• Japan Tips

Easy Washoku Meals Anyone Can Make

japanese meal

As a coronavirus pandemic spreads, many people are spending more time at home than they used to. One of the productive activities at home that many people are doing is cooking. 

 

This unexpected stay-at-home period has given us more time to cook delicious food at home, so we thought it’d be a good time to celebrate some traditional washoku (Japanese cuisine) dishes. 

 

Having a strong immune system is the key to survival in this current world and that’s one of the main benefits of washoku dishes, as Japanese traditional foods are healthy hand have a good nutritional balance. Some ingredients like miso, yuzu, and tofu can help you stay healthy and boost your immune system. 

 

The fact is that eating out is more costly and not something that Japanese people do everyday. Eventually, you’ll have to cook something at home. It’s more economical and healthier to cook for yourself.” – an ALT from Interac

 

Let us introduce some of the easy washoku (Japanese cuisine) recipes that you can try at home. Some of these recipes might already be familiar to you, but some dishes are far more satisfying and enjoyable if you make them yourself. These classic Japanese dishes are not that difficult to make, so take your pick from the list of recipes and try one for yourself at home. 

Soy Milk Miso Soup (豆乳味噌スープ）-

Miso soup is a classic Japanese dish. It’s often served as a side dish with any washoku meal – it’s warm, comforting, and tasty. That being said, it is possible to get bored of the same things, but there is another way to make miso soup.

 

Tonyu Miso Soup is a variation of miso soup that includes the addition of soy milk. Whilst this might seem odd, it’s a very popular version of this classic soup that’s loved by almost all Japanese people. The key for this dish is to use unadjusted soy milk, not the green packaged one but the beige packaged one as it doesn’t have anything added to it. 

 

Kibun (紀文） is a famous brand of soy milk that’s very popular in Japan and is widely available in supermarkets – this is what we recommend using for this recipe. Adding soy milk makes the taste more western so potato, beacon, broccoli etc. are good to use.

 

Ingredients serve two:

 

・Unadjusted Soy milk (無調整豆乳）

・1 Potato　

・2 slices of Bacon

・1/4 bag of Spinach

・2 Tablespoons of Sesame seed

・1/2 tea spoon of Dashi powder

・ 2 Tablespoons of Miso

 

This version uses daikon radish instead of potato.

Hiyayakko (冷ややっこ）-Japanese chilled Tofu

This is a very simple dish that’s commonly served as part of a homecooked meal in Japan. Hiyayakko is a delicate dish that combines clean-tasting tofu with a punchy sauce made with scallion and ginger. Like many Japanese dishes, Hiyayakko is all about texture – the combination of soft tofu and the fresh ingredients used in the sauce is extremely satisfying. 

 

There are 5 kinds of Tofu and the major 2 are Silk Tofu (絹）and firm(木綿). The main difference between these two varieties of tofu is their texture. Silk tofu is far softer and smoother than firm tofu, hence the name. Either will work well for this dish but, traditionally, silk tofu is preferred. 

 

Ingredients serves one: :

 

・1/2 of Tofu

・Ginger as needed

・1 leaf of macrophyll

・5 cm of Scallions

・Bonito Flakes as needed

 

 

This version uses onions instead of macrophyll.

Zaru-Soba (ざるそば）- Cold soba noodles

Japanese noodle dishes are popular the world over, but many take influence from countries nearby. Take ramen for example – this wonderful noodle soup dish has many variations, but it has roots in Chinese food culture. Soba, on the other hand, is 100% a washoku dish.

 

Soba refers to the noodles themselves. Made from buckwheat, soba noodles are simple, healthy, and delicious. However, what some westerners might find unusual is that some soba noodle dishes are often served at room temperature, or even cold. This version is eaten cold during the summer months in Japan because it’s brilliantly refreshing and cooling.    

 

Ingredients serve one:

 

・Soba noodles 100g

・Mentsuyu (a dipping sauce made with bonito flakes, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and konbu (dried kelp)

Kinpira Gobo (きんぴらごぼう

Kinipira Gobo is another washoku side dish that you’d expect to see as part of a main meal in Japan and it can be eaten hot or cold, whatever your preference. This goes well with rice and bread as well.

