Top 12 Unique Japanese Foods

You most likely are familiar with mainstream Japanese cuisine; things like Udon, Ramen, and sushi are commonplace in our country, but you may not be as familiar with some of the more unusual foods. Be them genius, odd, or downright weird by our standards in the UK, here are 12 unique Japanese foods that you need to try.

Nattō (納豆)

Known in the Western world for its intriguing taste, slimy texture, and intense smell, Nattō - fermented soybeans, is a dish that is loved by most people in Japan. The Japanese will eat it in Ramen, Maki, and even on its own. In classic Marmite fashion, many people that try this stuff will either love it loathe it! So in the event of you trying it, hope that you fall under the second category, or you may need to find a different tasty treat to try!

If you don’t want to go to Japan to try Nattō, you can buy a four-pack here.

Nankotsu (軟骨)Photo Credit: RightCowLeftToast, Wikimedia Commons

Essentially Japanese pub food, Nankotsu is fried chicken cartilage. It is prepared in almost the exact same way as Karaage (Japanese fried chicken) except it’s made with the cartilage instead of the meat. However, despite what you might first think about this food, it is delicious. It’s crunchy, chewy and tastes great with a squeeze of lemon. However, the obvious problem here is the prospect of eating cartilage. If you can get past that though, this is well worth a try.

Mochi (餅)

You’re a lot more likely to have heard of Mochi that most of the other foods on this list, and for a good reason too. This stuff is gold, and you will find it everywhere in Japan, especially during new years. Mochi is a glutinous rice cake, that is often flavoured and combined with things like ice cream or a sweet filling to make confectionary. It’s also eaten roasted with sugar and soy flour on new year's day as a symbol of good luck for the year. Whether it’s made traditionally with a guy smashing a hammer into some rice, or industrially, Mochi is a delicious staple of Japanese cuisine, and you should try it.

You can buy from our extensive range of Mochi.

Umi-budō (海ぶどう) Photo Credit: Ume-y, Flickr

This is a type of algae that is commonly eaten as a snack with vinegar or with a salad in east and south-east Asian countries. In Japan, it is also served as a side or a hors d’oeuvres to Sashimi. Its flavour is mild and slightly salty, hence why it is served with more flavourful vinegar and other sauces. The appeal of the food is more in the texture, that has been described as “addictive” by some people. We suppose that it could be compared to edible bubble wrap - and let's be honest, who doesn’t like popping bubble wrap.

Karē pan (カレーパン)Photo Credit: 賢太郎 森川, Wikimedia Commons

Literally “Curry bread”, this Japanese food is essentially a savoury doughnut with Japanese curry inside of it. Japanese curry was initially introduced to the country through British cuisine and has since changed from being considered a western food to one of the most popular dishes in the country. Curry bread has since become so familiar there that it has been permanently fixated in Japanese pop culture through the Children's’ superhero picture book Anpanman, of which a secondary character has a Karē pan as his head.

Basashi (馬刺し)

Basashi is horse meat sashimi. That’s right - this is raw horse meat served with soy sauce and wasabi or garlic. Now, we wouldn’t say you strictly need to try this - and can’t blame you if you don’t want to, but on the off chance that you’re vaguely interested then we can tell you that this isn’t even remotely gamey as you would expect, and supposedly actually is quite palatable to us Gaijin. It’s worth a try should you get over the fact that you’ll be eating a horse.

Tsurureishi (蔓茘枝)

Tsurureishi, also known as Goya, is a type of fruit grown on a vine. Known as “Bitter Melon” in English, you can probably guess what it tastes like. Specifically popular among the many centenarians in Okinawa, this food is suspected of having many health benefits. This fruit is so celebrated in the Okinawan archipelago that they have an entire day dedicated to celebrating it in May, which is more than you can say for most things. It’s used in many different ways to attempt to make it palatable, but, unfortunately, you may not like it still due to the bitterness. Then again, as the Japanese proverb says, “ryouyaku wa kuchi ni nigashi” (“good medicine tastes bitter”), so it’s probably worth eating even if you don’t like it.

Inago no Tsukudani (稲子佃煮)

These are locusts boiled in soy sauce and sugar, and served usually on their own or with a bowl of rice. Common in agricultural areas in rural Japan, they were eaten in the past as they could be commonly found eating the farmers' crops. The farmers would consume them with rice to have enough energy for the days work. Apparently very rich and sweet, these are definitely worth a try if you come across them... if you can get over the initial realisation that you’re eating mega grasshoppers (We thought we’d spare you the picture on this one).

Suppon (鼈)Photo Credit: Andrea Westmoreland, Wikimedia Commons

Suppon is the only turtle that is commonly eaten in Japan. Often served in a soup, the animal is eaten more as a health food than for its taste. Supposedly the food gives more radiant skin for women, and the blood of turtle is drunk by middle-aged men with sake to improve health. The turtle is familiar to the Japanese people as it lives in the rice fields, and many Japanese proverbs are based around the stubbornness of it. If you want to try it and you have the money available (yes, it’s costly), then it’s worth giving it a shot.

Taiyaki (鯛焼き)

You’ve probably seen these before. Taiyaki are fish shaped cakes with a sweet red bean filling. These are a bit of a hit or miss, some people dislike the bean paste that’s inside of the cake, and some people love it. You should give these a try definitely as they are a massive part of Japanese festival culture and are reasonably cheap.

Okinawa Soba (沖縄そば)Photo Credit: Banzai Hiroaki, Wikimedia Commons

This is a type of noodle soup produced in Okinawa prefecture. The noodles are called “Soba”, which is the term usually used to refer to buckwheat noodles. Despite this, the noodles used in this dish are made from wheat. This is basically ramen with oversized noodles, and therefore the meal is a lot more stodgy than regular ramen. If you’d like to try some ramen with a bit of a twist, this is the dish for you.

Chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し)Photo Credit: Toukou Sousui, Flickr

Chawanmushi is an egg custard found commonly in Japan. However, this is savoury egg custard; this might sound strange, but it's delicious. Served with soy sauce, shrimp, mushrooms, and pork, among other things; this dish is perfect as an appetiser. If you want to try something new, then give this a go.

We hope we’ve inspired you to try something new. If you’re interested in trying some of these foods as well as many other unique and interesting Japanese foods, visit our shop at Oriental Mart.