Thin slices of tofu that are deep-fried.  Often used to wrap inari sushi and added to miso soup.  Also known as aburage. Atsuage is a thicker cut, and a thinner cut is usuage.

See abura-age.

Cold dishes mixed with dressing.

Deep-fried dishes, such as tempura.

Sweet, jam-like paste made from azuki beans. 

Thick-cut deep-fried tofu.

Burgundy-colored bean usually cooked with sticky rice or used in desserts.

Red-colored pickled ginger.  Usually shredded and used as garnish.

See the About Bento section!

Bento box.

Bonito is a type of fish (also known as shipjack tuna).  Dried bonito is shaved into flakes – large flakes are used to make dashi, and smaller flakes are used as a condiment and are often moistened with soy sauce and stuffed inside onigiri.   

See ochazuke.

See ochazuke.

Pureed and steamed fish cake shaped into a tube form.

Bowl of sushi rice with the other ingredients mixed in.  The ingredients often are artfully arranged on top of the rice before mixing in to eat.

Dessert consisting of mochi stuffed with a sweet filling, such as anko.  Ichigo daifuku is mochi stuffed with a fresh strawberry and anko.

Large, white, mild-flavored Japanese radish.  It can be simmered, grated, pickled (takuan) and dried (kiriboshi daikon).

Dumplings.  Meatballs are niku-dango.

Soup stock commonly used in Japanese cooking, usually made by heating bonito flakes and kombu in water, then straining the liquid.  There are also good instant dashi powders on the market.  Dashi is the base for miso soup, other broths, and many simmering stocks.

Japanese casserole with a lid.  Often used to cook one-pot dishes, called nabe.

 A “rice bowl dish” consisting of some form of protein and vegetables simmered together and then served over rice, usually in an oversized bowl (also called a donburi).  Types of donburi include oyakodon (chicken, egg, and onion), katsudon (breaded, deep-fried pork cutlets, onion, and egg), tendon (tempura shrimp and vegetables), gyudon (beef and onion), and unadon (eel).

Shrimp.

Green soybeans. 

Long, thin, white mushrooms.  Also called golden needle mushrooms, winter mushrooms, velvet foot, or velvet stem.

Dry condiment usually sprinkled on top of or mixed into rice.  Typically consists of a mixture of sesame seeds, nori, sugar, and salt, as well as other ingredients.  Many brands also contain MSG.

Traditional cloth used to wrap clothes, gifts, or other goods.  Often used to wrap up a bento box and chopsticks.

Thick-rolled sushi that uses many different kinds of ingredients.

Sweet, pickled ginger.  Often served with sushi and used as a condiment.

Burdock root.  Used in many dishes, such as kinpira.

Sesame seeds.  There are two types: shiro-goma (unhulled white) and kuro-goma (black).

Flavoring made from sesame seeds and salt.  Similar to furikake.

Dumpling with crimped edges that is stuffed with ground meat and/or vegetables and resembles a small turnover.  Usually steamed or pan-fried (followed by steaming in the skillet).

Donburi consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly-sweet sauce.

Chopsticks.

Chopsticks rest.

Cast-iron bowl filled with charcoal that is used for grilling food.

Sea vegetable that is boiled and dried before selling (looks like thick black thread pieces).  To prepare hijiki for cooking, it is first soaked in water.

Mochi cake stuffed with a fresh strawberry and anko paste.

Pouch of aburage or usuage filled with sushi rice.  Also known as inari-zushi.

See inari.

Similar to a bento box, but larger and more elaborate, typically with three to five layers of shallow boxes in black or red lacquer and decorated with gilt patterns.  During the last days of the year, Japanese women prepare elegant new year's foods and pack them in jyubako.

Grilled freshwater eel.

Type of squash with a deep green skin with some striping and a deep orange-yellow flesh.

Type of processed seafood product.  White fish are pureed, formed into loaves and steamed until cooked and firm.  Served sliced with dipping sauce or included in hot soups, one-dish meals, or noodle dishes.

