Table of contents:
Summary
Japanische Rezepte is a blog dedicated to the diverse and healthy world of Japanese cuisine, featuring dishes such as sushi, ramen, tempura, and traditional nabe. It highlights the characteristics of Japanese recipes, emphasizing their low-fat, low-sugar, and low-salt profiles, along with the health benefits derived from fresh, varied ingredients that contribute to overall wellness. The blog explains the importance of side dishes in Japanese meals, the significance of rice as a staple, and provides insights into both traditional washoku and modern youshoku, highlighting differences in preparation and presentation. Readers will find simple recipes that require minimal ingredients, as well as an exploration of flavors unique to Japanese cooking, making it accessible for home cooks seeking to delve into this rich culinary tradition.Japanese cuisine is very diverse, well-known and also very healthy. Whether it's sushi, Ramen[/link][/link] , Tempura or rather traditional Nabe , on this blog you will find many authentic dishes that you can usually cook quite easily!
In the following post I would like to explain to you what types of dishes & recipes there are, what to look out for and the differences between traditional Washoku and the modern Youshoku. I would also like to introduce you to the basics, as they are very important for cooking.
Characteristics of Japanese recipes:
- Japanese cuisine is low in fat, sugar, carbohydrates and salt. This applies especially to traditional recipes.
- Japanese recipes make you healthy! The many fresh and diverse ingredients provide you with a very versatile diet, which naturally has the positive effect of giving you softer skin, cleansing your intestines so that digestion is faster and cleaner, and generally makes your entire body healthier.
- Japanese dishes are eaten in many small portions. This portioning of dishes through many bowls and eating with chopsticks has the positive effect of making you eat slower and consume fewer calories & carbohydrates.
- Japanese cuisine has many facets whether spicy, salty, tart, sweet or even umami , Japanese cuisine offers you everything. Even more than the German language can describe, which is quite funny. There are special words for certain flavors that you might describe with, delicious or bitter.
- Japanese recipes are very expensive to cook in Germany. Many things have to be imported. In addition, there is hardly any fresh fish in Germany and if you do find some, it is unfortunately quite expensive.
- Modern Japanese recipes are usually a bit unhealthy. Examples are rolls with fried noodles, super delicious or bentos with lots of delicious fried dishes.
Japanese Side Dish Recipes
Side dishes are very important in Japanese cuisine, as rarely only one Bowl (Donburi) or a noodle soup (e.g. Ramen[/link][/link] or Udon[/link] ) is cooked. But even with these recipes, where you only have one bowl at the end, you can cook side dishes to add some more variation to the table.
Japanese side dish recipes are easy to cook and usually only require a few ingredients. These are usually salt, sugar, mirin, Shoyu (soy sauce) and Sake .
Japanese Main Course Recipes
The main course is the most important element in Japanese cuisine. In addition to soup, rice and side dishes, there are main courses that often consist of fish, meat or noodles. In general, there are many different types of dishes and preparations that make it possible to satisfy all palates.
Japanese Rice Dishes
Rice is one of the main components of Japanese cuisine. The form or preparation of the rice is very variable. Whether it is formed into a ball as Onigiri or a main ingredient of Katsudon , there are unlimited possibilities here too. You can fry rice, then a delicious dish will be created Chahan , crush it and then Mochi is created or simply roll it together in Nori as Sushi .
Below you will find instructions on how to properly cook Japanese rice . Because this is very important, because poorly cooked rice can ruin the entire meal, believe me, I have unfortunately had to experience that.
Donburi Recipes
An easy and inexpensive way to cook Japanese food is to prepare it as Donburi. Donburis are dishes that consist of cooked rice and a topping. This Japanese dish is usually served in a bowl, hence the name. Since you eat a lot of rice with this dish, you will get full quickly. That's why it's also very popular for dinner when you want to eat something quickly.
