Japan has less street food compared to other countries. It is not known why, but still the street food is delicious. Some of these are even found during festivals. Small food stalls are set up called yattai. They serve delicious food, from fried ramen to sweet candies. Here are 20 street foods in Japan.
1.Sushi
It is probably the most famous dish in Japan. It is made of rice and different fillings like vegetables, meat, or seafood. Sushi is available in most restaurants but is also a popular street food. The ingredients are rice, vinegar, salt, sugar, seaweed sheets, and oil. Many fillings can be added, like salmon, cucumber, crabmeat, etc.
2.Takoyaki
This dish is shaped like a ball. It has a wheat batter filled with octopus, tempura, and green onion. It is one of the most famous street foods in Japan. The ingredients are flour, soya sauce, takoyaki sauce, tenkasu, katsuobushi, pickled ginger, boiled octopus, green onion, eggs, and oil. This dish is believed to have originated in 1935 by a man named Tomekichi Endo.
3.Okonomiyaki
This is a type of Japanese pancake. It is savory. It is made of wheat, and many ingredients are added on the top, like meat and seafood. The ingredients are wheat, eggs, cabbage, okonomiyakisauce, aonori, pickled ginger, katsuobushi, and salt. This dish is popular in many regions of Japan like Hiroshima, Kansai, and Osaka.
4.Yakisoba
They are Japanese fried noodles. These noodles are made from wheat. Pork and different vegetables are added to this. The ingredients are onion, bell pepper, yakisoba noodles, cabbage, pork, soy sauce, Japanese-style Worcestershire sauce, beni shōga(pickled ginger), katsuobushi(fish flakes), salt, and oil. This originated in Japan in the 1950s. This fish is popular in the festivals.
5.Yakitori
It is a Japanese-style grilled chicken. The meat is skewered with kushi, a bamboo skewer, and then grilled over charcoal. Tare sauce is used to season it. The ingredients are soy sauce, mirin rice wine, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, onion, chicken, salt, pepper, and oil. Yaki-ton is the same type of dish, but instead of chicken, pork is used.
6.Yaki-imo
Yaki imo is baked sweet potatoes available in Japan. It’s usually baked in a stove or oven. It is eaten straight out of the oven. It can be eaten with butter. It is not only famous in Japan, but also in other countries in East Asia like Philippines and China. It was first discovered during the 15th century. During winter, trucks with a wooden fire oven in the back go around the streets, selling this delicious dish.
7.Kakigori
It is a shaved ice dessert popular in Japan. It is served with syrup and sweetener. It was first discovered in the Heian period in Japan. Condensed milk is poured over it along with different syrups like strawberry, lemon, grape, ‘Blue Hawaii,’ sweet bean, etc. To make it at home, one needs ice, condensed milk, and any sort of syrup.
8.Korokke
It is a dish similar to the French dish, croquette. It was introduced in Japan in the 19th century. It is deep-fried. The ingredients are Japanese-style breadcrumbs, potato, onion, pork, flour, eggs, salt, and oil.
9.Onigiri
It is a popular dish in Japan as a street food and is also available in convenience stores. Steamed white rice is made into triangular shapes and wrapped in nori. It has various fillings like tuna with mayonnaise, okaka (bonito flakes), salt roe, umeboshi, salted salmon, etc.
10.Kushikatsu
It is skewered meat and vegetables. These are deep-fried and then skewered with kushi. The ingredients are flour, egg, chicken, pork, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, salt, and oil. It is usually served in festivals.
11.Imagawayaki
It is a dessert popular in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. It is also found in festivals around Japan. The ingredients are flour, milk, sugar, honey, red bean paste, honey, eggs, and oil. Instead of sweet bean paste, there can be other fillings like fruit custard or vegetable fillings. This dish is said to be made by Seijiro Kanbei.
12.Ningyo-yaki
Ningyo-yaki are small cakes that are filled with red bean paste. These cakes are baked in a mold, usually shaped like dolls. The ingredients are flour, sugar, milk, honey, salt, oil, and egg. Instead of red bean paste, other stuff like custard can be added. This dish originated in Itakuraya in 1907.
13.Mitarashi Dango
These are small dumplings made of flour. They are skewered in a stick and served with sweet soy sauce. It first originated in a tea house in Kyoto, Japan. The ingredients are rice flour, sugar, mirin rice wine, soy sauce, and cornstarch. In Japan, Japanese rice flour is used, like shiratamako or dangoko.
14.Menchi Katsu
It is a deep-fried meat cutlet-type dish. The filling is usually beef and pork. The ingredients needed are beef and pork, onion, breadcrumbs, flour, egg, milk, tonkatsu sauce, salt, and oil. Japanese breadcrumbs called panko are used.
15.Mochi
It is a popular Japanese rice cake. It is a traditional food during Japanese New Year. It’s made during a ceremony called mochitsuki. The ingredients are rice flour, red bean paste, sugar, and cornstarch.
16.Mizuame Candied Fruits
Mizuame is a popular sweetener in Japan. This coats fruits like strawberry, apricot, cherry, etc. It is delicious candy and popular street food. Anzu ame is apricot candy, and ichigo ame is strawberry candy.
17.Japanese Crepes
Japanese crepes are thin pancakes rolled in a cone shape. They are filled with ice cream, berries, etc. The ingredients are flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Different fillings can be added like different berries, bananas, chocolate sauce, ice cream, etc.
18.Amezaiku
Mizuame is used in multiple colours and made into various shapes like animals. Amezaiku is a big industry in Japan for candy making. Colors are added to make it prettier. Many street performers use mizuame to make candies. It originated during the Heian period in temples in Kyoto.
19.Senbei
It is a rice cracker famous in Japan. It is usually eaten during snacktime with tea. It is found in many shapes and flavors. The ingredients are rice flour, soy sauce, mirin, salt, and oil. Seaweed sheets can be wrapped around to add taste. One can also add shichimi togarashi Japanese seasoning or furikake.
20.Shu Cream
It is a popular Japanese dessert. It is a lot like cream puffs. Many fillings can be added like matcha, chocolate, strawberry cream or custard. The ingredients are flour, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and oil.
