Japanese Recipes
207 recipes found
Spaghetti Napolitan
Spaghetti Napolitan should be thought of as a yaki (“fried”) noodle dish more than an Italian-style pasta. This smart, effortlessly delicious version comes from ketchup lover Chiaki Ohara of Davelle, a Japanese café on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Frying the ketchupy noodles and vegetables over high heat, in a generous amount of oil, results in a deeply satisfying sauce, so don’t be afraid of a little fire (or oil, for that matter). This is Japan’s yoshoku (“Western-style”) interpretation of Italian tomato spaghetti, a dish that’s hard to get right, but Ms. Ohara’s Napolitan ratios are quietly precise and genius. If you can relish it, the soft fried egg on top adds so much.
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Cheesy, Crunchy, and Retro: Japan’s Iconic Pizza Toast
With toasted slices of thick shokupan—Japanese milk bread—slathered in a sweet, tangy tomato sauce and stacked high with pizza fixings, pizza toast is crunchy, cheesy, savory, and fantastically comforting.
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Ketchup on Spaghetti? You’ll Never Doubt It After Trying This Japanese Favorite
Spaghetti, tiny smoked sausages, and tender vegetables are slicked with a sweet, tangy ketchup-based sauce in this iconic Japanese pasta dish.
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Taco Bell Who? This Taco Rice Bowl Is the Cheesy Fix You Need
The iconic flavors of Tex-Mex-style taco filling—all piled on top of Japanese short-grain rice. Despite its Tex-Mex appearance, the dish is a signature Okinawan meal that tells a deeper story of how war and the US military have influenced local cuisine.
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How to Make the Silkiest, Airiest Japanese Cheesecake Ever
Unlike its American cousin, Japanese cheesecake is light and bouncy, with a fluffy, cotton-like texture that comes from whipped egg whites in the batter. It’s subtly sweet and tart, with just the right amount of richness from cream cheese and heavy cream.
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Crispy, Savory Carrot Pancakes, the Japanese Way
In this easy okonomiyaki recipe, carrots take the place of traditional cabbage, giving the pancakes a sweet, earthy flavor and plenty of crunch.
Mushroom and Egg Donburi
There are many different types of donburi, a Japanese rice bowl topped with some combination of meat and vegetables, including gyudon (beef), katsudon (pork) and oyakodon (chicken and egg). In this meat-free version, which was inspired by oyakodon, mushrooms and leeks simmer in a dashi-based sauce before beaten eggs are poured over and cooked until custardy. The combination of mushrooms and leeks is especially satisfying because it doubles down on the savory and sweet contrast in the sauce, but vegetarian versions of oyakodon are also frequently made with cubed tofu or other thinly sliced vegetables and egg. To keep it vegetarian, use fish-free dashi, which can be purchased or made with dried shiitakes and kombu. (You can add the rehydrated shiitakes to the mushroom mixture.)
Chawanmushi
This creamy yet delicate half-custard, half-flan is an elegant start to a meal. Zaiyu Hasegawa, the chef of Den in Tokyo, beats the eggs — just half an egg per person — with dashi, a stock of kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) that brings a mellow brine and a tinge of smoke. The eggs and dashi, now one, are run through a sieve for smoothness, and seasoned with usukuchi, a lighter-bodied and slightly saltier soy sauce with a tart finish. Pour the mixture into teacups or ramekins and let it steam on the stovetop. While some recipes call for a higher ratio of liquid to egg, here the egg, the richest ingredient, comes to the fore. As a grace note, Mr. Hasegawa suggests a purée of celery root melted down with butter, earthy-sweet. Spoon it on top once the custard has set. With the first bite, the faint chewiness of the celery root gives way to silk and surrender.
Japanese Curry With Chicken Meatballs
For all the impact of a complex, long simmered curry in a cinch, bring on the Japanese curry roux blocks! Unlike curry powder, these curry blocks only need to be simmered in water to add loads of flavor and body. Traditionally carrots, potatoes and onions are included, but this version smothers ginger-spiked chicken meatballs, creamy sweet potato and lots of greens in the sauce. This dish tastes even better the next day as all the flavors mellow and meld, so it’s perfect for meal prep.