Long dried strips of gourd; often used in sushi rolls.

Starch traditionally produced from a species of lily, but now more commonly processed from potato.

Donburi consisting of tonkatsu over rice with egg and other condiments.

Bonito fish.

See bonito flakes.

A small bag, typically with a drawstring, used to hold a bento box and utensils.

"Sauté and simmer” cooking technique commonly used to cook root vegetables, various types of seaweed (such as hijiki), and/or tofu.

Silken tofu.

Dried and shredded daikon.

Edible kelp.  Usually sold dried and used to make dashi.  Can also be simmered and often used in onigiri.  Also spelled konbu.

See kombu.

Star-shaped sugar candy (like in “Spirited Away”!).

Made from a plant and is usually mottled grey in appearance and has a jelly-like texture.  Also known as devil’s tongue jelly.

Made by mixing cooked chopped meat, seafood, and/or vegetables with mashed potato or white sauce, rolling in wheat flour, eggs and panko, then deep-frying until brown on the outside.  Related to the French croquette.

Black sesame seeds.

Cylindrical ‘tube’ of sushi made using a bamboo mat to roll nori around rice and various fillings.  Maki rolls are generally cut into 6 or 8 pieces before serving.

Fine, powdered green tea used in Japanese tea ceremonies and also to dye and flavor foods like mochi, soba noodles, and pastries.

Type of mushroom.

A slightly sweet rice wine that is used as a condiment and in Japanese cooking.

Thick paste made from fermented soybeans and other fermented products.  There are many types of miso.

Herb used as a seasoning and in salads.  Other names include Japanese wild parsley and honeywort.

Glutinous (sticky) rice that is pounded into paste and molded into shape.  Mochi is used in savory dishes and also in desserts (like daifuku).

Glutinous rice flour.

Firm tofu.

Steamed dishes.

One-pot meal.

Welsh onion.  Also known as bunching onion and Japanese scallions.

Fermented soybeans with a stringy and slippery texture.  Infamously stinky.

Oblong mound of sushi-rice topped with a bit of wasabi and a thin slice of topping, sometimes wrapped with a thin band of nori. 

Meatballs.

A much-loved beef and potato stew, typically served with rice.

Dishes simmered in a soup stock, such as nikujaga.

Dried edible seaweed.  Flat sheets are used to roll maki sushi, and it can be shredded and used as a condiment.

Another word for bento.

Simple dish made by pouring hot green tea over rice and toppings.  Also called chazuke and cha-cha gohan.  Common toppings include tsukemono, umeboshi, nori, furikake, sesame seeds, salted fish, and wasabi.  Ochazuke made with unagi is called unacha. 

Pan-fried cake made with batter and various ingredients.  The batter generally consists of flour, grated yam, water or dashi, and egg.  Ingredients mixed in include cabbage, onion, meat, seafood, and cheese.  There are many variations.

Omelet filled with ketchup-flavored fried rice.  Often topped with additional ketchup or tonkatsu sauce.

Omelet with yakisoba filling.  Often topped with ketchup or tonkastu sauce.

Rice ball snack usually in the shape of a triangle or oval and wrapped in nori.  Onigiri traditionally is filed with umeboshi, salted fish, or bonito flakes moistened with soy sauce.  Other types of fillings are popular as well, such as tuna salad, kombu, and egg.

“Parent and child” donburi consisting of simmered chicken, egg, green onion, and other ingredients over rice.

Type of breadcrumb made from wheat bread that has a lighter, crispier texture than Western breadcrumbs.

Pickled Japanese shallot; used for garnishing.

Carbonated soft drink in a glass bottle sealed with a glass marble.

Lotus root.

Japanese rice wine that can be enjoyed hot or cold.  Lower grade sake is used for cooking.

Relative of Sichuan pepper.

Raw seafood.  Usually accompanied by rice.

Rice cracker.

One-pot meal with sliced meat and vegetables that is more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki.

