✔ Updated · 40 easy Japanese recipes: rice bowls, noodles, mains, sushi, sides and sweets
These 40 easy Japanese recipes cover the home-style classics, from oyakodon and miso soup to karaage, gyoza and fluffy souffle pancakes.
The easiest Japanese recipes for beginners are miso soup, oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl), gyudon (beef bowl), onigiri, teriyaki chicken or salmon, Japanese curry rice, yakisoba, edamame and cucumber sunomono. With a few pantry basics, short-grain rice, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, miso and dashi, you can cook most of this list.
- 15 minutes or less: miso soup, edamame, sunomono and teriyaki salmon.
- One-pan dinners: oyakodon, gyudon, yaki udon and curry rice.
- Weekend projects: gyoza, tempura, tonkatsu and Japanese cheesecake.
Most need just a handful of pantry staples, and the ones I've written up in full are linked on the cards.
Rice Bowls and Rice Dishes
Good rice is the backbone of Japanese home cooking. Use short-grain Japanese rice (often sold as sushi rice), rinse it until the water runs nearly clear, and let it rest 10 minutes after cooking. Long-grain rice just won't give you that sticky, tender texture. Craving takeout-style rice? My Benihana fried rice copycat is a family favorite.
1. Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)
Chicken and onion simmered in a sweet, savory dashi broth, softly set with egg and slid over rice. One pan, 20 minutes.
How: Simmer sliced onion and bite-size chicken thigh in dashi, soy sauce, mirin and a little sugar until the chicken hits 165°F, pour in beaten eggs, cover 1 minute and spoon over rice.
2. Gyudon (Beef Rice Bowl)
Thin-sliced beef and onions in a sweet soy-dashi sauce over steamed rice. A favorite Japanese fast food, and so easy.
How: Simmer sliced onion in dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, add shaved beef and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Serve over rice with pickled red ginger.
3. Katsudon
A crispy pork cutlet simmered with onion and egg in a light dashi sauce, then piled on rice.
How: Make tonkatsu, slice it, then simmer briefly with onion in dashi, soy and mirin, pour beaten egg around it, cover until just set and serve over rice.
4. Omurice
Ketchup fried rice wrapped in a soft, silky omelet. Kids love it and so do I.
How: Fry rice with diced chicken, onion and ketchup, then wrap a portion in a thin buttery 2-egg omelet and top with more ketchup or demi-glace.
5. Onigiri (Rice Balls)
Hand-shaped rice balls with a savory filling, wrapped in nori. The ultimate packed lunch.
How: With wet, salted hands, shape warm short-grain rice around a filling like tuna mayo, salted salmon or pickled plum, then wrap with a strip of nori.
6. Japanese Curry Rice
Thick, mildly sweet curry with chicken, carrots and potatoes over rice. Weeknight comfort food in Japan.
How: Brown chicken, add onion, carrot and potato, cover with water and simmer 15 minutes, then melt in Japanese curry roux blocks until thick. Serve over rice.
7. Chicken Katsu Curry
Crispy panko chicken with a fragrant, mild curry sauce and rice. My copycat of the Wagamama favorite.
Get the recipe →
8. Hibachi Fried Rice
Japanese-American teppanyaki-style fried rice with egg, garlic butter and soy, just like at the grill table.
Get the recipe →Noodles and Soups
Slurping is encouraged. If you're torn between noodles, my guide to ramen vs udon explains the difference.
9. Miso Soup
A 10-minute soup of dashi, miso, tofu and wakame. I could drink it every morning.
How: Heat dashi, add cubed tofu and rehydrated wakame, then turn off the heat and whisk in miso paste (never boil it). Finish with scallions.
10. Chicken Ramen
Springy noodles in a rich chicken broth with soft-boiled egg and toppings. A Wagamama-inspired copycat.
Get the recipe →
11. Yaki Udon
Thick, chewy udon stir-fried with chicken, vegetables and a savory soy sauce. Fast and filling.
Get the recipe →
12. Yakisoba
Stir-fried noodles with pork or chicken, cabbage and a tangy, sweet yakisoba sauce.
Get the recipe →13. Kitsune Udon
Udon in a light dashi broth topped with sweet fried tofu pockets and scallions.
How: Simmer dashi with soy sauce and mirin, add cooked udon, and top with seasoned fried tofu (inari age) and sliced scallions.
14. Zaru Soba (Cold Soba Noodles)
Chilled buckwheat noodles with a cool dipping sauce. Pure refreshment on a hot day.
How: Cook soba, rinse well under cold water, drain and serve on a plate with nori strips and a dipping sauce of dashi, soy and mirin with wasabi and scallions.
Chicken, Pork, Beef and Fish
The home-cooking classics. Cook chicken to 165°F, ground meat to 160°F, and pork chops and fish to 145°F. Gyoza confusion? Here's my guide to wontons vs dumplings.
15. Teriyaki Chicken
Juicy chicken in a sticky, glossy soy-mirin glaze. My copycat of the Panda Express version is a weeknight staple.
