Aemono あえ物 / あえもの Vegetables or meats mixed with a ground sesame

seed dressing.
Agemono 揚げ物 / あげもの Fried foods, divided into the following:
suage - fried without a coating of flour/batter.
karaage - fried in a coating of flour or arrowroot starch.
tatsuage - food marinated in a mixture of sake, soy sauce and sugar that is fried in a coating of
arrowroot starch.
tempura - fried in a coating of batter.
Basashi 馬刺し / ばさし Horse sashimi.
Buta ブタ Pork.
Chawanmushi 茶碗蒸し / ちゃわんむし Steamed egg custard with shrimp,
shiitake, chicken, ginnan, and topped with a vegetable called mitsuba. Click for
Chawanmushi Recipe.
Dashi 出し / だし Fish stock for cooking, generally made from kombu (a type of
sea weed) and katsuobushi (dried bonito fish shavings.)
Donburi 丼 / どんぶり This is a traditional lunch dish referring to the ceramic
bowl and matching lid the contents of this dish are served in. The individual names
of each donburi dish depends on the contents. Here is a list of the different donburi
dishes:
gyūdon (牛丼 / ぎゅうどん) - rice with a beef topping.
yakitori donburi (焼き鳥丼 / やきとりどんぶり) - rice with a chicken topping.
tendon (天丼 / てんどん) - rice with a tempura topping.
unadon (鰻丼 / うなどん) - rice with an unagi topping.
katsudon (カツ丼 / かつどん) - rice with a pork topping.
oyako donburi (親子丼 / おやこどんぶり) - rice with a chicken and fried egg topping.
Gyu Tataki 牛叩き / ぎゅうたたき Beef cooked on the outside and rare on the
inside.
Jyūbako 重箱 / じゅうばこ A box lunch served in a lacquered tray.
Kabayaki 蒲焼き / かばやき A fish that has been de-boned and grilled. To
maintain one's health, a long established tradition prescribes unagi kabayaki be
eaten on ushi no hi, which is the Day of the Ox during the mid-summer season.
Katsu カツ A breaded cutlet.
Katsudon カツ丼 / かつどん Deep-fried pork cutlet served with sauce over rice.
Karei katsu カレイカツ Curry sauce poured over deep-fried pork cutlet.
Meshimono 召物 / めしもの Rice mixed with meat or vegetables.
Mizutaki 水炊き / みずたき Refers to food cooked in water.
Mochi 餅 / もち Sweet glutinous rice cakes.
Mochigome 糯米 / もちごめ Mochi rice.
Mochiko 糯粉 / もちこ Sweet glutinous rice flour.
Mushimono 蒸し物 / むしもの Steamed foods. There are two types: shiomushi,
which are foods sprinkled with salt then steamed and sakamushi, which are foods
sprinkled with salt and sake then steamed.
Nabemono 鍋物 / なべもの Meals cooked in a clay pot.
Nama 生 / なま Prefix for raw food and draught beer.
Nimono 煮物 / にもの Simmered or boiled foods. Examples include nitsuke,
fish/seafood simmered in a mixture of sake, soy sauce, mirin and sugar.
Ponzu ポン酢 / ポンす Sauce made with Japanese citron.
Robatayaki 炉端焼き / ろばたやき Fresh ingrediants cooked over a wood fire.
Sakamushi 酒蒸し / さかむし Steamed over sake.
Shabu Shabu シャブシャブ Shabu Shabu is cooked in a similar way as a
fondue, and as such, lends itself to a party atmosphere. The word shabu-shabu
refers to the sound the meat used in this dish makes when dipped into the boiling
water. A special pot is used to cook the food used in making Shabu Shabu. Each
person is given a plate of beef or pork, which is dipped into the boiling water .
Vegetables are generally added to the pot after the meat is consumed.
Shirumono 汁物 / しるもの Common term for soup divided into two types:
sumashijiru (clear soup) and misoshiru (soup made from miso paste.)
Shumai シュウマイ Stuffed wontons, served steamed or deep-fried. Origin of
food is China.
Su 酢 / す Rice vinegar.
Sukiyaki 鋤焼き / すきやき Beef fried in a with a soy based sauce.
Sunomono 酢の物 / すのもの Vinegared foods.
Tamago 卵 / たまご Egg.
Tamagoyaki 卵焼き / たまごやき Fried egg.
Teriyaki sauce 照り焼き / てりやき A sweetened soy sauce.
Tare 滴れ / たれ Term used to generically identify sauces.
Tataki 叩き / たたき Finely chopped.
Tempura 天ぷら / てんぷら Battered and deep-fried seafood or vegetables.
Tonkatsu トンカツ Breaded and fried pork cutlet.
Tori 鳥 / とり Chicken.
Tsuke 付け / つけ A rice soup differentiated by the ingredients. Different types of
zuke include:
ochazuke, (お茶付け / おちゃつけ), which adds green tea as the soup base.
tempurazuke, which includes tempura battered items.
Ume shiso 梅紫蘇 / うめしそ Plum paste and shiso leaf mixture.
Unadon 鰻丼 / うなどん Unagi, which is eel, grilled and placed on a bed of
rice. Unadon is served in a clay dish. A similar dish called unajyu contains the
same contents, but is placed in a wooden bowl.
Usukuchi shoyu 薄口 / うすくち Light Japanese soy sauce.
Yakumi 薬味 / やくみ One of several strongly flavored seasonings.
Yakimono 焼き物 / やきもの Foods grilled on a mesh wire net, skewered like "shish
kabob" over an open fire or cooked in a skillet. There are different types of yakimono: shioyaki,
which involves sprinkling salt over the food prior to cooking, tsukeyaki, which involves
marinating the food in a soy sauce and sake or soy sauce and mirin mixture called awase jōyu
prior to cooking, teriyaki, which is a stronger flavored tsukeyaki, misozukeyaki, which involves
marinating the food in a miso and sake or miso and mirin mixture.
Yakinori 焼き海苔 / やきのり Toasted seaweed.
Yakitori 焼き鳥 / やきとり Grilled chicken shish kabob.
Yosenabe 寄せ鍋 / よせなべ A fish, seafood and vegetable soup made in a clay
pot.
Horensō No Ohitashi ホウレン草のお浸し / ほうれんそうのおひたし Spinach dip. The
word for spinach is horensō and the verb to dip is hitasu.

