My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan - My Favorite Japanese Foods

Thursday, December 17, 2015

My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan - My Favorite Japanese Foods

In my previous entries, I shared top 50 most popular Japanese foods which were chosen by foreign tourists in Japan. Today, I decided to share top 15 my must eat foods in Japan with you. Because I live in Southern California now and am able to get Japanese ingredients easily at Japanese supermarkets here, I can cook many Japanese foods at home such as Japanese curry, nikujyaga and karaage. Even though I love Japanese curry, it is not the one I want to eat in Japan. That's why my must eat foods in Japan are something I can only eat in Japan. :)

No.1 Sushi　寿司
Even though there are many sushi restaurants in the U.S., it's very hard to find authentic sushi restaurant. Most sushi here is too Americanized and not something I used to eat in Japan. When I visit Japan, I always have some sushi more than two times a week. (Frankly, I want to eat sushi every day during traveling Japan!)

Sushi　寿司

No.2 Sashimi　刺身
I can find sashimi grade fresh fish at Japanese supermarkets in the U.S., and I can say that fresh sea urchin which is served at Japanese restaurant here tastes better than one in Japan. However, I think that other fresh sashimi such as tuna, squid and so on in Japan is the best in the world. Sashimi in Japan is very fresh and high quality. :)

Sashimi　刺身

No.3 Kaisendon　海鮮丼
Now you know how much I love fresh raw fish dishes! Because I love sashimi, kaisendon is obviously my most favorite rice bowl dish in Japan! :)

Kaisendon　海鮮丼

No.4 Basashi　馬刺し
Basashi is fresh raw horse meat. I think eating horse meat is not acceptable for some other countries, but I do like basashi.:) My hometown is Kyushu, where is very famous for basashi in Japan. When my husband and I visit there, my mother-in-law always serves fresh basashi for us. I didn't use to eat basashi before because it's pretty expensive, but I really love basashi because it's so delicious! You can put soy sauce and grated ginger (or grated garlic) on it. I think you will be surprised at how delicious it is. :) According to Wikipedia, majority of horse meat in Japan is imported from other countries such as Australia, Canada, and U.S. However, I have never seen horse meat here in U.S. You can check out my previous entry, Raw Horse Meats, Basashi in Japan.

Basashi　馬刺し

No.5 Tamago Kake Gohan　卵かけごはん
Tamago kake gohan is raw egg on rice. I know that eating raw egg is never acceptable for people in most countries because raw egg might be contaminated with salmonella, and I think this is probably another bizarre food culture in Japan. However, I love tamago kake gohan, and this is one of must eat foods in Japan for me. Because Japanese people eat raw egg, those are sold on the premise of being consumed raw in Japan. That's why egg producers make eggs perfect cleaning before marketing eggs. You can check out my previous entry, How to Make Tamago Kake Gohan.

Tamago Kake Gohan 卵かけごはん

No.6 Karashi Mentaiko 辛子明太子
Karashi mentaiko is the marinated roe of pollock and cod in Japan. You can find mentaiko any supermarkets in Japan, but I recommend you to get ones at shops at airports or food sections in department stores because supermarket ones are not as delicious as ones at department stores. Karashi mentaiko is really perfect with fresh steamed rice. :)

Karashi Mentaiko 辛子明太子

No.7 Takoyaki in Osaka たこ焼き
I used to live in Osaka for many years and miss some foods there. You probably know that Osaka is famous for takoyaki. You can find many takoyaki stores everywhere in Japan, but ones in Osaka taste seriously better than ones in other prefectures! It's very hot and creamy. My favorite takoyaki stores in Osaka are Wanaka (わなか), Kougaryu (甲賀流) and Yamachan (やまちゃん), so if you are going to Osaka, you really should try their excellent takoyaki. :)

Takoyaki たこ焼き

No.8 Tonkatsu　豚カツ
Tonkatsu is one of my favorite foods, and I can cook it at home in the U.S., but when I visit Japan, I still tend to choose tonkatsu at restaurants because it's so delicious! I love all tonkatsu foods such as tonkatsu teisyoku (tonkatsu combo), katsudon (tonkatsu bowl), and katsusand (tonkatsu sandwitches).