Yamitsuki (Addictive Cabbage)
In Japanese, “yamitsuki” means addictive — a precise description of this seemingly humble side dish of cabbage, gently torn and simply anointed with sesame oil and seeds, garlic, black pepper and a fingerprint’s worth of salt. So few ingredients, so little time required, and you can’t stop eating it. Often served at izakayas, the Japanese equivalent of pubs, the cabbage is especially good for refreshing the palate and easing the stomach between bites of richer, fattier foods. Aiko Cascio, an instructor for the New York-based League of Kitchens cooking school, prefers tearing the leaves by hand rather than using a knife because the rougher edges absorb more of the sesame oil. This recipe, from “The League of Kitchens Cookbook” (Harvest, 2024) by Lisa Kyung Gross, Rachel Wharton and the women of the League of Kitchens cooking school, calls for flathead cabbage, also known as Taiwanese cabbage, which is soft and tender, with space between the ribs. If you can find only green, Ms. Cascio advises cutting it into smaller pieces and letting it rest a little longer in salt, for greater pliancy.
Coffee Jelly With Salted Caramel Whipped Cream
Topped with dollops of freshly whipped salted caramel cream, this soft Japanese coffee jelly makes the perfect post-dinner pick-me-up — and is essentially a sweetened espresso in jiggly form. For some contrast to the jellied and creamy textures, the dessert is topped with a sprinkle of crunchy flaky salt as well as cacao nibs. It’s a great dessert to prepare in advance and assemble in front of your guests. For some extra zhuzh, you can douse the cubed coffee jelly in flavored liqueurs, like coffee, orange or chocolate – and you’ll get bonus points for using dainty little coupe glasses!
Avocado Hand Rolls
A fresh pot of perfectly steamed white rice is always a good place to start any meal. Though you could use leftover rice for this recipe, there is no greater comfort than just-cooked rice, especially when it’s seasoned like sushi rice with salt, sugar and acid. Build a meal around that pot: Sushi rice tastes great when stuffed into sheets of roasted seaweed with rich, creamy avocado. You can also tuck sliced cucumber, imitation crab sticks or sushi-grade raw fish into these rolls. If you have an extra 10 seconds, don’t hesitate to whip up the spicy soy sauce and lime juice dipping sauce (see Tip).
Chan Chan Yaki (Miso Butter Salmon)
Chan chan yaki, or miso butter salmon, is a classic dish from Hokkaido, Japan, a place known for its excellent salmon. The fish-and-vegetable dish is frequently made on a teppan (a large grill), with everything chopped and mixed with two metal spatulas that make the onomatopoetic “chan chan” sound. (Other possible “chan chan” derivations include “cha cha,” used to describe something that’s quick, and “otō-chan,” meaning “dad,” since it’s often prepared by patriarchs.) This clever version from Marc Matsumoto, the Tokyo-based blogger behind No Recipes, streamlines the dish for home cooking, calling for a lidded skillet and keeping the salmon in one large piece for easier preparation and presentation. You can replicate the chan chan action in your own bowl or plate, composing perfect bites of salmon, veggies and the miso butter sauce. And the vegetables are flexible: Shimeji mushrooms, bell peppers, corn or negi (long green onions) would all be delicious.
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Air-Fryer Chicken Katsu
Skip deep frying and use your air fryer for easy, juicy katsu-style chicken encased in crunchy panko bread crumbs in under an hour.
Salmon Onigiri
Onigiri are a classic Japanese snack, the compact rice balls are a staple of the country’s convenience stores. They are portable, flavorful and filling — the ideal travel companion — and include dozens of variations. The technique is simple: The filling of choice (salmon, in this case) gets spooned into balls of rice that are shaped into triangles and wrapped in crispy seaweed. Wetting and salting your hands before working with the rice is key — it seasons the rice and prevents the grains from sticking to your palms.
Miso Roasted Salmon
With this fish, less is more: The salty, umami balm of a miso marinade is lightened with lemon zest, which lends floral bittersweetness, and with lemon juice, which brings electric tang and tenderness. Salmon fillets cut into smaller, thinner portions — as they are for a Japanese breakfast spread — end up more evenly cooked and allow the marinade to flavor the fish more intensely (see Tip). If you can find it, yuzu would be fabulous here in place of the lemon. Serve with white rice, miso soup and goma-ae.