Soy Beans and Seaweed

Name Kanji/Hiragana Description
Aburage 油揚げ / あぶらげ Puffy, brown fried tofu.
Agedashi dōfu 上げだし豆腐 / あげだしどうふ Flour encrusted fried tōfu.
Aka miso 赤味噌 / あかみそ Red soy bean paste.
An 按 / あん Sweetened puree of cooked red beans.
Atsuage 厚揚げ / あつあげ Deep fried tofu cutlet.
Azuki 小豆 / あずき Small red beans used to make an.
Ganmodoki がんもどき Tofu patties.
Hijiki ひじき A type of seaweed.
Kinugoshi tōfu 豆腐 / とうふ "Silky" bean curd.
Konbu 昆布 / こんぶ A type of seaweed.
Kōyadōfu 高野豆腐 / こうやどうふ Freeze-dried tofu.
Mekabu めかぶ A seaweed.
Miso 味噌 / みそ Soy bean paste. There are several varieties of miso:
A yellow brown colored miso made from barley and soy beans originating in the Shinshū region
(a mountainous area known as the Japanese Alps.
A salty, reddish colored miso made from rice and soy beans originating in the Tohoku region
(NorthEast of Tōkyo.)
A finely ground white colored miso made from rice and soy beans (the higher concentration of
rice lends to the lighter color over the other miso types) originating in Kyotō.
A dark chocolate colored miso called Hatchō miso made only from soy beans and salt and
fermented for 2 years.
Momen tōfu 木綿豆腐 / もめんとうふ "Cottony" bean curd.
Moyashi もやし Bean sprout.
Mozuku もずく Mozuku is a type of seaweed . It's generally packed in small
containers enough for 1 or 2 servings .
Natto 納豆 / なっとう Fermented soy bean.
Nori 海苔 / のり A seaweed that is pressed into a paper thin shape. The first
account of nori was made in 689. Commercial harvesting began around 1450. This
seaweed, purplish in color grows on rocks and other objects in bay areas.
Systematic farming commenced in the mid 1800's, where nets were used to
increase the surface area for the nori to attach. Processing commences as soon as
the nori is taken from the water, being poured into a mold that is passed through a
drying oven. Like other desirable products, nori is inspected and graded based on
it's appearance, color, luster and thickness.
Reference: Mangajin, 3/97, pg.62.
Shiro miso 白味噌 / しろみそ White soy bean paste.
Tōfu 豆腐 / とうふ Soybean curd.
Wakame わかめ A type of seaweed, that is cultivated by submerging nets just
below the surface of the ocean. Wakame means "young sprouts" and is indicative
of the harvest that occurs before the seaweed grows to long. The harvest occurs
from the end of January to the end of April. The harvested seaweed is dried after
being rinsed and briefly dipped into boiling water to turn it's color from brown to
green.
Yamakaki やまかき Grated mountain potato with chunks of maguro.
Yakidofu 焼き豆腐 / やきどうふ Broiled or grilled soy bean curd.