Get the recipe →16. Salmon Teriyaki
Pan-seared salmon glazed with homemade teriyaki sauce until shiny. Done in 15 minutes.
How: Sear salmon skin side down until crisp, flip, add equal parts soy sauce, mirin and sake with a little sugar and spoon it over until glossy and the fish reaches 145°F.
17. Chicken Karaage
Japanese fried chicken: ginger-soy marinated thigh pieces with a shatter-crisp potato starch coating.
How: Marinate chicken thigh pieces in soy, sake, ginger and garlic for 30 minutes, coat in potato starch and fry at 340°F, then again at 360°F, until 165°F.
18. Tonkatsu
A panko-crusted pork cutlet, fried golden and served with shredded cabbage and tonkatsu sauce.
How: Pound pork loin cutlets, season, coat in flour, egg and panko, and fry at 340°F about 3 minutes a side until 145°F. Rest 3 minutes and slice.
19. Shogayaki (Ginger Pork)
Thin pork slices pan-fried in a punchy ginger, soy and mirin sauce. A classic Japanese home-cooking dish.
How: Toss thin-sliced pork with grated ginger, soy, mirin and sake, sear in a hot pan with sliced onion 3 to 4 minutes, and serve with rice and shredded cabbage.
20. Gyoza (Pan-Fried Dumplings)
Crispy-bottomed, juicy pork and cabbage dumplings. Folding them is weirdly relaxing.
How: Fill wrappers with ground pork, cabbage, garlic, ginger and soy, pleat, then fry flat side down, add a splash of water, cover and steam until the filling is 160°F. Serve with my gyoza dipping sauce.
21. Tempura
Shrimp and vegetables in a lacy, ultra-light batter. Ice-cold batter is the trick.
How: Whisk flour with ice-cold sparkling water and an egg yolk until just combined (lumps are fine), dip shrimp and vegetables and fry at 340°F to 350°F until pale gold.
22. Okonomiyaki
A savory cabbage pancake with pork, topped with okonomi sauce, mayo and bonito flakes.
How: Mix flour, dashi, egg and lots of shredded cabbage, cook as a thick pancake topped with thin pork slices, flip and cook until done, then add sauce, mayo and toppings.
23. Nikujaga (Meat and Potato Stew)
Beef, potatoes, carrots and onion simmered in a sweet soy broth. Japanese comfort food at its coziest.
How: Saute thin-sliced beef and onion, add potatoes, carrots, dashi, soy, mirin and sugar, and simmer covered about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Sushi, Sides and Small Plates
You don't need a sushi bar to make sushi at home; cooked fillings like crab, shrimp tempura or smoked salmon are the easiest start. If you use raw fish, buy fish sold for raw eating and keep it cold. Here's how long sushi is good for, plus the difference between nigiri and sashimi and the little orange masago eggs on many rolls.
24. Maki Sushi Rolls
Rolled sushi with seasoned rice and fillings like cucumber, avocado, cooked crab or salmon. Easier than it looks.
How: Season cooked short-grain rice with rice vinegar, sugar and salt, spread thinly on nori on a bamboo mat, add fillings in a line and roll firmly. Slice with a wet knife.
25. Dynamite Sushi Roll
A Japanese-American roll with spicy mayo, crunchy tempura shrimp and creamy avocado.
Get the recipe →
26. Spicy Salmon Sushi Bake
A Japanese-American party dish: sushi rice, creamy spicy salmon and furikake, baked and scooped onto nori.
Get the recipe →27. Tamagoyaki (Rolled Omelet)
A sweet-savory rolled omelet cooked in thin layers. Lovely in bento boxes.
How: Beat eggs with dashi, a little sugar and soy, then cook thin layers in an oiled pan, rolling each layer up and adding more egg until you have a neat log.
28. Edamame
Salted, steamed soybeans in the pod. My favorite snack while dinner finishes cooking.
How: Boil or steam frozen edamame 4 to 5 minutes, drain and toss with flaky salt. Add garlic, chili or sesame oil if you like.
29. Sunomono (Cucumber Salad)
Thin cucumber slices in a sweet, tangy rice vinegar dressing. Crisp and cooling.
How: Thinly slice cucumbers, salt for 10 minutes and squeeze dry, then toss with rice vinegar, sugar, a pinch of salt and toasted sesame seeds.
30. Horenso no Ohitashi (Spinach Salad)
Blanched spinach steeped in a light dashi-soy dressing, topped with bonito flakes or sesame.
How: Blanch spinach 30 seconds, chill in ice water, squeeze dry, cut into bundles and pour over a mix of dashi, soy sauce and mirin.
31. Kani Salad
A Japanese-American sushi-bar salad of shredded imitation crab, cucumber and mango in a creamy, spicy mayo dressing.
How: Shred imitation crab, toss with julienned cucumber, mango and carrot, and dress with Japanese mayo, a little sriracha and rice vinegar.
32. Korokke (Potato Croquettes)
Creamy potato and ground beef patties in a crispy panko coating.
