Japanese Style Dishes
Japanese meals typically consist of a variety of small dishes, often even served in parallel. I found it hard to classify these kind of dishes as either starters or main courses and I hence decided to create an own section for Japanese style cooking.
I do not claim that the following dishes are all authentically Japanese cuisine - as a matter of fact most of them will rather be my own personal fusion. While you will still find some recipes featuring Japanese ingredients, but clearly qualifying as starters, mains, etc., in the other sections, this one is all about the Japanese concept of dining.
For this reason the portion sizes I recommend in most of the recipes for this section are also a bit smaller, so you would probably need 2 or 3 of them plus some rice or noodles to provide for a full meal. Experimenting with different flavours and combining them to menues is really an essential part of the fun of Japanese-style cooking!
In this glossary you will find the Japanese ingredients I use.
Black Rice-Filled Mini Squid
On our recent trip to Izu we stopped off at the historic hot spring resort Shuzenji. In a shop we stumbled over a special variety of rice with a very dark brownish colour... [more]
Cold Soba with Summer Toppings
Summer is not the most pleasant time in Tokyo. Days (as well as nights) are starting to get really hot and humid now, making you sweat immediately... [more]
Country Style Sushi
The first time I ever got to cook something Japanese was more than 6 years ago, on my very first trip to Japan... [more]
Creamy Carrot Soup with Miso Scallops
A few weeks ago we were invited to a Kobe beef barbecue. [...] The highlight was the so-called miso beef, which was a real culinary delight... [more]
Creamy Yuzu, Wasabi and Sesame Dressing
Tokyo’s hot summer days are not yet over, and although it has been raining in recent days there has been no refreshment, the air has just become even more loaded with humidity... [more]
Curry-Flavoured Prawn Chinese Dumplings
The evening before we left for our long weekend in Shanghai, all excited, I prepared some somewhat experimental Chinese dumplings... [more]
Green Asparagus Spears in a Coat of Foamy Egg
In summer there are plenty of street festivals going on in Japan, like the popular Azabu-Juban festival. It confirmed our impression that this country is just all about food... [more]
Hijiki Seaweed Salad with Sesame Dressing
By now my Japanese skills are about good enough to more or less get me through every day life without major accidents... [more]
Japanese-Flavoured Lentils with Wasabi Cream
I am now back in Japan, after having spent two very nice weeks in Germany and Austria. And as much as I like Tokyo, summer is just much more pleasant in Europe... [more]
Japanese-Fusion Squid Salad
As I have probably mentioned, I rarely strictly adhere to a recipe when I cook. But of course I am often inspired by such... [more]
Juicy Oyster, Broccoli and Miso Stir-Fry
With all our weekend trips in recent weeks I started having the feeling of missing out a bit on my cooking. I was really longing for a leisurely session in the kitchen... [more]
King Prawns in Spicy Red Sauce
My friends who recently came to visit from Spain were particularly impressed by the fantastic quality of fish and seafood sold here in Tokyo... [more]
Marinated Chicken Sauté
Although this country offers enormous cities and impressive mountains, everything food-related just seems to come in significantly smaller size here than back in Europe... [more]
Seared Salmon Bedded on Chanterelles and Hijiki
Last week I visited my parents in the southern Austrian city of Klagenfurt. I had promised them parents to prepare a Japanese dinner one evening... [more]
Seared Scallops with Japanese Herb Dressing
Somehow my days just seem to fly since we've moved to Tokyo. While Simon is at work I spend a lot of time studying Japanese, and I actually start to notice some progress... [more]
Sesame-Aubergine-Caviar Sushi
This time I had no time to go and buy fresh fish, so my first ever sushi became to be battle-ship sushi with sesame-aubergine-caviar... [more]
Simmered Lotus Roots
Except for a liiittle bit of shopping and just wandering around Tokyo enjoying the beautiful autumn weather, I am spending most of my time preparing for the Japanese test... [more]
Spicy Salmon, Steamed Spinach and Soba
After having resolved all major issues concerning our new kitchen I get along quite well with cooking. I am particularly impressed by my portable induction heaters... [more]
Spicy Vegetable Stew with Seared Scallops
After all the weekend trips in the past few weeks I have at last spent a whole weekend at home again, doing some casual cooking all on my own... [more]
Spinach and Carrot Salad with Sesame Dressing
When I was a child, we often had cream spinach at home, which I always loved. Although of course I knew it was a vegetable, I did not actually associate it with leaves... [more]
Tuna Sashimi and Seaweed Salad
We have been in Japan for a month now and I haven’t posted any raw fish recipe yet – so it’s about time...[more]
Tuna Steak on Wasabi and Basil Sauce
Ironically, a few weeks after our arrival in Tokyo Japanese butter has mysteriously disappeared from supermarket shelves... [more]
Two-Coloured Egg Roll
Finally my Japanese exam is over! And, I will actually have the chance to make use of my hard-earned language skills for a little bit longer – we’ve decided to stay in Japan... [more]
Udon Noodle Pot with Stewed Veggies and Prawns
Lately I woke up one morning and felt that something was different. Yes – I had actually slept through the night, without being woken up by the cicadas at dawn... [more]