The word nabe refers to a stewing or cooking pot and the foods cooked in this pot
are called nabemono (鍋物 / なべもの). In the past, this type of dish was prepared
and cooked around the irori (囲炉裏 / いろり), which is a sunken lounge.

Soups and Nabemono

Name Kanji/Hiragana Description
Ankonabe 餡子鍋 / あんこなべ Monkfish stew.
Chankonabe ちゃんこ鍋 / ちゃんこなべ Refers to the type of nabe eaten by sumo
wrestlers.
Donabe 土鍋 / どなべ Refers to earthenware pots.
Fugu-chiri 河豚散 / ふぐちり Blowfish soup.
Ishikari-nabe石狩鍋 / いしかりなべ Salmon stew with sake.
Misoshiru 味噌汁 / みそしる Soup made with miso paste.
Nanbutetsunabe 南部鉄鍋 / なんぶてつなべ Refers to cast iron pots. This type of
nabe is generally found in the tohoku region of Japan.
Nishime Vegetables stewed in soy sauce.
Osuimono 御吸物 / おすいもの Clear soup . Clear soups contain wakame, as a
basic ingredient.
Tirinabe ちり鍋 / ちりなべ Refers to a fish stew.
Yudōfu 湯豆腐 / ゆどうふ Refers to a simmered tofu stew.
Yosenabe 寄せ鍋 / よせなべ Refers to a combination of ingredients cooked at
the same time (e.g. chicken, tofu, vegetables).

Yasai - Vegetables
Name Kanji/Hiragana Description
Enokidake 榎だけ / えのきだけ Small capped, long stemmed white mushrooms.
Kabocha 南瓜 / カボチャ Pumpkin.
Kaisō 海藻 / かいそう Sea vegetables.
Kinoko 茸 きのこ General term for fungi (i.e. mushrooms).
Maitake まいたけ A mushroom.
Matsutake 松茸 / まつたけ A fungi found in the mountains; considered a
delicacy with price tags of $200 and up for one of these rear treats.
Nameko なめこ A button sized mushroom.
Sansai Ryōri 山菜料理 さんさいりょうり Mountain vegetables. These vegetables
grown in the mountains of Japan, don't have English equivalents, but here are some of the
names:
zenmai
warabi
yama-udo
tara-no-me
fukinotō
Shimeji しめじ A chunky stem and grey capped mushroom.
Shiitake 椎茸 / しいたけ A dark brown, thick caps and stalks, mushroom.
This mushroom is planted in the logs of evergreen oak, called shii, hence the name
of this mushroom. Top quality shiitake is called donko
Takenoko 竹の子 たけのこ Bamboo shoots.
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