Chinese black mushroom.

Oyster mushroom.

Noodles made from yam cakes.

Unhulled white sesame seeds.

Also known as the beefsteak plant, perilla, or Japanese basil.  It is a perennial herb with a nice smell but a bitter taste to some.

Ginger root.

Buddhist vegetarian dishes.  The teachings of Buddhism forbid seekers of enlightenment from consuming alcohol and all types of meat and seafood, as well as the five strong-smelling herbs of the lily family: garlic, scallions, onions, shallots, and leeks.

Soy sauce.

Common spice mixture containing seven ingredients: ground red chile pepper, mandarin orange peel, sesame seed, poppy seed, hemp seed, nori, and ground sansho.

Thin buckwheat noodles that are dark gray in color.  Usually cooked and served with various toppings and condiments.

Thin, white, wheat flour noodles usually served cold or stir-fried with other ingredients.

A Hawaiian favorite snack.  Generally composed of a block of sushi rice topped with a sliced of marinated and fried SPAM, then wrapped with a piece of nori.

Japanese rice vinegar.

One-pot dish with thinly-sliced beef, tofu, noodles, naganegi, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, and other ingredients.

See tsukemono.

Grinding bowl

Variety of foods prepared with vinegared rice.  Toppings or fillings include raw, cooked, or marinated seafood, meat, vegetables, and egg.  Different types include maki (rolls), nigiri (hand-formed), inari (tofu pouch), futomaki (thick-rolled), and chirashi-zushi (“scattered” sushi).

Carp or bream.

Waffle-like cake traditionally filled with anko paste that is molded into the shape of a carp fish (tai).

Octopus.

Spherical, fried or baked dumpling made from batter, octopus, gari, konnyaku, and scallions.  Typically made in a special pan made of cast iron with hemispherical molds.

Pickled daikon, usually bright yellow in color.

Egg.

Slightly sweet, layered omelet.  Also used as sushi topping.

Thick, dark soy sauce, usually brewed without wheat.

Deep-fried batter-dipped seafood and vegetables.  Usually served with a dipping sauce.

Cooking sauce for fish or meat.  The food is cut or sliced and broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade that is generally made of mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and sake.

Flying fish roe.  The eggs are very small and orange to red in color and are used in certain types of sushi.

Soybean curd.  Silken tofu is called kinugoshi-dofu and firm tofu is calld momen-dofu.

Hot Japanese chile.

Breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet that is generally served with shredded cabbage and dipping sauce.

Various types of pickled vegetables.  Also spelled sunomono.

Thick, white, wheat-based noodle used in soups and stir-fries.

Pickled Japanese plum with a very sour taste.  Often included in the rice layer of a bento box as umeboshi is believed to help keep rice fresh.  Also commonly used as onigiri filling.

Ochazuke with unagi topping.

Donburi made with unagi in a sweet sauce over rice.

Freshwater eel.  Grilled eel is called kabayaki.

Sea urchin.

Deep-fried thin-cut tofu.   

Type of edible kelp (lobe-leaf seaweed) often used in miso soup and salads.

Grated root of the wasabi plant that is believed to kill germs on raw fish.  Better than imitation wasabi made of horseradish with green food coloring and wasabi oil flavoring.

Grilled tofu.

Grilled dishes.

Flour-based ramen-like noodles that are stir-fried with a variety of ingredients, such as meat, seafood, and vegetables.

Traditionally consists of grilled skewers of marinated chicken pieces and vegetables.  Now other ingredients are used, such as beef, pork, and seafood.

Boiled tofu.

Citrus fruit native to eastern Asia that resembles a small grapefruit that becomes yellow as it ripens.  The zest is used for cooking.

Bamboo basket, often used to drain noodles.

The most basic soba dish in which boiled, cold soba noodles are eaten with a shoyu-based dipping sauce.  Commonly enjoyed in the warmer months.

Rice cake soup that is commonly eaten during New Year's.