Mix Juice is another popular item from old fashioned cafes or Kissaten in Japan. Mix Juice is just blended fruit juice like smoothies, but it has been around way longer than today’s smoothies. The mixture of different kinds of fruits, common kinds such as banana, tangerine, and apple, with milk has a simple taste, but it has universal appeal to people.
Tuna and Corn Pizza is a popular type of pizza in Japan. It sounds strange to people outside Japan, but it is quite good, and it is definitely worth trying.
Miso Soup is one of the most important dishes in Japanese cuisine. It comes with every meal, every day, with meals using Steamed Rice as a main starch. Because we eat Miso Soup so often, we try to simplify the process of making it, and add more variations to it so that we don’t get tired of eating it. Everyday Miso Soup is Miso Soup for everyday living, combining Japanese tradition with cleaning up leftovers.
Taco Rice is a Mexican themed rice bowl dish that originated in Okinawa, a Japanese island far south of the rest of Japan. Although this is something they thought to be like the flavors of Mexico, its taste is very much altered to Japanese liking. Taco Rice does vaguely resemble Mexican food in terms of using ingredients like cooked ground beef, tomatoes and avocado, but other than that, it is not very Mexican at all. However, the dish became so popular in Okinawa that it is spreading out all over Japan, and now it can be seen in a lot of restaurants and cafes outside Okinawa.
Sashimi is sliced raw fish and has been eaten by Japanese people for hundreds of years. Usually Sashimi is served with Soy Sauce to dip, but sometimes salt or citrus juice is preferred for some fish. Sashimi is an essential part of Japanese cuisine, and it is becoming more and more popular outside Japan too.
Tamagoyaki Sandwich is a popular choice for Japanese Bento lunch. Tamagoyaki, pan-fried egg, is a quick but delicious filling for sandwiches. Just make some eggs into a thick frittata-like shape, which takes no time, sandwich the eggs with bread slices, and that’s it. Oh – don’t forget to spread some Japanese mayo and Karashi hot mustard. That’s the key taste of this dish. Tangy Japanese mayonnaise and spicy mustard go very well with mild flavored cooked eggs. To build your Bento, pack your favorite vegetables and fruits to add more nutrition along with the sandwich. Choose colorful ones to please the eyes of your family. There are other easy and tasty sandwich recipes in our cook book Simply Bento: Delicious Box Lunch Ideas for Healthy Portions to Go
Teriyaki Chicken Bento is a simple and easy Bento you can make for you and your family. Pan-fried chicken coated with a sweet and salty sauce is good hot and also at room temperature. It is a great dish for a Bento lunch. Chicken can be made the night ahead so that you can eat some for dinner and leave some for next day’s Bento. Just heat chicken up in the morning, and add lettuce and cherry tomatoes along with Steamed Rice in the Bento box. If you are an early bird, you can of course make the whole thing in the morning. This recipe is from our cook book Simply Bento: Delicious Box Lunch Ideas for Healthy Portions to Go
Vegetable Agebitashi is deep-fried vegetables marinated in a Soy Sauce-based sauce. It can be eaten at room temperature or chilled. In summer, cold Agebitashi is very nice. Cook while it is still cool in the morning, and chill in the fridge in the afternoon until serving for dinner.
Mango Purin (pudding) is a mango-flavored cold jellied dessert, now quite popular in Japan. It is called Purin (or pudding), though it often doesn’t use eggs, and it’s not baked or steamed. It is made of gelatin and chilled. It has a creamy taste from milk and cream, and that may be the reason it’s called “pudding.” It is originally from Hong Kong, and it became popular enough to spread all over the world. Mango Purin is often seen at Chinese restaurants in the US, but not very common anywhere else. However, Mango Purin is more well known in Japan, and you can buy it at a lot of cake shops and other stores like supermarkets and convenience stores.
Iced Hojicha Milk Tea (ほうじ茶ミルクティー) is literally iced milk tea made with Hojicha tea. Iced milk tea is a very popular drink at coffee shops in Japan, especially during summer, although it’s not seen as often in the US. Usually iced tea is made with English black tea in Japan, but some people like Iced Hojicha Milk Tea for a different but interesting fragrance. Lately, it has become more trendy to use Hojicha in iced tea so it’s gaining popularity.