrots and potatoes served over rice.

Main 1 hr 5 mins

Takikomi Gohan

Seasoned Japanese rice cooked with chicken, mushrooms, carrot, burdock and soy-dashi.

Main 1 hr 5 mins

Chikuzenni

Braised chicken and root vegetables with lotus root, burdock, carrot, konnyaku and shiitake.

Main 1 hr 20 mins

Nigiri Sushi

Hand-shaped sushi rice topped with fresh fish, wasabi and brushed soy.

Main 1 hr 55 mins

Shoyu Ramen

Tokyo-style soy sauce ramen with clear chicken broth, springy noodles, chashu, egg and menma.

Main 7 hr

Saikyo Yaki Black Cod

Kyoto-style miso-marinated black cod grilled until caramelised and silky.

Main 24 hr 12 mins

Desserts

Japanese desserts

Kakigori

Japanese shaved ice with syrup, condensed milk and fruit or matcha toppings.

Dessert 20 mins

Anmitsu

Japanese dessert bowl with kanten jelly, anko, fruit, mochi and black sugar syrup.

Dessert 35 mins

Mitarashi Dango

Grilled rice dumpling skewers glazed with sweet soy mitarashi sauce.

Dessert 45 mins

Daifuku Mochi

Soft glutinous rice mochi wrapped around sweet red bean paste.

Dessert 50 mins

Dorayaki

Two honey pancakes sandwiched around sweet red bean paste.

Dessert 50 mins

Taiyaki

Fish-shaped Japanese cakes filled with sweet red bean paste.

Dessert 50 mins

Matcha Roll Cake

Light matcha sponge rolled with lightly sweetened cream and red bean.

Dessert 57 mins

Japanese Purin

Japanese caramel custard pudding with a soft set and bittersweet caramel.

Dessert 1 hr

Wine and drink pairings

What to drink with Japanese food

When pairing wine with Japanese food, match the structure of the dish first: fresh whites for seafood and herbs, medium reds for tomato, spice or roast meat, sparkling wines for fried or salty starters, and sweet or fortified wines for desserts.

White

Albariño / Vinho Verde

Fresh coastal white wine with citrus, peach, sea-spray minerality and bright acidity. Excellent with seafood, salt cod…

Grape: Albariño, Alvarinho, Loureiro, Arinto Region: Rías Baixas, Minho, Vinho Verde

White

Off-Dry Riesling

Slightly sweet, high-acid Riesling that balances spice, salt, smoked pork and sweet-sour sauces without tasting heavy.

Grape: Riesling Region: Mosel, Pfalz, Alsace, Austria

White

Pinot Grigio / Pinot Gris

Clean, easy-drinking white with pear, apple and citrus. Good for light starters, mild fish, salads and simple vegetable…

Grape: Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris Region: Veneto, Friuli, Alsace, Oregon

White

Sauvignon Blanc

Zesty white wine with lemon, gooseberry, grass and herb notes. It refreshes green vegetables, goat cheese, seafood and…

Grape: Sauvignon Blanc Region: Loire, Marlborough, Bordeaux, Chile

Sparkling

Moscato d'Asti

Lightly sparkling sweet Piedmontese wine with grape, peach and orange blossom.

Grape: Moscato Bianco Region: Piedmont

Sparkling

Sparkling Brut

Dry sparkling wine with crisp acidity and bubbles that lift pastry, salt, fried dishes and starters.

Grape: Sparkling Brut Region: Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, Germany