Best Japanese food

Can you suggest a Japanese food that isn't sushi or ramen?

Here are some of the best Japanese dishes to try besides sushi and ramen:

## Tonkatsu
Tonkatsu is a delicious panko-breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet. It's often served with shredded cabbage, rice, and a tangy tonkatsu sauce. Some of the best places for tonkatsu are Maisen and Tonki in Tokyo.

## Yakitori
Yakitori refers to grilled skewers of chicken, vegetables, and other ingredients glazed with a savory tare sauce. It's a popular izakaya (Japanese pub) dish. Look for yakitori specialists like Yakitori Ton Ton in Tokyo.

## Okonomiyaki
This savory Japanese pancake is filled with cabbage, pork or seafood, and topped with okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, and bonito flakes. Osaka and Hiroshima are famous for their regional okonomiyaki styles.

## Yakiniku
Yakiniku is the Japanese version of Korean barbecue where you grill bite-sized meat pieces at your table. It's an interactive and flavorful dining experience, especially at places like Yakiniku Jumbo in Tokyo's Koreatown.

## Tempura
Light and crispy tempura features vegetables, seafood, and other ingredients dipped in a delicate batter and deep-fried. Tempura specialists like Tsunahachi near Tokyo's Shinjuku station are renowned.

So while sushi and ramen are iconic, be sure to also sample some of Japan's other delicious specialties like tonkatsu, yakitori, okonomiyaki, yakiniku, and tempura on your visit.

Some of my favourite dishes are donburi, or rice bowl dishes. I often make one of the simplest ones, oyakodon, because it's easy and delicious. And when I'm lacking inspiration, I often turn to Cooking with Dog on youtube to find something new and exciting to try out.

This thread is making me hungry.

Soba (buckwheat noodles) are good, cheap, filling.
Sōmen is good for hot days.
Curry is great, and very Japanese, despite it having been imported from India long ago.

Majestic said:

This thread is making me hungry.

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Oof, tell me about it, I could REALLY go for cold soba with dipping sauce right now ;_;

Majestic said:

Curry is great, and very Japanese, despite it having been imported from India long ago.

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Hearing how the Japanese LOVE curry, I was initially quite confused as I'd also heard they didn't like spicy food too much.
Then I had Japanese curry myself - mystery solved

Majestic said:

Curry is great, and very Japanese, despite it having been imported from India long ago.

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Actually, it was imported from England courtesy of the Royal Navy.

Any kind of yaki sakana. Buri kama being my favorite.

thomas said:

Actually, it was imported from England courtesy of the Royal Navy.

Japanese Curry: How a British Navy staple inspired one of Japan’s most beloved dishes – Public History Amsterdam

publichistory.humanities.uva.nl

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In the Marine Self Defense Force, it becomes the custom on every Friday to eat curry.
There is "給養員(Feeder)" specialized in cooking for each war vessel in the Marine Self-Defense Force. It emphasizes "the meal" that is a pleasure for the member, and I show my skill and make special de la maison curry.
When I want to eat Navy Curry, I can taste different various Self-Defense Forces curry for each war vessel in the authorized restaurant of the Marine Self Defense Force base.


As the curry of the Self-Defense Forces is sold to the retort product, the person wanting to eat it purchases it in a mail order site and can enjoy it at home: 海軍カレー 通販

Ministry of Defense Maritime Self-Defense Force Official Channel
【週刊海自TV・レシピ動画】元祖海軍カレイライス
[the weekly Marine Self Defense Force TV, recipe video] Ancestor navy righteye flounder rice

Buri Kama is delicious at all.
Bottom processing is great to eat deliciously.
[lower processing and art] I try to be you if I do this, and head becomes delicious! [auction person Mutaro, fish dishes classroom]

Here's more on the history of Japanese curry:

If armies are said to march on their stomachs, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force crews are kept afloat, for at least part of the week, on generous servings of curry. Introduced in the 19th century by Anglo Indian officers serving in Britain's Royal Navy, the dish was a welcome dietary supplement. During a beriberi health crisis, the flour used to create the unusually thick sauce that characterizes naval curry helped to compensate for nutritional deficiencies among Japanese sailors. The sauce is said to have been created to prevent kitchen spillage in rough seas. The tradition of serving the dish on Fridays continues.

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And:

Japanese curry is not universally liked by foreigners -- an Indian resident I once met likened the dish to a form of industrial solvent.

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I guess that was a bit harsh.


Paywall alert:

Gyudon

I used to eat Yoshinoya fairly regularly (sometimes I would slum at Matsuya ), but nowadays I make it myself from scratch.