Japan’s Top 5 Stinky Foods
When it comes to food that emits a stench, the Swedish dish of fermented herring, Surstromming, is infamous as the world’s No.1 stinkiest food. In Japan, the Alabaster unit (Au) can quantify bad smells...
Category: Traditional Japanese foods
Senbei vs. Okaki vs. Arare: Japanese Rice Crackers
Do you know traditional Japanese rice crackers are broadly classified into three types? The three varieties widely enjoyed in Japan are Senbei (煎餅), Okaki (おかき), and Arare (あられ). Senbei vs. Okaki vs. Arare Senbei,...
Hinamatsuri: 5 Lucky Foods for Japanese Girls’ Day
A traditional festival for girls called Hina Matsuri (ひな祭り) is just around the corner here in Japan. The event, also known as Momo no Sekku (桃の節句: literally, Peach Festival), annually falls on March 3. Hinamatsuri often...
Natto Ochazuke: Easy Nutritious Recipe using Dried Natto
Originating from Japan, Natto (納豆) is a fermented soybean with a characteristic smell and slimy consistency, because of which many people can’t eat this soy food. Have you ever eaten the delicacy before? If...
Dango: 10 Common Types of Japanese Rice Dumplings
When it comes to the foods often eaten at Japan’s cherry blossom viewing festivals called “Hanami (花見)”, “Dango (団子)” is one of the confections that are most familiar to us Japanese. Dango (団子) Dango is...
Cheese Kamaboko: Fish Cake Snack with Cheese Bits
Kamaboko is a traditional Japanese food with at least 900 years of history. It is a steamed or baked fish cake made with whitefish meat (such as cod, shark, lizardfish, or wrasse), sugar, salt, mirin,...
Neri Ume: How to Make Mild Tasty Umeboshi Plum Paste
At meals, we sometimes eat “Umeboshi (梅干し)” pickled Ume plums with a warm bowl of white rice. Additionally, many Japanese home cooks like to place a piece of Umeboshi at the center of rice...
Natto: 7 Best Seasonings that Make Natto Taste Good
Have you ever tried Natto? As you know, Natto (納豆) is a superfood made from soybeans fermented with Natto bacteria. But since the fermented beans have a peculiar smell and a slimy consistency, many...
