BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Japanese Food What is your favorite Japanese dish?

What is your favorite Japanese dish?

I have so many...seaweed salad, nishime, sashimi, tempura...

Has anyone ever had takoyaki balls?

I love Japanese curries - we have a great Japanese takeaway chain here in Brisbane (Suncrane) that does incredible Japanese curries.

Not a fan at all of sushi.

Mmm. Curry. I have to say that after having Thai curries, I prefer those flavors over the more mild Japanese curry.

As for sushi, which varieties have you tried? Most people new to sushi confuse sushi for sashimi or they think that sushi is all raw.

The term 'sushi' refers to a lightly seasoned rice (flavored with rice vinegar and a little sugar, in some cases) and maybe the sheet of nori which is made from seaweed.

Then, there are all the different toppings that include both raw and cooked items!

My friends who thought they'd hate sushi, now love it because they know they can eat the sushi topped with cooked egg omelet, cooked shrimp, etc. Some only like the cucumber filled rolls. Today in America, sushi chefs are very creative and they make all sorts of new sushi to try. I love crunchy roll that is filled with battered, fried shrimp, vegetables and a yummy sauce!

If you haven't tried some of these versions of sushi, I encourage you to give it another go! Also, if you don't like the black nori sheet, you can ask for them to use a different wrapper or leave it off entirely.

Is it the rice you don't like?

I love the little steamed Edamame, and most any kind of sushi or sashimi. My husband likes getting a chirashi shushi (bowl of sushi rice with many different types of raw fish laid on top).

My favorite sushis are:
(Nigiri - rice with seafood on top)
tuna
salmon
white tuna (I swear it is like butter!)
Yellow tail

I also love the "crunch roll" my local restaurant makes - it has asian pear, masago, yellow tail, and of course the sticky rice and nori

I also love the miso soup.

My son has taken a great liking to real Ramen (not just the prepackaged stuff). We have a restaurant nearby that makes it, and it is wonderful.

We are quite spoiled when it comes to Japanese food!

I have to admit it's the raw fish thing that I hate!! I have had some with teryaki chcken in it which I enjoyed.

Then you DO like sushi!!! Try the cucumber roll and the crunchy shrimp rolls. Just be sure to read the menu or ask your sushi chef for the cooked versions of sushi or vegetable sushi. There are so many delicious varieties!

Enjoy!

Sushi ..duhh! lol I love Dragon and philadelphia rolls..they have cream cheese in them..YUM!

Sushi is great but there are SO many other wonderful Japanese foods to which people haven't been introduced.

Many people believe that Japanese food is bland. Well, when you think of the geographic location of Japan as opposed to other Asian countries, it's easy to see that Japan, as an island, was cut off from foreign trade. Not just because of it's geographic location but due to its own isolationist policies.

Anyway, ancient Japan was not very open to outside influence (that is not the case today!) All those savory spices that infiltrated the Orient (Thai, Szechuan, etc.) didn't make it to Japan.

But that doesn't mean Japanese food is tasteless. It just means that you have to appreciate the delicate flavors. A true food connoisseur can pick up on the subtle taste tones that hit your senses, from the eyes and nose to the feel and flavor. Delicate and exquisite. Japanese food is presented beautifully and not just thrown onto a plate. Eating pleasure begins with the eyes. Then, the smells and aromas are inhaled, evoking pleasurable feelings throghout the mind and body. And so on...

So are there any other favorite Japanese foods you enjoy other than sushi?

I love udon! With shrimp tempura on top. Tempura udon.

Udon is a thick white noodle. There is soba, a dark buckwheat noodle and somen, a thin white noodle. There are yam noodles and more...

Japanese love noodles!

We just get so caught up in trying out the different rolls everytime we go, LOL!

My husband and I just had lunch today at our favorite Japanese restaurant - Kani House, for our anniversary; it was fairly typical.

Edamame
Salad w/ ginger dressing
miso soup
Chirashi bowl (they had my white tuna - oy that stuff is so good!)
and they had a new roll today called a ladybug roll, it had tuna, salmon, and yellowtail rolled up and alternated red and black tamigo (crunchy fish eggs) on the outside.

I'm still stuffed - and we ate like 6 hours ago, LOL!