Blog

Japan loves to adopt fun things from other countries and make them their own. We see it most commonly in food, with examples like ramen and castella going from a foreign creation to a Japanese classic. We also see it in holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

Humans have been putting meat over fire for a long time to create, and there’s no wonder why. It tastes delicious, fills you up and is relatively easy to do (but hard to master). Maybe that’s why Japan does it so well.

Curry is so ubiquitous in Japan, you could practically call it a Japanese dish. It features a distinctive thick consistency thanks to the addition of a flour-based roux. Rather than jasmine or basmati rice, it is typically served over Japonica short-grain sticky rice.

Have you ever been to a Japanese ramen shop or beef bowl shop and seen those reddish-pinkish pickles? Have you ever thought, “What is that?” Well, we’ve got an answer for you. That is beni shoga, a Kansai creation that is all over Japanese cuisine as both a topping and as a fried treat.

When people think of sushi, they either think of nigiri sushi (a slab of fish over a block of rice) or sushi rolls. However, sushi is more varied than you might think.

Japanese has a unique culture around food, but street food and Kyoto’s gourmet Kaiseki cuisine tend to dominate the conversation. However, Osaka has made a unique and fun contribution to Japan’s food culture. That contribution is Kappo cuisine...