Top 5 Traditional Japanese Dishes

When Mei first meets Yasahiro, the town's newest bachelor chef, in The Daydreamer Detective, it's not all fireworks and lovelorn looks across the room. She's been living on city-style fast food from convenience stores for the past ten years, and Yasahiro's Japanese slow food cuisine initially makes her want to roll her eyes. He wants to prove to her that his food is better than anything you can buy at a 7-Eleven — which, given what I'm about to describe, is not a hard case to make.

When I think of typical traditional Japanese dishes, my mouth starts to water. These are my top five.

1. Miso Soup

A staple at many Japanese meals, miso soup is made from miso paste dissolved in dashi stock and garnished with seaweed and silken tofu. Light but hearty, savory and warming, it is consumed at any time of day — breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I usually make mine with packets from the store, but homemade from scratch is in a completely different league.

2. Sushi

Of course sushi — probably one of the most recognizable Japanese foods in the world. Rice seasoned with vinegar, combined with raw fish or vegetables, wrapped in nori seaweed. In Japan, sushi was once fast food, eaten standing up with your fingers at small stalls. Now it occupies every point on the spectrum from casual convenience store rolls to extraordinary omakase experiences.

3. Tempura

One of my personal favorites. Tempura refers to vegetables, fish, or meat that have been battered in a light, airy tempura batter and deep-fried to perfection. The batter is deliberately thin — almost translucent — and served with a light dipping sauce and grated daikon. Sweet potato tempura is my all-time favorite. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

4. Yakitori

Walk any city street in Japan and you'll smell it — the sweet, smoky aroma of meat, fish, or vegetables cooking over charcoal. Chicken and beef yakitori on small wooden skewers are the most popular, but eel yakitori is extraordinary. In autumn, mountain vegetables grilled over charcoal are particularly special. Street yakitori stands are one of Japan's great casual pleasures.

5. Soba and Udon

I had to put these together because they're both quintessential Japanese dishes. Udon are white wheat noodles, thick and plump. Soba are darker buckwheat noodles, slender and chewy. Both can be served cold with dipping sauces, in a bowl of hot dashi broth, with curry ladled over them, or fried up with vegetables and meat. Hot or cold, they're filling, tasty, and affordable. Perfect for any occasion.

Now that I've made myself hungry, it's time to go eat Japanese food!