Glossary
Ageh – Deep fried tofu
Aisukurimu – Ice cream
Ajinori – Seasoned dried seaweed
Aka miso – Red miso; dark reddish brown in color and bold and salty in flavor. Contains more protein than shiro (white) miso. Fermented with lower ratio of rice or barley koji (fermenting enzyme) to soybeans and takes longer to ferment (a few months) than shiro (white) miso.
Akemashita Omedetou Gozaimasu – A customary Japanese saying, which means, Happy New Year!
Aku-nuki – The process of removing bitterness and undesirable residue from foods.
Ama-zu – Sweet vinegar marinade
Ama-zu Renkon – Lotus pickled in a sweet and vinegary solution.
Anko – Red bean paste
Aonori – Dried green seaweed flakes
Arigato – Thank you
Asari – Clam
Asari Miso Shiru – Miso soup with clams
Awase Miso – Mixed miso consisting of aka (red) and shiro (white) miso. Brown in color and medium sweet – salty in flavor.
Awase – Zu – A vinegar mix used to season sushi rice.
Beni ebi – Baby shrimp or sakura shrimp
Bento – Home packed meal to go, usually consisting of rice, meat, and vegetables.
Bonsai – Japanese art of growing woody plants in small containers into shapes of small trees.
Botamochi – Sweet rice cake (mochi); also known as ohagi
Buta-Shabu – Pork shabu-shabu or hot pot
Cha-han – Fried rice
Chirashi Sushi – Mixed or scattered sushi rice
Chutoro – Fatty Blue Fin Tuna
Daidai – Bitter orange
Daikon – Japanese radish
Daikon no sunomono – Vinegared radish salad
Dashi Konbu – Dried kelp
Dashi Shoyu – Seasoned soy sauce
Datemaki – Sweet rolled omelette mixed with mashed fish or shrimp.
Donburi – 1) bowl; 2) style of Japanese food where meat, vegetables or seafood lies over a bed of rice.
Dote-Nabe – Miso broth hot pot with oysters, regionally specific to Hiroshima, Japan.
Ebi – Shrimp
Edamame – Fresh boiled soy beans
Furikake – Dried seasoning sprinkled over rice
Ganbaru – To try your hardest and put your best effort forward
Gari Shoga – Seasoned, pickled ginger
Gindara – Black cod
Gobo – Burdock root
Gogatsu-ningyo – “May Doll”, usually a samurai warrior wearing a kabuto (helmet); displayed on Boy’s Day.
Gohan – Rice
Goma Abura – Sesame oil
Gomoku Gohan – 5 ingredient seasoned mixed rice
Gomoku Sushi – Typical of the Kansai region (Osaka, Kobe, Nara etc.) cooked or raw ingredients that are seasoned and mixed into the body of sushi rice.
Hacho (Hatcho) Miso – Also known as the Miso of Emperors; very dark brown in color with a smoky flavor; highest levels of protein and fiber. Requires two years of fermentation.
Ha-gotai – Satisfying texture to the teeth; i.e. “hearty”
Hamaguri No Saka Mushi – Sake steamed clams
Hangiri Sushi Oke – A traditional large, round wooden dish that is deep and used for making sushi rice
Hinamatsuri – Japanese Girl’s Day or Doll Festival, celebrated annually on March 3
Hina-ningyo – Japanese Girl’s Day ornamental dolls
Hirame – Fluke / white fish
Hotate – Scallops
Hourensou – Spinach
Hourensou Tamagoyaki – Japanese spinach omelette
Ika – Squid
Ika-Furai – Fried squid, i.e. calamari
Ikebana – Japanese art of flower arrangement
Ikura – Salmon roe
Ikuradon – Donburi with salmon roe over a bed of sushi rice
Inari sushi – Sushi rice wrapped in sweet seasoned fried tofu
Itadakimasu – Japanese customary saying that translates to “bon appetite”
Itokonnyaku – Yam noodles
Izakaya – Japanese restaurant-bar that serves small dishes (tapas) to enjoy with alcohol
Jubako – Decorative, lacquered box for serving food. Typically used when serving osechi-ryori
Johin – Elegant
Kabu – Japanese turnip
Kagami mochi – New Year’s display of two different sized mochi (rice cake) stacked upon one another and topped with a daidai (bitter orange). It represents the coming and going years, celebrated on January 1st.