 

The main ingredient of this side dish is Gobo (burdock). It will probably be new to some of you, as it’s not something commonly eaten in the western world. Gobo needs to be prepared in advance of making this dish – it must be soaked well in a bowl of water with a little bit of vinegar for about 15 minutes to remove the astringency of the root.

 

Ingredients serve two:

 

 

・1 stalk of Burdock

・1/3 of a Carrot　

・30cc Japanese sake

・1 +1/2 tablespoon Soy sauce

・sugar 1 tablespoon

・mirin 2 tablespoons

・sesame oil 1/2 tablespoo

Oyako Don (親子丼)

What came first, the chicken or the egg? We’re not quite sure, but what we do know is that this next washoku dish uses both to create something truly delicious – it’s the perfect dish for chicken and egg lovers.  

 

This is an extremely comforting dish that can be found in restaurants, cafes, and izakayas all over Japan. It’s a meal in itself, combining simple ingredients to great effect. The base of the sauce used to make oyako don is dashi, a stock made from bonito flakes and kombu, which are both full of savoury and smokey flavours. If you’ve mastered a good dashi, then you’re already halfway there. The dashi is then simmered with eggs, chicken and onion, alongside a few other seasonings, to create a sauce that has the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavours.

Ingredients serve one:

 

・1/4 Chicken breasts

・2 Eggs

・1/4 Onion

・1 bowl of rice

・Japanese sake

・1 tablespoon of  Soy sauce

・1 teaspoon of Sugar

・1 tablespoon of  Mirin

・Mizuna as needed

 

Try one of these washoku dishes for yourself

Maybe you have noticed by now, Soy sauce, sugar, mirin, Japanese sake, are heavily used to make Japanese dish. It’s safe to say that you should always have these staple ingredients in your pantry if you enjoy cooking Japanese food!


You can also create your own Japanese meals from scratch with these basics:


Bases


Every dish has a base, the main ingredient that is supporting the whole dish.


Popular bases are:


  1. Rice
  2. Noodles
  3. Soup
  4. Pancake


With these 4 bases, you can make dozens of different versions quite easily. So choose a base and let’s go on to the next step.


Flavor/Sauces


Most Japanese dishes have a spice or flavor and a sauce that is typically made up of 5 common ingredients:


  1. Soy sauce
  2. Sugar
  3. Salt
  4. Sesame
  5. Vinegar

Mixing different amounts of these ingredients gives you different types of sauces for different dishes. Luckily, you can also find many types of sauces premade in bottles or packets that are very easy to use.


Methods


The cooking method is dependent on the type of dish you want to make. A lot of dishes are stir-fried or boiled, but other methods are also used depending on the dish being made.


  1. Frying
  2. Boiling
  3. Baking
  4. Steaming
  5. Grilling

Most Japanese “gas table” burners have a fish grill built-in, and in the case that you’re in an all-electric apartment, there are electric grills that you can get inexpensively. 


Also, many types of Japanese microwave ovens these days are also convection ovens capable of baking as well.


Putting it all together


Pick one base, one sauce, and one method, add whatever you want to it (or whatever is on sale at the supermarket) and you get your dish.


Examples


Rice + Soy, Sugar + Boiling = Oyakodon

Noodles + Soy, Salt + Frying = Yakisoba

Soup + Soy, Salt, Sesame + Boiling = Ramen

Pancake + Soy, Salt, Sugar + Grilling = Okonomiyaki


So you can see that when reduced to the basics, Japanese cooking is a system of these parts put together in a large number of combinations. Choosing what combination you want is what makes a particular dish.


For more information about living and working in Japan as an Interac ALT, click here.


Reference site:

These Japanese cooking sites are easy to watch since all the videos are short, less than a minute.


Delish Kitchen: https://delishkitchen.tv/

Kurashiru: https://www.kurashiru.com/

About the Author

Brian McDonough is a consultant at Interac, Japan’s largest provider of ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers). Originally from the US, Brian has lived in Japan for over 25 years, giving him a unique perspective on the cultural differences and challenges people face when moving to Japan. He has first-hand experience of working in Japan as an American.