Recipes

Japanese recipes

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26 recipes

Hiyashi chuka

Hiyashi chuka (冷やし中華) is Japan's summer noodle dish: shops all over the country hang up a 'hiyashi chuka hajimemashita' (we've started serving it) sign when the hot weather arrives. Cold, springy ramen noodles are topped with neat strips of thin omelette, cucumber, tomato and other vegetables, then dressed with a tangy soy, vinegar and sesame sauce. This vegetarian version uses sweetcorn and seasoned tofu in place of the usual ham. Fresh, light and ready in under half an hour. Chef's tip: rinse the noodles until they squeak and are truly cold, then shake them dry; any warmth or water left on them makes the dressing taste flat.

25 minPasta & Noodles

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Kitsune udon

Kitsune udon (きつねうどん, 'fox udon') comes from Osaka, where a noodle shop first floated a sheet of sweet simmered fried tofu on a bowl of udon in the 1890s. The name comes from the folk tale that foxes love fried tofu. Soft, chewy noodles sit in a pale, gently sweet broth, and the tofu soaks up the soup like a sponge. This version uses a kombu and shiitake dashi instead of bonito, so it is fully vegetarian. Chef's tip: let the sweet tofu cool in its simmering liquid if you have time; as it cools it drinks up the sauce, so every bite bursts with sweet soy juice in the hot broth.

25 minPasta & Noodles

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Zaru soba

Zaru soba (ざるそば) is the simplest and most loved way to eat buckwheat noodles in Japan, served chilled on a bamboo tray (zaru) with a small cup of dipping sauce. You pick up a mouthful of noodles, dip them, and slurp. The usual tsuyu sauce is made with bonito; this one gets its savoury depth from kombu and dried shiitake. Refreshing on a hot day, with grated wasabi, spring onion and a little nori. Chef's tip: the ice-water rinse is not optional. It washes off the surface starch and tightens the noodles so they're slippery and firm; soba shops call this 'shime', the finishing chill.

20 minPasta & Noodles

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Yaki udon

Yaki udon (焼うどん) was first made in Kitakyushu, in northern Kyushu, just after the war, when a café owner ran out of soba for yakisoba and fried udon instead. The thick, chewy noodles are tossed in a hot pan with cabbage, onion, mushrooms and carrot, then glazed with soy, mirin and a little vegetarian Worcestershire-style sauce. Meat is usual in Japan; this vegetarian version gets its richness from shiitake and a fried egg on top. A fast, filling weeknight supper. Chef's tip: get the pan really hot and leave the noodles alone for 30 seconds at a time, so they pick up slightly charred edges; that smoky 'koge' is what makes yaki udon taste like the street-stall version.

20 minPasta & Noodles

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Japanese curry rice

Japanese curry rice (カレーライス) arrived in Japan from Britain via the navy in the late 1800s and is now a national comfort food, cooked in homes from Hokkaido to Okinawa. It is nothing like an Indian curry: the sauce is thick, glossy and mild, made with a roux of butter, flour and curry powder, and sweetened with grated apple. This vegetarian version is packed with potato, carrot, onion and mushrooms. It tastes even better the next day, and children love it. Chef's tip: take the onions all the way to a deep golden brown before anything else goes in. Japanese home cooks swear by this step, as the caramelised onion gives the curry its rounded sweetness.

50 minCurries

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Tofu katsu curry

Katsu curry (カツカレー) is a favourite in canteens and curry houses across Japan, first served in Tokyo's Ginza in the 1940s. A crunchy breaded cutlet is sliced and laid over rice, then half of it is smothered in thick, mild curry sauce, so you get crisp and saucy bites. Here firm tofu replaces the pork. It is a little more work than plain curry rice, but children love it. Chef's tip: fry the katsu at the last minute and pour the curry over only half of it, so you always keep some crunch; Japanese curry houses serve it exactly this way.

45 minCurries

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Yaki onigiri

Yaki onigiri (焼きおにぎり) are rice balls grilled until they form a crisp, toasty crust, then brushed with soy sauce glaze. They are eaten all over Japan, at izakaya, at barbecues and from the freezer section, as a snack or with miso soup. The inside stays soft and steamy while the outside crackles. Best eaten hot, straight from the pan. Chef's tip: let the shaped rice balls dry for 10 minutes before they go in the pan. A drier surface forms a better crust and won't stick, and the glaze goes on only at the end so it doesn't burn.

30 minSnacks & Starters

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Vegetable onigiri

Onigiri (おにぎり) are Japan's everyday lunchbox and picnic food, sold in every convenience store from Tokyo to Kyushu. Warm rice is pressed around a salty or savoury filling and wrapped in a strip of crisp nori. This recipe gives three vegetarian fillings: sour umeboshi (pickled plum), sweet-salty simmered kombu, and a soy-glazed mushroom and carrot mix. Children love helping to shape them, and they keep well for a packed lunch. Chef's tip: use freshly cooked, still-warm rice and salt your hands, not the rice. The grains stick together only while warm, and the salt on the outside seasons every bite the way a Japanese mother would.

30 minSnacks & Starters

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Takikomi gohan

Takikomi gohan (炊き込みご飯) is mixed rice cooked in one pot with seasonal vegetables and a savoury broth, made in homes across Japan, especially in autumn when mushrooms and chestnuts are in season. Every grain soaks up the soy, mirin and mushroom flavour, and the bottom forms a prized toasty crust (okoge). This vegetarian version uses a kombu and shiitake dashi. Serve it with miso soup and pickles, or pack it into onigiri the next day. Chef's tip: never stir once the vegetables are on top, and don't lift the lid while it cooks. The heavy vegetables would sink and the rice cook unevenly; leaving it alone also gives you the toasty okoge crust at the bottom.

50 minRice & Grains

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Omurice

Omurice (オムライス) is a yōshoku dish, Western-style Japanese food, said to have been invented at a Tokyo restaurant around 1900. Tangy ketchup fried rice is wrapped in a thin, soft omelette and topped with more ketchup. Chicken is usual inside; this vegetarian version uses mushrooms, sweetcorn, peas and onion. A favourite with children, and on the table in half an hour. Chef's tip: pull the pan off the heat while the top of the omelette is still a little runny; it finishes cooking from the heat of the rice, and stays soft and silky as in a Tokyo yōshoku diner.

30 minRice & Grains

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Matcha latte

Matcha (抹茶) is finely ground green tea from Uji, near Kyoto, the heart of Japanese tea-growing for centuries. A matcha latte (抹茶ラテ) is the café version: the powder is whisked to a smooth, frothy shot, then topped up with steamed milk and lightly sweetened. It tastes grassy, creamy and gently bitter. Use any milk you like; oat milk froths especially well. Chef's tip: keep the water at about 80°C. Boiling water scorches matcha and makes it bitter; let the kettle stand for 2–3 minutes after boiling before you pour.

7 minDrinks

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Dorayaki

Dorayaki (どら焼き) are two small, golden honey pancakes pressed around a thick layer of sweet red bean paste (anko). They were first sold in their modern form by a Tokyo sweet shop in the early 1900s, and are now in every Japanese bakery and convenience store. The pancakes are soft, moist and slightly springy, with a deep brown, even surface. A good afternoon treat with green tea, and children love them. Chef's tip: wipe the pan almost dry of oil and keep the heat low. That's how Japanese sweet shops get the smooth, evenly brown 'gong' surface (dora means gong); too much oil gives a blotchy, spotted pancake.

40 minDesserts

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