Tonkatsu 豚カツ

No.9 Cheese Cake from Rikuro Ojisan No Mise in Osaka　りくろーおじさんの店のチーズケーキ
When I visit Osaka, I always purchase some whole cheese cakes at Rikuro Ojisan No Mise (りくろーおじさんの店). Their freshly baked cheese cakes are very popular and so fluffy! A whole cheese cake is only about 600 yen! There is always long lines to purchase their cheese cakes, but it's really worth your time for their delicious cheese cake.

Cheese Cake at Rikuro Ojisan No Mise　りくろーおじさんの店のチーズケーキ

No.10 Butaman from 551 Hourai in Osaka　551蓬莱
Butaman (pork bun) from 551 Hourai is one of my must eat foods in Japan. They have many branches located in Kansai. You can find pork buns at most convenience stores in Japan, but those are not as delicious as ones from 551 Hourai. Their butaman is so huge and delicious! You should try them when you visit Osaka.

Butamans from 551 Hourai　551蓬莱の豚まん

No.11 Hamburg　ハンバーグ
Hamburg is a very popular Salisbury steak in Japan. If you travel Japan, you really should try Japanese hamburg. There are many kinds of hamburg there such as wafu hamburg (和風ハンバーグ) and yofu humbarg (洋風ハンバーグ). As I mentioned in my previous entry, when I visited my hometown, my brother took me to the very popular hamburg restaurant. I chose this Italian Cheese Hamburg Combos with Tomato Sauce there. Hamburg is usually served on a very hot cast iron plate there, so it looks like still cooking. You can find hamburg at many hamburg restaurants and teishoku restaurants in Japan.

Italian Cheese Hamburg Combos with Tomato Sauce イタリアンチーズハンバーグ定食

No.12 Gyudon　牛丼
You might know, Gyudon is Japanese beef bowl. There are Yoshinoya branches in the U.S., but I always have gyudon in Japan because it tastes much better, and I can add raw egg on it. (Obviously, Yoshinoya US doesn't serve raw eggs.) Gyudon in Japan is very inexpensive and it's only around 300 yen! You can check out my previous entry, Sukiya - Beef Bowl Restaurant in Japan.

Gyudon　牛丼

No.13 Tofu from Otokomae Tofu Ten　男前豆腐店の豆腐
As I mentioned in my previous entries, last time I was staying my parents' home, I discovered that tofu products from Otokomae Tofu Ten are so delicious! I tried thier Ken Tokunou (ケン特濃), Edamame Kenchan (枝豆ケンちゃん), Yuzu Kenchan (ゆずケンちゃん), Gurasan Tofu (グラサン豆腐) and Otokomae Tonyu (男前豆乳). I loved all of them, but specially I liked Ken Tokunou and Otokome Tonyu. Ken Tokunou was creamy silken tofu. You can easily find silken tofu in the U.S., but Ken Tokunou was not ordinarily tofu, it's incredibly creamy and so delicious! Otokomae Tonyu is soy milk. I can say that their soy milk is the best in the world! If truth be told, you can find their tofu products at Mitsuwa, Japanese supermarkets in the U.S. However, those are 6 times more expensive than ones in Japan. I cannot afford to buy those here, but I will definitely purchase those again in Japan. If you visit Japan, you should check out their tofu products at supermarkets there.

Tofu from Otokomae Tofu Ten　男前豆腐店の豆腐

No.14 Chicken Nanban　チキン南蛮
Chicken nanban is my favorite foods in Japan. When I go to teishoku restaurants or bento stores, I tend to order chicken nanban. It's deep-fried chicken with tartar sauce. I can probably cook chicken nanban at home, but I have never cooked it. I think I should try to cook it someday.

Chicken Nanban　チキン南蛮

No.15 Japanese Commercial Bread　市販のパン
You know that bread is everywhere in the world, but Japanese commercial bread is not as same as one U.S. supermarkets sell. I don't know why Japanese bread tastes so good. I always buy some there and bring them to U.S. :) You should try Japanese sliced bread, which is thicker than U.S. one.