Today’s miso soup features cod and spinach. Cod, known for its mild-flavored white meat that is easy to eat for many people worldwide, is just right for everyday miso soup too. By salting the fish and removing the moisture that rises to the surface before cooking, the unwanted fishy smell can be eliminated, leaving only the pleasant cod flavor in the soup. The only thing to be cautious of is that the residue of the salt may cause the soup to become too salty. Add a smaller amount of miso paste than usual initially, and gradually add more as needed to avoid making it too salty. Spinach, or any ..read more

Niku Udon with Onsen Tamago is a hot Udon noodle soup topped with sweet and salty braised beef and Onsen Tamago (silky semi-cooked egg). The savory beef adds richness and depth to the rather simple Udon noodle soup, while the thick Onsen Tamago coats both the noodles and beef, bringing the flavors together well, similar to the experience of dipping Sukiyaki beef with eggs. This is a delicious dish to enjoy at restaurants and also a great meal to cook at home. There are many Udon fast-food restaurants in Japan today. They offer basic Udon dishes on their menus, but there are also numerous toppi ..read more

Smacked Cucumber Salad is a refreshing side dish that takes no time to prepare. Similar to the Cucumber with Sesame Seeds recipe, we smack the cucumber with a rolling pin before tossing with the dressing. In this recipe, some crushed red pepper flakes and grated ginger are added for a kick. You can adjust the spiciness to your liking. This is a quick and easy side dish to serve with any Japanese dishes. Print Smacked Cucumber Salad Quick and easy cucumber salad with a hint of red chili and ginger Course Salad Cuisine Japanese Keyword cucumber, salad Prep Time 10 minutes minutes Total Tim ..read more

Miso Soup with Mochi is a typical miso soup with tofu and green onions topped with a toasted mochi rice cake. It’s similar to Ozoni (a special soup for New Year), but it’s a lot more casual. Leftover dry mochi from the pantry is cooked in a toaster oven and added to the soup. You can make any miso soup recipes and just add the toasted mochi, too. We tend to get bags of dry mochi during winter to eat around the New Year’s Day. Throughout the winter, dry mochi are used for Ozoni soup (for new year), cooked with a variety of toppings (see the Variations of Mochi Recipe), or eaten as sweet dessert ..read more

Onsen Tamago (温泉卵) is soft and silky semi-cooked eggs, and often used as a delightful topping for donburi rice bowl dishes, noodles, or simply eaten on its own with soy sauce or Mentsuyu. Typically, these eggs are made by gently heating them in warm water resembling hot springs. The eggs are placed in the water without cracking their shells and are slowly heated over time. The resulting eggs have tender whites and a gooey semi-cooked yolk. Today, onsen tamago enjoys popularity both in Japan and abroad. We have to admit that making Onsen Tamago can be quite finicky. Our recipe works in our kitc ..read more

Onigiri with Fried Onions is a simple treat made with store-bought fried onions seasoned with a soy sauce mixture (or Mentsuyu), mixed in rice, and shaped into triangular onigiri. Many of you may already have fried onions in your pantry from holiday use, making this a great way to recycle the ingredient. When the fried onions are flavored in the sauce, they taste almost like tempura (yum!). And, of course, they pair perfectly with steamed rice. This dish makes for an easy lunch to bring to work or a tasty after-school snack. It’s seasoned enough, but feel free to add a little salt to taste. En ..read more

Today’s miso soup features Wakame seaweed and eggs. This may be our easiest and quickest miso soup yet. Wakame doesn’t need to be rehydrated; it can be added directly to the Dashi, and it will soften in the soup. Eggs add good protein and substance to this miso soup, and they’ll be cooked in no time. This is a perfect miso soup for breakfast or a busy weeknight dinner. Hope you give it a try! Print Miso Soup with Wakame and Eggs Super easy miso soup with Wakame seaweed and eggs, ready in 7 minutes. Course Appetizer, Soup Cuisine Japanese Keyword egg, miso monday, miso paste, miso soup, wak ..read more

Swiss Roll Cakes are popular Western-style desserts in Japan made by rolling thinly baked sponge cake and filling it with cream, jam, or fruit. Roll cakes are enjoyed on various occasions such as celebrations, parties, or even everyday teatime. They not only have a pretty looking swirl but are also delicious and relatively easy to make at home, especially after a couple of practice rounds. Roll cakes are commonly believed to have originated in Switzerland. They gained popularity in Switzerland and France from the late 19th to the early 20th century. The first roll cakes were made using a simpl ..read more

Kitsune Soba is cooked soba noodles in savory Dashi based broth topped with sweet and salty Aburaage fried tofu. Kitsune means “fox” in Japanese, but this dish has nothing to do with the animal. Kitsune Udon with large slices of fried tofu is more common, but here we use soba noodles instead of udon, and we cut the Aburaage thinly and simmered with sliced green onions. Warm noodle soup with sweet and salty fried tofu is so flavorful and comforting. This is a perfect lunch food on any day! Print Kitsune Soba Soba noodle soup topped with Aburaage fried tofu and green onions. Course Lunch Cui ..read more

We are excited to announce that we now have our own Japanese Cooking 101 Store on Amazon.com where we post and curate our favorite things in the kitchen! It’s still work in progress as of today, but we are planning on posting our honest product review videos and photos regularly and adding more items to our idea lists. While we do get small commissions from the sales, we only list items that we actually use and like. While we try to be informative and honest when reviewing products, chances are that you have already seen the actual products used in our recipes anyway such as 365 by Whole Foods ..read more