Japanese Soup / Stew Recipes
Soups and stews are very popular in Japan. Especially the noodle soups (so Ramen[/link][/link] and Udon[/link] )! The broth usually consists of the so-called Dashi[/link] . This is a broth consisting of Kombu and or Katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Other ingredients can also be used for Dashi[/link] , such as Shiitake mushrooms , but it mostly consists of Kombu and or Katsuobushi.
Japanese Dessert Recipes
Unfortunately, dessert in Japan is now far too sweet and unhealthy, which is not the case with traditional dessert. This usually consists of fruit. Of course, not just cutting fruit and putting it in a bowl, but prepared a little more elaborately.
The basic ingredients
The basic ingredients for Japanese recipes are usually the following:
- Dashi (broth)
- Mirin (sweet rice wine)
- Sake (rice wine)
- Shouyu (soy sauce)
- Japanese rice
- fish, lots of fish
- various types of algae
You can see that many ingredients come from the sea. Whether it's algae, fish, shellfish, etc.. This is because Japan is an island nation and therefore surrounded by the sea. That's why it can sometimes be a bit difficult to find certain ingredients in Germany. But there are more and more Asian markets as well as online shops, so you're not completely lost if you want to cook Japanese recipes.
Fish is very important
In Japan, fish is the be-all and end-all. Whether it's sushi, sashimi, soup or grilled, fish is in everything. Why is that? Japan is a very large island. And there is sea almost everywhere. So they focused more on fish than on meat. If you're a vegetarian, you have a bad hand in Japan.
Traditional (Washoku) vs modern (Youshoku) Japanese recipes
Traditional Japanese Recipes - Washoku
UNESCO has designated traditional Japanese cuisine "Washoku" as a World Heritage Site. I would like to explain in this article why this is so.
Japanese people live longer than anyone else on average. The exact reason for this is not yet fully understood, but everyone knows that healthy food is important for health and aging. In Japanese cuisine, little fat, sugar or salt is used. This makes it not easy for beginners, as they have to get used to the fact that food does not necessarily have to be hearty, but can also be hearty.
Modern Japanese Recipes - Youshoku
Unfortunately, Japanese cuisine has changed a lot. Through globalization, the West has had an increasing influence on the culture of the Japanese. It is shocking that Japan has the second highest number of McDonald's branches. Subway, KFC and other fast food chains have also established themselves in Japan. Since Japanese people often work 10-12 hours and often only have a small kitchen because apartment prices in the city are very expensive, they often resort to fast food. In the article Do Japanese people really eat healthy I have explained the topic in more detail.
Meals - Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Breakfast
The most important meal of the day in Japanese cuisine is breakfast. Because it is important to start the day with a full and above all healthy stomach. Traditionally, no dairy products are consumed in Japan, as 70% of Japanese people (myself included) are lactose intolerant and milk is also not very healthy. More emphasis is placed on light food such as Miso Shiru and rice. Of course, you can also eat rice with Furikake, which has a low calorie content, but is very salty.
Lunch
The Japanese traditionally eat little for lunch. That's why I advise you, if you have eaten a proper breakfast, you only need to have a little something to eat. There are perfect recipes for this such as Onigiri, Bento or soup.
Dinner
Dinner in Japan is usually the most elaborate meal of the day. Unlike in Germany, Japanese dinner is always warm. In addition, the individual dishes are served in different containers such as plates, pots or bowls.
Comments
Hello! I ate Mu-Maläng-ii (that's how the Korean waiter in Vienna wrote it for me in Romanization) at a restaurant in Vienna – pickled Korean dried radish – and liked it so much that I immediately bought Korean dried radish at a grocery store and made it at home in NRW using a recipe I found online. The result was fantastic. Now I need to find dried radish here in Germany, but so far I've only found some for Japanese dishes on an online shop, which is also from China. It looks a bit more finely sliced than what I had in the restaurant in Vienna and from the store from Shin Sun Mi from Korea. Do you know where I can buy or order Korean dried radish in Germany, or even better: do you have a recipe on how to dry fresh radish yourself (is anything added)? Is German radish a possible substitute? Can you even grow Korean radish here yourself? I'm grateful for any tips and will now continue to intensively read your great blog.... :)
Great recipes! Awesome!
