Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

Number of tourists visiting Japan has been significantly increasing in the past few years. This year, one of Japanese TV show introduced top 50 popular Japanese foods which were chosen by foreign people. Indeed, many of my friends also love Japanese foods. My Taiwanese and American friends love Japanese curry, and my Korean friends love tonkatsu. I'm going to share top 10 most popular Japanese foods with you. If you are going to visit Japan, you should try these authentic Japanese foods there. :)

1. Sushi (寿司)
I think that sushi is the most famous Japanese food. When I visit Japan, I often have Japanese authentic sushi! Sushi looks very simple to make. However, most Japanese people have never made sushi at home except for sushi rolls and chirashizushi. I like going to sushi restaurants in Japan and also really loved sushi purchased at Costco Japan. Fish was so fresh and big! You can check my previous entry, Costco in Japan.

Sushi

2. Yakiniku (焼肉)
Yakiniku is Japanese grilled meat. When you go to Japanese yakiniku restaurant for your first time, you will be probably surprised that there are so many kinds of yakiniku. For instance, you can choose from gyutan (beef tongue), karubi (short ribs without bones), harami (tender meat around diaphragm), hatsu (heart) and many more! I usually buy yakiniku sauce at supermarkets and enjoy yakiniku at home. :)

Yakiniku

3. Ramen (ラーメン、らーめん)
Ramen is also very popular Japanese noodle. I can find many ramen restaurants in the U.S. too, but it's very hard to find authentic one! Ramen in Japan is very reasonable (price range is usually between 350 yen to 800 yen) and tastes so great! My hometown, Fukuoka, is very famous for tonkotsu ramen. When I visit Japan, my brother-in-law always takes me to ramen restaurants because he is a ramen lover and really knows which restaurants are the best in the city. You can also find instant ramen noodle at any supermarkets there. You can check my previous entry, Japanese Instant Noodle Haul.

Ramen

4. Tempura (天ぷら、天婦羅)
Tempura is deep fried fish and vegetables such as shrimp, shishito, kabocha and eggplants. Tempura is usually served as tempura teishoku (tempura combo) or tendon (tempura bowl). I love tempura and sometimes make it at home.

Tempura

5. Sashimi (刺身、さしみ)
You will be probably surprised at how fresh Japanese fish is. The fresher the fish is, the better it tastes! You can also find sashimi grade fresh fish at any supermarkets in Japan.

Sashimi

6. Karaage (唐揚げ、からあげ)
Karaage is deep-fried chicken (You can also call any deep-fried meat and fish as karaage). I also sometimes cook karaage at home. You can check my previous entry, How to Cook Karaage.

Karaage

7. Japanese Curry (カレー)
I think everyone loves Japanese curry! I have never seen person who doesn't like Japanese curry. :) You can also make it at home. You can check my previous entry, How to Cook Japanese Curry.

Japanese Curry

8. Yakitori (焼鳥)
Yakitori is grilled chicken which is skewered with bamboo skewers. People also call yakitori for grilled pork skewered with bamboo. Just like yakiniku restaurants I mentioned above, you can find many kinds of yakitori at yakitori restaurant such as momo (chicken thigh), torikawa (chicken skin), nankotsu (chicken cartilage), and so on.

Yakitori

9. Gyoza (ギョーザ、餃子)
When you go to ramen restaurants in Japan, you can find gyoza there. Gyoza is dumplings filled with ground meat and vegetables. You can also cook gyoza at home.

Gyoza

10. Tonkatsu (トンカツ、豚カツ)
Tonkatsu is deep-fried cutlets and is also one of my favorite Japanese foods. :) You can find tonkatsu teisyoku (tonkatsu combo), katsudon (tonkatsu and egg bowl), katsu curry (tonkatsu on curry) and katsu-sand (a tonkatsu sandwich) in Japan. You can also make tonkatsu at home. Indeed, my husband sometimes makes tonkatsu for dinner. :)