Nikudango Amazuan (肉団子甘酢餡) are meatballs coated with sweet and sour sauce. Nikudango literally means meatball and Amazuan means sweet and sour sauce in Japanese. This is another Chinese dish that has been adapted into Japanese cuisine. It can of course be found at Chinese restaurants in Japan, but a lot of people make the dish at home as a dinner entree.
Buta Don is stir-fried pork seasoned with a soy sauce-based sauce over Steamed Rice. Strong soy-garlic flavor and plenty of fat from pork make this dish rich and fulfilling, and it is very easy to make. Buta Don is a great one-bowl dish for hungry teenagers (and anybody else!) who want to eat good food fast.
Subuta is a Japanese version of Sweet and Sour Pork, the famous Chinese dish in the US. Deep fried crispy pork coated in a thick sweet vinegary sauce is one of the most appealing Chinese foods for a lot of people. Japanese Sweet and Sour Pork, Subuta has much less batter around the meat, and therefore it is less fatty, and tangier sauce than the American counterpart. This seemingly complicated dish is easier to make at home than you might think.
Nikumiso (肉味噌) is braised ground pork seasoned with Miso paste. The ginger and garlic in the dish give a wonderful aroma to it. Even though the red Miso used here is saltier and has a stronger taste than regular Awase (mixed) Miso, the sweetness of onions mellows it out. Nikumiso is not a main dish, but it can be used in many different ways as a side dish. You can simply put it on Steamed Rice and make into a Donburi (bowl). Or use as a filling for Onigiri rice balls to give a twist to your usual dish. You can also add it to your favorite noodles like Udon and Soba, or even pasta. We wrapped Nikumiso with lettuce leaves, and it became a great appetizer. If you multiply the recipe, you can serve for a crowd at a party.
Nikumiso is a tasty side dish you can make ahead. This strongly seasoned beef can be kept in the fridge up to a week. Heat up a little just before serving. Perfect for lunch and busy weekday dinners when you want one more thing!
Kimchi Nabe (キムチ鍋) is a hot pot dish popular in winter in Japan. That’s right, it is Kimchi in Nabe just like the Korean hot pot dish, Kimch Jjigae. Kimchi Nabe has been popular in Japan for a long time, and evolved as their own version of Kimch Jjigae. It is mildly spicy, but it is hot temperature-wise of course, making it a great family dinner on a cold winter night.
Tonteki is sauteed pork loin with a garlicky savory brown sauce. This hearty but reasonable B-class gourmet dish started in Yokkaichi city in Mie prefecture originally, but gradually spread to other parts of Japan.
Tonteki means pork (ton) steak (teki), and its origin is interestingly at a Chinese restaurant in Yokkaichi city in the 1960s. The dish was first created by the restaurant owner to satisfy the appetite of manual labor workers in the industrial city, but it gained its popularity quickly with many other people. Now a lot of restaurants in the area and beyond serve this pork dish with variations of their brown sauce.
Kakuni is braised pork belly cooked and flavored strongly with Soy Sauce and sugar. It is not a traditional Japanese dish to put in Osechi Ryori (New Year feast), but a lot of people today enjoy Kakuni in their Osechi as well as many other occasions.
Buta Kimchi is stir-fried pork and Kimchi, chili pickled nappa cabbage. This spicy dish is popular in Japan at Izakaya (bars which serve a lot of small appetizers with drinks) and also at home as a quick and easy appetizer.
Pork Shabu Shabu Salad is a perfect dish for a hot summer dinner. It is easy to cook with a minimal amount of cooking time using heat, and you can cook ahead earlier in the day when it’s not so hot.
Shabu Shabu is a Japanese hot pot dish (Nabemono), with paper-thin sliced beef. It is cooked at the dinner table using a portable gas stove and we eat it as we cook. For this dish though we used sliced pork, and made it into cold salad. If you prefer, you may use sliced beef too. You can also add or replace different vegetables such as Daikon sprouts, lettuce, and cucumber.
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.