Kai – Clam
Kaiware – Radish sprout
Kaki (1) – Oyster
Kaki (2) – Persimmon
Kakiage – A type of tempura with mixed vegetables and seafood
Kakiagedon – Donburi dish with mixed vegetable tempura over a bed of rice
Kamaboko – Fish cake
Kani kamaboko – Imitation crab meat
Karashi – Spicy, hot mustard
Karashi mentaiko – Spicy cod roe
Kashiwamochi – Japanese wagashi (traditional confectionery), rice cake with sweet bean paste in the center and wrapped with maple leaf
Katsuobushi – Dried bonito flakes
Katsuo dashi – Dried bonito stock powder
Kazunoko – Herring roe, typically eaten as part of osechi-ryori, traditional New Year’s dish
Kewpie Mayonnaise – Japanese brand of mayonnaise that slightly resembles Miracle Whip
Kezuriko – Dried, ground mackerel
Kinako – Dried soybean flour
Kine – Traditional wooden mallet used to pound mochi during mochitsuki
Kinoko – Mushrooms
Kingyo sukui – Japanese Obon game scooping goldfish with a thin paper scooper
Kinkan Kanro-Ni | Kanroni or Kinkan No Kanroni – Kinkan is kumquat and kanroni refers to the method of cooking, specifically candied or sweet glazed
Kinshi Tamago – Very thin omelette (egg crepes) that are cut into thin shreds
Kizami nori – Cut, dried seaweed
Kodomonohi – Children’s Day / Boy’s Day
Koinobori – Colorful, carp-shaped streamers or wind socks displayed on Boy’s Day
Kona – Powder or dry mix
Konbu – Kelp
Konbu Dashi – Large piece of dried kelp that is used as a base (or dashi) for seasoning. It is often soaked in water to draw out flavor from the seaweed.
Konnyaku – Yam (Devil’s Tongue)
Korokke – Japanese croquette made with potatoes and various ingredients
Koya Tofu (Dofu) – Freeze dried tofu that is simmered with seasonings
Kuri kinton – Mashed sweet potato with sweetened chestnuts
Kuro – Black
Kurogoma – Black sesame seeds
Kurogoma Aisukurimu – Black sesame ice cream
Kuromame – Black soy beans
Kyuri – Cucumber
Kyuri No Tsukemono – Pickled cucumber
Maguro – Tuna
Maki sushi – Sushi rolled in seaweed and stuffed with a variety of vegetables and ingredients
Mame – bean
Masago – Capelin roe
Mentaiko – Pollock roe
Mirin – Sweet cooking sake
Miso – Fermented soybean paste
Misozuke – Soybean paste (miso) marinade
Mizuna – Japanese water green, mild yet slightly peppery in flavor
Mochi – Rice cake
Mochigome – Sweet rice or glutinous rice
Mochiko – Glutinous sweet rice flour
Mochitsuki – Annual end of the year custom (ceremony) of making homemade mochi from scratch and pounding it into rice cakes
Moromi Miso – Also known as Hishio Miso; chunky and thick in texture, and ranges from golden brown to dark reddish brown in color. It tends to be on the sweet side and is often used as a dip for raw vegetables but can also be used for marinades and soup.
Moyashi – Bean sprouts
Musubi – Rice ball
Myoga | Ginger – An edible flower bulb commonly eaten in Japan
Nabe – Large Japanese pot used for cooking hot pot dishes; also refers to dishes cooked in the nabe
Nagaimo – Japanese mountain yam
Nama-chirashi – sushi rice served beneath raw fish or sashimi
Nasu dengaku – Grilled eggplant with miso glaze
Nasu miso – Japanese eggplant, pan-fried dressed with a sweet and savory miso glaze
Natto – Fermented soy beans
Natto Konbu – Prepared, seasoned kelp
Negi – Green onion
Nigiri sushi – Sushi rice topped with raw fish
Niku Jyaga – Japanese simmered beef and potatoes
Nira – Garlic chives
Nishiki Tamago – Egg roulade where yolk and egg white are cooked separately to create a decorative roulade. Typically eaten on New Year’s as part of osechi-ryori.
