Food Culture

Takoyaki is a specialty of Osaka that is just as famous as okonomiyaki.

Natto is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans.

It is said that donburimono—rice served in a dish with its side dish placed on top—was created in the Edo period and originated with unadon, rice topped with eel.

In Japan, "croquette" refers to a food that is made by mixing boiled and crushed potatoes with minced meat, covering it in bread crumbs, and frying it until the outside is crispy.

Yakisoba is a noodle dish created by frying steamed Chinese noodles with meat and vegetables.

Like soba noodles, udon noodles are a well known type of Japanese noodles. Made from flour, they are distinctively thick and white.

Pork cutlet is made by coating a thick slice of pork in flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs, and then deep frying it.

Currently, okonomiyaki can be broadly divided into Kansai and Hiroshima styles.

This teppanyaki style of cooking involves cooking meat, vegetables, seafoods, and the like on top of an iron hot plate called a "teppan".

Ochazuke is a quick and easy dish made simply by pouring Japanese tea over rice.

The onigiri (rice ball) is a simple dish consisting of a compacted ball of rice with some ingredients placed inside.

Sukiyaki is a dish made from beef, tofu, spring onions, and other vegetables simmered in a sweet and salty sauce made with sugar and soy sauce as a base.

Sashimi is raw seafood served in thin slices. It is also called otsukuri.

Today, though, there are a lot of stylish yakitori places that are like café bars, and it is not unusual for women to dine alone, or for couples to come on dates.

Like udon, soba noodles, made from buckwheat flour, are the typical Japanese noodles.

Yakiniku is a type of Japanese barbecue. In the US(United States), this type of cooking is sometimes called "Korean barbecue".

Dumplings can be fried, steamed, or boiled, but in Japan fried dumplings are the most common.

Oden is a dish made by simmering daikon, chikuwa, konnyaku, and a variety of other ingredients in a pot with soup.

Basic tempura is fish, shellfish and vegetables fried in a batter made from eggs, water, and flour.

Barbecue: It's America in a mouthful. The story of barbecue touches almost every aspect of our history. It involves indigenous culture, the colonial era, slavery, the Civil War, the settling of the West, the coming of immigrants, the Great Migration, the rise of the automobile, the expansion of suburbia, the rejiggering of gender roles. It encompasses every region and demographic group. It is entwined with our politics and tangled up with our race relations. Jim Auchmutey follows the delicious and contentious history of barbecue in America....