List of English Words of Japanese Origin - Culinary

Culinary

adzuki, azuki bean

あずき or 小豆 listen, type of bean grown in eastern Asia and the Himalayas, used in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cuisines, usually served sweet

arame

荒布, a type of edible seaweed

bento

弁当 bentō, a single-portion takeout meal, box lunch

daikon

大根, a kind of white radish

dashi

だし or 出汁, a simple soup stock considered fundamental to Japanese cooking

edamame

枝豆, soybeans boiled whole in the green pod and served with salt

enokitake, enoki mushroom

えのきたけ or 榎茸, long, thin white mushrooms, used in Japanese, Korean and Chinese cuisines

fugu

河豚 or フグ, the meat of the toxic pufferfish, must be prepared by specially trained chefs by law. Also means pufferfish itself.

ginkgo

銀杏 or ぎんなん ginnan, a gymnospermous tree (Ginkgo biloba) of eastern China that is widely grown as an ornamental or shade tree and has fan-shaped leaves and yellow fruit (the word is derived from 17th Century Japanese 銀杏 ginkyō)

gyoza

ギョーザ or 餃子 gyōza, Japanese name for Chinese dumplings, jiaozi (jiǎozi); may also be called pot stickers in English if they are fried

hibachi

火鉢, a small, portable charcoal grill; used in North America to refer to a teppan or a small shichirin-like aluminium or cast iron grill

hijiki

ひじき or 鹿尾菜, a type of edible seaweed commonly found on rocky coastlines

katsuo

鰹, a skipjack tuna

katsuobushi

かつおぶし or 鰹節, dried and smoked skipjack tuna (katsuo), which is shaved and then used in dashi

koji

麴 or 麹 kōji, a fungus which is the active agent in the fermentation processes, of producing miso and soy sauce from soybeans, and of producing sake and shōchū from rice.

kombu

昆布, dried kelp, which can be eaten or used as dashi

matsutake

松茸, a type of edible mushroom, with a magnificently spicy aroma similar to cinnamon, considered to be a great delicacy and the most coveted mushroom in Japan

mirin

味醂, an essential condiment of the Japanese cuisine, a kind of rice wine similar to sake with a slightly sweet taste

miso

味噌, a thick paste made by fermenting soybeans with salt

mizuna

水菜, an edible plant, with flavor akin to the mustard plant

nappa, napa cabbage

菜っ葉, Chinese cabbage, (in Japan, it is a generic term for leaf vegetables.)

nashi (pear)

梨, a species of pear native to eastern Asia, which are juicy, round and shaped like apples. Often simply referred to as "asian pear(s)".

nori

海苔, food products created from the seaweed laver by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking.

panko

パン粉, Japanese white bread flakes. Panko is made from bread without crusts, thus it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine.

ramen

ラーメン rāmen, the Japanese version of Chinese noodle soup, not limited to the instant variety

sake

酒 listen,nihon-shu(日本酒), an alcoholic beverage, brewed from rice. In Japanese, the word commonly refers to alcoholic drinks in general

sashimi

刺身, a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of the freshest raw seafoods thinly sliced and served with only a dipping sauce and wasabi.

satsuma

(from 薩摩 Satsuma, an ancient province of Japan), a type of mandarin orange (mikan) native to Japan

shabu shabu

しゃぶしゃぶ, a meal where each person cooks their own food in their own cooking pot from an assortment of raw ingredients

shiitake mushroom

しいたけ or 椎茸 listen, an edible mushroom typically cultivated on the shii tree

shoyu

醬油 or 醤油shōyu, Japanese soy sauce

soba

蕎麦 or ソバ, thin brown buckwheat noodles

soy

from shoyu 醤油

sukiyaki

すき焼き or スキヤキ, a dish in the nabemono-style (one-pot), consisting of thinly sliced beef, tofu, konnyaku noodles, negi, Chinese cabbage (bok choy), and enoki mushrooms among others

surimi

すり身 or 擂り身, processed meat made from cheaper white-fleshed fish, to imitate the look of a more expensive meat such as crab legs

sushi

鮨 or 鮓 or 寿司, a dish consisting of vinegared rice combined with other ingredients such as raw fish, raw or cooked shellfish, or vegetables

takoyaki

たこ焼, たこ焼き, or 章魚焼き, literally fried or baked octopus

tamari

溜まり or たまり, liquid obtained by pressing soybeans

tempura

てんぷら or 天麩羅, classic Japanese deep fried batter-dipped seafood and vegetables. The word may be from Portuguese tempêro/seasoning.

teppanyaki

鉄板焼き, a type of Japanese cuisine that uses a hot iron griddle (teppan) to cook food

teriyaki

照り焼き or テリヤキ, a cooking technique where fish or meat is being broiled/grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade; in Japanese, it is used exclusively refer to poultry cooked in this manner.

tofu

豆腐 tōfu listen bean curd. Although the word is originally Chinese, it entered English via Japanese.

udo

ウド or 独活, an edible plant found on the slopes of wooded embankments, also known as the Japanese Spikenard

udon

うどん or 饂飩, a type of thick wheat-based noodle

umami

旨味 or うま味, the taste sensation produced by some condiments such as monosodium glutamate; a basic flavor in sea weed (昆布 kombu)

umeboshi

梅干, pickled ume

wakame

ワカメ or 若布, a type of edible kelp, often used in miso soup (Japan), and salads

wasabi

わさび or 山葵, a strongly flavoured green condiment also known as Japanese horseradish

yakitori

焼き鳥 or 焼鳥, a type of chicken kebab