An Pan is a Japanese sweet bread with Anko (sweet red bean paste) inside. It is an old-fashioned kind of bread, and one of the most popular snack breads of all time.
An Pan was created in the late 19th century, and it became tremendously popular right away. Although people in Japan were not familiar with bread back then, they got to like An Pan which is similar to traditional Japanese sweets because of the use of Anko.
Barazushi is a kind of sushi with a lot of vegetables mixed in. Bara means “scattered,” describing here that vegetables are mixed into the sushi rice. It is also called Gomokuzushi (vegetable sushi). It is most often prepared at home rather than served at restaurants and is another “mom’s home cooking” kind of dish everyone likes.
Genmai, or brown rice, is of course the healthier choice than its white counterpart, however not everyone likes it. Few people dislike regular rice, but there are many who don’t like brown rice out there. How about you?
Yakiudon is stir-fried Udon noodles with meat and vegetables. It is so easy and quick to make that it is more home cooking rather than restaurant food. Even though Yakiudon isn’t fancy Japanese food, with a lot of vegetables and meat, it is still a very good thing for you to eat. Perfect lunch or a great alternative to a fast food dinner.
Bento is a portable packed meal, usually eaten for lunch in Japan. You can buy bento at bento shops, convenience stores, grocery stores, train station shops – pretty much anywhere there. However, as we always say, the home-made kind is the best! And it’s not hard to make at all.
If you know you need to bring lunch the next day, just think ahead. Leave some food from dinner aside, and even prepare vegetables before you go to bed. It is busy in the morning for everyone, so keep the Bento making to a minimum in the morning.
Natto is fermented soy beans and is often eaten for breakfast in Japan. It is gooey and slimy, and also notoriously smelly, but it’s a nutritious and healthy food loved by a lot of Japanese people.
Natto is almost always eaten over rice. It is extremely simple to prepare: you mix Natto with soy sauce or Mentsuyu and stir vigorously until forming sticky goo around the beans. Then pour it over hot rice. You can add toppings like chopped green onions and Japanese mustard, but basically that’s it. There can’t be an easier breakfast than this. Natto has a lot of nutrients like vitamin B, K, protein, fiber, calcium, etc. Natto also contains its own enzyme good for preventing blood clots, so they say.
Yudofu (Yu Tofu) is Tofu cooked in hot water (Yu) in a pot. It is a very simple Nabe hot pot dish. Usually the hot water is not actually just water but Kombu (dried kelp) broth to give the dish more flavor. It is typically served with tangy Ponzu sauce for dipping. You can use Mentsuyu instead for dipping sauce if you don’t like Ponzu.
Kaki Fry is breaded with Panko bread crumbs and deep-fried oysters, often eaten with Tonkatsu Sauce, lemon juice, and tartar sauce (or other toppings). It is a taste of winter when oysters are in season in Japan.
Living in the US, we easily forget when a certain food is actually in season and supposed to be harvested because we can buy almost anything any time of the year. In Japan, although that may be becoming true too, it is hard to ignore which food is in season because of its abundance and quality at markets, and at very reasonable prices. Oysters become nice and fat and reach the peak of flavor around February and March, so you definitely have to eat them then in Japan.
Typical Japanese mornings start with Steamed Rice and Miso Soup. You can add some protein and vegetable dishes to that to complete the meal. Here we served Tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) and Hourensou No Gomaae (Spinach Salad with Sesame Sauce). It may seem heavier than cereal and milk, but this kind of Japanese breakfast is packed with nutrition and keeps you going until lunch time without snacking.
Tekka Don is a rice bowl with marinated tuna Sashimi on top. It is an extremely easy dish to make if you have good Sashimi grade tuna (raw tuna that is sold to be eaten raw). Even though the dish is not complicated, Tekka Don tastes really good and is much more special than typical Donburi (rice bowl) dishes such as Oyakodon.