Hello :) Thank you very much. We’ll be releasing a lot more recipes :)
I like your posts! I read them often and with pleasure, and I usually find things I didn't know yet! I like to buy Ongiris in Düsseldorf at Waraku, but now I'd like to try making them myself! Could you write a post about the proper preparation of sushi rice?
Hi Markus, thanks for your compliment :) I've finished the post in the meantime. You can find the post here :) https://ryukoch.com/en/basics/preparation/sushireis/
Hi, I really love your site, from the basics all the way to the recipes. I used to find it difficult when I read recipes with ingredients I’d never heard of before, and didn’t even know what they were – and the staff in the stores also didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked them. I’ve already tried several of your recipes and found them all very tasty. I do have one question: could you sort or label the recipes as “traditional” and “modern,” so that someone like me, as a layperson, can tell the difference? I’m especially interested in traditional Japanese and Korean dishes and love cooking them. Best regards, Marcel
Hallo Marcel, first of all, thank you very much for your comment. Thank you as well for your praise. Yes, we are currently working on integrating the basics posts into the ingredients list. In addition, our big project right now is to get every ingredient and kitchen utensil onto the basics page. Also, knife tutorials and so on. Yes, that's a good idea. Best regards, Ryu from RyuKoch
The atrocious spelling and adventurous punctuation in the articles or recipes really don’t match the quality of the dishes – what a pity! Doesn’t the German partner ever correct anything?
Hi Minguk-Yeo, thanks for the tip, we will check all the posts :) Best regards, Matthias
My adoptive dad is Japanese. But he has been living in Germany for 50 years and his mentality is more German. I personally find that a pity, because I would love to prepare something Japanese for him to eat. Unfortunately, he has "forgotten" how to prepare Japanese dishes. And I don't know anyone who can guide me in cooking with original recipes. So my only option is to find out from blogs like this one and cookbooks, though I'm not sure how authentic they are. So: Thank you for your recipes. I hope there will be more of them.
Hey Katrin,
I hope our recipes will taste good to your adoptive dad :) Ryusei got all his recipes from his grandma and his mother, whom he visits regularly in Japan.
We will continue to provide you with delicious and easy recipes :)
Best regards
Matthias
Hello! I have a question: Many Japanese recipes include sake and/or mirin. Since I am currently pregnant, I feel uneasy about using alcohol in cooking—even if it evaporates. Can you simply leave out or substitute sake and mirin in most recipes (like Oden or similar dishes with boiled vegetables), or will the taste be too different? How do Japanese women handle this when they are pregnant?
Hello Laura, Mirin is sweet rice wine, and sake is more just rice wine. You can replace these two ingredients with rice vinegar and sugar. The ratio is about 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar to 1 teaspoon of sugar :) Give it a try this way :) Of course, the taste will be slightly different, but rice vinegar and sugar is the most common substitute. Best regards, Matthias
The site is really great. But unfortunately, I couldn't find the sauce. I see it in almost every restaurant video on YouTube. So... rice in a bowl, breaded meat on top, and then the sauce is poured over it. The sauce is heated there and an egg is added, which then sets. I need this sauce. I don't even know what it's called. Can anyone help?
Hello, it’s possible that you mean Tonkatsu sauce, which you can buy online. Best regards, Ryusei
Hello everyone, I was in Japan in July and discovered unagi dishes for myself in Matsumoto. I was already able to buy the matching sauce for the eel in a supermarket in Tokyo, but now I still need a good recipe. I’m also willing to take on the long process of marinating, charcoal grilling and so on to host my guests, but I’m lacking a good guide. If you have anything on hand or happen to find something soon, I’d really appreciate it.
Hello Antonie, thank you very much for the suggestion. I’ll keep it in mind and might write a post about it! Best regards, Ryusei