Nori – Seasoned, dry seaweed
Nori Tamago Sumashijiru – Seaweed and egg drop clear soup
Obon – A Japanese Buddhist custom honoring the spirits of one’s ancestors during July through August
Obon-odori – Joyful dancing that takes place during a festival to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors (see this post for details)
Ochazuke – Rice “soup” where hot tea is poured over a bowl of hot rice
Ochazuke Furikake – Dried seasoning sprinkled over rice then either hot green tea or hot water is poured over the rice
Oden – Japanese hot-pot consisting of simmered fish cake, daikon, boiled egg, and other ingredients
Ogura-an – Sweet red beans
Ohagi – Sweet rice ball
Ohitashi – Japanese boiled spinach
Okazu – Side dish that accompanies rice
Okonomiyaki – Savory Japanese pancake made only with ingredients that one likes
Omusubi – Rice ball, also known as musubi (without the formal “o”) or onigiri (see below)
Onigirazu – Hybrid rice ball shaped like a sandwich (flat and squarish), stuffed with filling, wrapped in nori (seaweed)
Onigiri – Rice ball
Osechi-ryori – Traditional Japanese New Year foods
Oshogatsu – Japanese New Year’s (January 1st)
Oyakodon | Oyako Donburi – Donburi dish with chicken and egg over a bed of rice
Ozoni – Japanese New Year soup, typically either clear soup or miso soup with vegetables and mochi (rice cake)
Ponzu – Japanese soy sauce and citrus seasoning
Rakkyo – Edible species of wild onion of the Amaryllis known as Japanese of Chinese scallion
Ra-yu – Chili oil
Renkon – Lotus root
Renkon no nimono – Simmered lotus root and vegetables
Sake – Cooking sake; also refers to alcoholic beverage
Sashimi – Raw fish
Satoimo – Taro
Satsuma Ageh – Fried fish cake
Satsuma Mikan – A type of citrus fruit (tangerine) commonly eaten in Japan; seedless and the peel is easily removed. Often associated with Japanese New Year
Shabu-shabu – Japanese hot pot
Sha-keh – Salmon
Sakura – Cherry blossom
Samurai – Japanese nobility warrior
Shamoji – Traditional wooden paddle used to scoop rice out of the rice cooker or for mixing rice
Shiba-ebi – A type of shrimp eaten on New Year’s
Shichimi Togarashi – Mixed chili pepper flakes
Shihobeni – Special display paper for kagami mochi New Year’s display, believed to ward off fires in the home
Shime Saba – Pickled mackerel
Shirasu – Dried whitefish or baby katakuchi anchovy
Shiratama Dango – Small, mochi balls made of glutinous rice flour (Mochiko)
Shiratama Zenzai – Sweet red bean soup with mini mochi
Shiro Miso – White miso (fermented soybean paste); light yellow golden in color and sweet in flavor. Made with high content of rice koji (fermenting agent), quick to ferment.
Shiso – Green perilla leaves which are used as an aromatic Japanese herb
Shokupan – Thick-sliced Japanese breakfast bread, usually white
Shoyu – Soy sauce
Shungiku – Garland Chrysanthemum, or crown daisy – edible leaves
Soba – Buckwheat noodle
Soboro Don – Ground chicken donburi (served over a bed of rice)
Somen – Very thin white noodle made of wheat flour and typically enjoyed cold
Sukiyaki – Japanese hot-pot style dish where beef and vegetables are cooked in a sweet and savory sauce, then dipped in raw egg
Sumashijiru – Japanese clear soup, contents of which vary
Sushi Nori – Large sheets of dried, unseasoned, roasted seaweed
Sushizu – Seasoned rice vinegar
Tai – Red sea bream (fish)
Takenoko – Bamboo shoot
Takikomi Gohan – Seasoned mixed steamed rice
Takoyaki – Baked round fritter with octopus
Takuan – Pickled radish (typically yellow or white in color)
Tamago – Egg
Tamagoyaki – Dashimaki or Japaense seasoned omlette
Tango-no Sekku – Boy’s Festival celebration in Japan prior to 1948
Tanindon – Donburi dish with beef and egg over a bed of rice
Tare – Sauce
Tazukuri – Dried sardine dish that is sweet and salty, part of osechi-ryori served on New Year’s day
Temaki Sushi – Hand roll sushi
Tekkadon – Donburi dish with tuna sashimi over a bed of rice
Teppanyaki – Japanese dish of grilled meat, seafood and vegetables on an open table top grill
Teriyaki – Sweet and savory sauce made of soy sauce, sugar and other ingredients
Tofu – Soft, white bean curd
Togarashi – Chili pepper flakes
Tororo – Grated Japanese mountain yam
Tsukemono – Pickled vegetables
Tsuyu – Dipping sauce for cold noodles
Udon – Thick wheat noodles, typically served in hot broth or cold with dipping sauce
Unagi – Fresh water eel
Unadon – Donburi dish with eel over a bed of rice
Uni – Sea urchin
Usu – Traditional motar used for pounding pounding glutinous rice into mochi during mochitsuki
Uzura Tamago – Quail Egg
Wagashi – Traditional Japanese confectionery
Wagiri Togarashi – Dried red chili pepper sliced into rings
Wakame – Kelp, seaweed
Washoku – Japanese cuisine
Yakiniku – Japanese style of cooking grilled bite-sized meat, usually refers to beef
Yaki Sake – Grilled salmon flakes, specifically in reference to salmon flakes in a jar
Yakisoba – Pan fried noodles with vegetables and meat
Yakitoriya – Restaurant that primarily serves skewered grilled chicken and chicken offal
Yamaimo – Japanese mountain yam, nagaimo, Chinese yam, Korean yam
Yasai-Itame – Stir fried vegetables
Yudofu – Tofu simmered in a simple dashi (soup stock)
Yuzu – Citrus fruit that looks similar to a lemon but has a fragrance all of it’s own; originated in East Asia