Hamburger Steak is a very popular western style dish in Japan, and it is often made at home or served at many restaurants. While regular hamburger steak is made from ground pork and beef, Tofu Hamburger Steak is made from a mixture of Tofu and ground meat. Although Tofu Hamburger Steak has fewer calories and a little softer texture, it tastes meaty enough for meat lovers.
Mugicha is a Japanese summer cold tea made from roasted barely. It has a very fragrant taste from roasting, almost like coffee. Because Mugicha is a no-caffeine tea, it’s been loved by everyone from the young to the old. It is the most popular drink of all time during summer in Japan.
Iced Matcha Latte is a cold milk drink with Matcha green tea powder and sweetener. It’s not really a latte since there is no espresso in it. But, it has became very popular since a big coffee shop chain put it on their menu.
Hiyashiame is a sweet ginger drink that is popular mainly in the Kansai (western) area in Japan. The spicy taste from ginger helps overcome brutal summer heat fatigue. A common sight during summer is a cold drink machine in the front of a tea shop or candy shop with Hiyashiame. It is also well known as a summer festival drink sold by street vendors. For many Japanese, Hiyashiame is a special flavor that is part of summer. If you are tired of sodas and lemonade, try this authentic Japanese summer drink.
Amashoku is old-fashioned Japanese sweet bread. It is not yeast bread but more like a simple baked pastry between a cake and a cookie. Amashoku is very easy to make with easy-to-find ingredients. It is a perfect everyday snack.
Kakiage is a kind of Tempura dish with a variety of chopped vegetables and seafood. This deep-fried round food has a much more casual feeling than Tempura you may know, but it is as delicious as Tempura.
Tempura is one of the most famous Japanese foods outside Japan. It is battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables. Tempura can be as formal as you want it to be at very expensive Tempura specialty restaurants in Japan. Kakiage, on the other hand, is made from thinly-cut or chopped vegetables and small pieces of seafood mixed with Tempura batter and deep-fried. It is a great dish to use up left over vegetables hiding in the corner of the fridge.
Umeshu, or plum wine, is a popular sweet drink inside and outside Japan. This tasty drink is a great aperitif and also wonderful as a dessert wine after dinner. It’s often served chilled, over ice, or mixed with soda water.
Nikuman are Japanese steamed hot buns with ground pork filling. The white bread part is made from both yeast and baking powder, and it is soft and tender. The filling is pork with chopped vegetables seasoned with soy sauce and other flavorings such as oyster sauce and ginger. The name Nikuman comes from the meat (Niku) and the cake (Man from Manjyu). Even though Manjyu are Japanese sweet cakes, this is a savory Manjyu Japanese people love eating for a snack and light meal.
Okayu is Japanese rice porridge. It is often eaten when people are not feeling well. It has a very mild taste and it’s easy to digest, making it a perfect food when you don’t have much of an appetite. Okayu is also eaten for breakfast sometimes. For example, some hotel restaurants there serve Okayu in a breakfast buffet.
Kitsune Udon (きつねうどん) is Udon noodles in hot Dashi soup topped with Aburaage that has been cooked in a sweet and salty sauce. Although you don’t often see Kitsune Udon in Japanese restaurants in the US, it is one of the most popular dishes and a staple menu item at Udon restaurants in Japan.
Kitsune is “fox” in Japanese, but don’t worry, we don’t use fox meat in the dish. Some people think the dish may have been named because of a folk tale that Aburaage is a fox’s favorite food. Others think it is called Kitsune because of the brown color that is similar to a fox. In fact, we often use “Kitsune Iro” (fox color) to describe a brown color in cooking.