How: Mix mashed potato with cooked seasoned ground beef and onion, shape into patties, coat in flour, egg and panko, and fry at 350°F until golden.
Japanese Sauces
Make these once and you'll use them all week.
33. Teriyaki Sauce
The real thing is just soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, simmered until glossy.
How: Simmer 1/4 cup each soy sauce, mirin and sake with 1 to 2 tbsp sugar for 5 minutes until slightly syrupy. Keeps 2 weeks in the fridge.
34. Yum Yum Sauce
The creamy, tangy pink sauce from Japanese-American hibachi restaurants. Great on everything.
Get the recipe →
35. Gyoza Dipping Sauce
Soy, rice vinegar and a few drops of chili oil. The perfect partner for dumplings.
Get the recipe →Japanese Sweets
Japanese desserts lean light, fluffy and not too sweet, which is exactly why I can never stop at one. For more, see my roundup of Asian desserts.
36. Japanese Cheesecake
Jiggly, cotton-soft souffle cheesecake that is lighter than any New York-style slice.
How: Fold whipped meringue into a cream cheese, egg yolk, milk and flour batter, then bake low and slow in a water bath at about 320°F, cooling in the oven.
37. Souffle Pancakes
Tall, wobbly, cloud-like pancakes made with whipped egg whites. Lucy calls them pillow pancakes.
How: Fold stiff meringue into a yolk, milk and flour batter, pile high in ring molds or mounds on a low griddle, add a splash of water, cover and cook gently 5 to 6 minutes a side.
38. Dorayaki
Two fluffy honey pancakes sandwiched with sweet red bean paste. A Japanese classic.
How: Make a thick batter of eggs, sugar, honey, flour and baking powder, cook small rounds on a low griddle, then sandwich with sweet red bean paste (anko).
39. Iced Matcha Latte
Earthy, creamy matcha whisked and poured over ice and milk. My copycat of the coffee-shop favorite.
Get the recipe →
40. Mochi Donuts
Chewy, bouncy ring donuts made with glutinous rice flour, inspired by the pon de ring donuts popular in Japan.
Get the recipe →Japanese Pantry Basics
You can cook nearly every recipe here with these staples. Most big grocery stores carry them in the international aisle, and an Asian market will have everything.
- Short-grain Japanese rice: sticky and tender, for bowls, onigiri and sushi.
- Soy sauce: Japanese-style soy sauce is lighter and a little sweeter than many Chinese styles.
- Mirin: sweet rice seasoning that gives teriyaki its gloss.
- Sake: cooking sake adds depth to sauces and marinades (alcohol mostly cooks off; skip it or use water if you prefer).
- Rice vinegar: for sushi rice and sunomono.
- Miso paste: white miso is mild and sweet; red miso is stronger and saltier.
- Dashi: the savory kombu and bonito stock behind miso soup and simmered dishes. Instant dashi granules are a great shortcut.
- Panko, nori and potato starch: for crunchy coatings, sushi and karaage.
Tips for Cooking Japanese Food at Home
- Rinse your rice: it removes surface starch so the grains stay distinct, not gluey.
- Don't boil miso: stir it in off the heat so it keeps its flavor.
- Fry twice for crunch: karaage and tonkatsu get crisper with a short second fry.
- Keep tempura batter cold and lumpy: overmixing makes it heavy.
- Balance the big four: soy, mirin, sake and sugar in roughly equal parts make a base for teriyaki, gyudon and nikujaga.
- Serve with sides: pair a main with rice, miso soup and a small vegetable dish. My list of what to serve with sushi has more ideas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest Japanese dish to make at home?
Miso soup is the easiest: heat dashi, add tofu and wakame, and stir in miso off the heat, all in about 10 minutes. Oyakodon, gyudon and teriyaki salmon are the easiest full dinners, each made in one pan in around 20 minutes.
What do Japanese people eat for dinner at home?
A typical home dinner is a bowl of rice, miso soup, a main dish such as grilled fish, ginger pork, karaage or curry, and one or two small vegetable sides like ohitashi or pickles. One-bowl meals like oyakodon, gyudon and udon are popular on busy nights.
What ingredients do I need for Japanese cooking?
Start with short-grain rice, soy sauce, mirin, sake, rice vinegar, miso paste and dashi (instant granules are fine). Add panko, nori, potato starch, sesame seeds and fresh ginger, and you can make almost every recipe on this list.
Can I use regular rice for Japanese recipes?
For the best results, no. Japanese recipes use short-grain rice, which is slightly sticky so it clumps for chopsticks, onigiri and sushi. Medium-grain rice like Calrose is a good substitute, but long-grain rice such as basmati or jasmine will not hold together the same way.
Is sushi hard to make at home?
Maki rolls are easier than they look. Season short-grain rice with rice vinegar, sugar and salt, spread it thinly on nori, add fillings and roll with a bamboo mat. Start with cooked fillings like crab, shrimp tempura or avocado and cucumber before trying raw fish.