Spinach Gomaae
A nutty, savory-sweet sesame dressing coats spinach in this Japanese dish, horenso no gomaae. It comprises four impactful ingredients that taste especially great with a bowl of white rice or as part of a breakfast spread with soup and salmon. Gomaae, pronounced go-MAH-ae, means sesame sauce and is more than just a recipe: Toasted sesame seeds, ground to a tan powder and simply mixed with soy sauce and sugar, are an excellent flavor canvas for spinach and beyond. You can swap in any vegetable, really, but sprightly, crunchy ones like lightly boiled green beans, sugar snap peas and broccoli shine with this application.
Spicy Mushroom and Tofu Mazemen
Mazemen, sometimes known as mazesoba or abura soba, is a brothless ramen dish believed to have originated in Nagoya, Japan. Inspired by a punchier and spicier Taiwanese flavor profile, the soup is replaced with an intensely savory sauce. In this vegan take, this sesame paste-based sauce delivers a rich finish, bolstered with umami agents such as miso, soy sauce and chile crisp. Mazemen, which translates to mixed noodles in Japanese, should be tossed before eating, so that the sauce and the toppings distribute evenly through the noodles. While this recipe is vegan, an egg yolk or an onsen tamago (soft-cooked egg) is a common mazemen topping, which falls apart as it is tossed through the noodles, leaving a silky and creamy finish.
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Katsu Sando (Japanese Breaded Pork or Chicken Cutlet Sandwich)
Japan’s iconic katsu sando features a fried pork or chicken cutlet, finely sliced green cabbage, tonkatsu sauce, all neatly packed between two pillowy slices of Japanese milk bread.
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Shokupan (Japanese Milk Bread)
After experimenting with various flours and methods, I've finally landed on a foolproof recipe. Here's the science behind how to make a gorgeous, tender, and long-lasting loaf.
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Japanese Fruit Sando (Fruit Sandwich)
Nestle sweet-tart strawberries, mangoes, or kiwis into a thick cloud of whipped cream—then sandwich it all together between two slices of pillowy milk bread for a delightful treat.
Tonkatsu
For crackly crisp yet juicy tonkatsu, or Japanese pork cutlets, pound boneless pork loins until impossibly thin, dredge in flour, egg and panko, then deep-fry, not once, but twice. (After the first fry, the pork rests for a bit, allowing it to finish cooking from the residual heat without drying out. It’s quickly fried a second time until golden brown.) Drizzle the finished pork cutlets with tonkatsu sauce, a spiced, sweet and tangy sauce. Here, ketchup and Worcestershire make for a quick rendition, but you can also purchase premade sauce at Japanese markets and online. Serve piping hot tonkatsu and rice alongside a heap of cold shredded cabbage drizzled with a creamy dressing, if you like.
Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a fun and festive Japanese hotpot of sliced beef, cabbage, mushrooms, hearty greens, tofu and noodles that are served nabemono style, meaning everything is served together in a pot at the table. Kansai-style sukiyaki calls for searing the thin slices of beef over high heat in a traditional Japanese cast-iron pot beforehand, whereas this Kanto-style version calls for cooking the beef over low heat, which slowly releases the fat, helping create a rich and flavorful broth. (This means you can cook Kanto-style sukiyaki in a clay donabe without risk of damaging the pot.) Once the beef is cooked, the rest of the ingredients are added to the pot and brought to the table so diners can serve themselves. Each person gets their own small bowl of warishita sauce, a mixture of soy sauce, sugar and sake, plus a runny egg for dipping. It’s a perfect meal for a chilly day.
Chashu
Chashu is a Japanese adaptation of char siu, or Chinese barbecued pork, that’s typically served atop a bowl of steaming ramen, or on its own over steamed rice. Whereas char siu is roasted in an oven at high heat and typically includes Chinese five spice, hoisin and red yeast rice or red food coloring for its distinct color, chashu is usually rolled to maintain its moisture, seared, then braised in a flavorful liquid of sake, soy sauce, sugar, scallions, ginger and sometimes mirin. Save the rich, leftover broth for braising vegetables, or marinate peeled, hard boiled eggs in it, then use the eggs to top ramen. Uncut pork belly can sometimes be tricky to find, so call the butcher ahead of your visit to order a whole piece before they slice it for bacon.