Japanese Prefixes and Suffixes that stand for Cooking Methods
In the Japanese language, there are several prefixes and suffixes that stand for cooking methods.
For example, the cooking method for Tempura is mainly to “deep-fry”, but the food name doesn’t include the prefix or suffix for “deep-fry”.
As this case indicates, many Japanese food names don’t include such prefixes or suffixes.
Nonetheless, if you remember the following, in some cases, from the prefix or suffix included in the food name, you can know the cooking method used for the dish.
Therefore, today I will talk about 4 typical Japanese prefixes and suffixes that represent cooking methods.
Age (揚げ): used as a prefix or suffix
Kara-Age (唐揚げ)
“Age (揚げ)” is the Japanese word for “Deep-fry“, which is used as a prefix or suffix.
Word Examples
Kara-Age (唐揚げ), Tatsuta-Age (竜田揚げ), Age-Senbei (揚げせんべい)
Yaki (焼き): used as a prefix or suffix
Yaki-Imo (焼き芋)
“Yaki (焼き)” is the Japanese word for “Grill“, “Broil“, “Bake“, “Roast“, or “Toast“, which is used as a prefix or suffix.
“Yaki (焼き)” usually stands for the cooking method using heat or an open fire.
Word Examples
Yaki-Imo (焼き芋), Yaki-Onigiri (焼きおにぎり), Yaki-Zakana (焼魚), Kaba-Yaki (蒲焼)
Mushi (蒸し): used as a prefix or suffix
Chawan-Mushi (茶碗蒸し)
“Mushi (蒸し)” is the Japanese word for “Steam“, which is used as a prefix or suffix.
Word Examples
Chawan-Mushi (茶碗蒸し), Saka-Mushi (酒蒸し), Mushi-Yokan (蒸し羊羹)
Itame (炒め): used mostly as a suffix
Yasai-Itame (野菜炒め)
“Itame (炒め)” is the Japanese word for “Fry” or “Sauté“, which is used mostly as a suffix.
“Itame (炒め)” usually stands for the cooking method using a small amount of oil as compared to “Age (揚げ: Deep-Fry)” using plenty of oil.
Word Examples
Yasai-Itame (野菜炒め), Moyashi-Itame (もやし炒め), Itame-Mono (炒め物)
