Friends often ask, where can I eat good Japanese food? This is actually a very difficult question, because I don't know where to start without first deciding on the type of food.

What is Japanese food?

Tokyo is the capital of Japan, home to one-tenth of the country's population, and home to some of the country's finest goods and food. Since I have lived in this city for many years, I generally recommend various shops, attractions, hotels and food to my friends who come here to travel, but food is actually the most difficult to grasp. Because don't look don't know, a look startled. With the rise of the Level of food, I found that:

There are so many kinds of Japanese food!!

Let me review what Japanese food is before I introduce some delicious dishes from different parts of Japan.

Japanese cuisine is a Japanese style of food, also known as Washoku or Japanese food (Japanese: washoku / わしょく Washoku; The name focuses more on the diet of the Yamato nation) and is an important part of Japanese culture. "Japanese cuisine" means "Japanese cooking" in Japanese, but the term is also used to represent Japanese cuisine in some parts of modern Chinese. Japanese cuisine is the traditional daily diet of the Japanese people, especially the food culture and habits formed during the Edo and Meiji eras (late 19th and early 20th centuries), due to the impact of the integration of Eastern and Western ingredients. Although Japan already has plenty of ingredients, it likes to constantly incorporate new foreign dishes into its own delicacies.

In addition, among East Asian countries, the Japanese pay the most attention to the layout of the dish. The style of the cup and plate integrates cherry blossoms, maple leaves, pine trees, rockeries, fans, and paper and square lacquer boxes, which are called "Japanese style poetry" to create a sense of beauty full of Japanese style. In addition, Japanese cooking utensils also have a lot of Chinese Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty production techniques, many of which were eliminated in China, but preserved in Japan; Therefore, Washoku is also called "eye cooking", because it looks so beautiful that it is a pity to eat it. On December 4, 2013, Japanese cuisine was recognized as a world intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. * By the way, Chengdu, China was also awarded the title of "Gastronomic Capital" by UNESCO on February 28, 2010, the first city in Asia to receive this honor. Shout out to my hometown!

Next, let's look at the map of Japan. Each of Japan's 46 prefectures boasts its own version of Japanese cuisine, and good Japanese cuisine is not just in Tokyo. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When a foodie goes somewhere, of course, he should eat the most authentic local food. ※ Japan's administrative planning is based on the "47 prefectures", of which 1 (Hokkaido), 1 (Tokyo), 2 (Osaka and Kyoto), and 43 prefectures.

In this installment, let's take a look at some of the delicious dishes in Japan from south to north. Remember to MARK the dishes you are interested in, and don't cook them again next time you come to Japan!

1，Okinawa represents Japanese cuisine

①ゴーヤチャンプル · Bitter melon mixed stir-fry

His Japanese name is ゴーヤチャンプルー(goya chanpuru). The direct translation is bitter melon mixed stir-fry. チャンプルー means mixed stir-fried, usually with tofu, eggs, sliced meat and so on. The taste is fresh, suitable for all seasons. Now it is not only available in Okinawan restaurants, but also on many izakaya menus. In fact, you can also find many Okinawan restaurants in Tokyo, they not only have bitter melon mixed stir-fried, but also can eat the special boiled pig feet oh!

② Sea ぶどう · Sea grape

Japanese name: umi budou (ぶどう). The Chinese name is Sea grape. It's actually a kind of seaweed, a gift from the beautiful Okinawan nature. There is no need for complicated seasoning, directly dip in soy sauce or vinegar to taste the sea grape bursting into the mouth of the kind of unspeakable delicious. If you haven't tried sea grapes yet, you should definitely experience the thrill!

2，Kyushu represents Japanese cuisine

①もつ pot and offal pot

Japanese name: もつ motsu nabe. It translates directly to visceral pot. This is a hot pot made from beef innards (mainly large intestine) with cabbage, garlic, bean sprouts, leeks, tofu and miso or soy sauce. This dish is very popular in winter. I remember the first time I tried this dish, it was in Changning District of Shanghai, and it was very good. Perhaps because the ingredients are relatively simple, it is not easy to fail. Interested friends, can also try DIY, it is really very delicious oh.

② Spurs し · Horse sashimi

Japanese name: し(basashi). As the name suggests, this dish is raw horse meat! When I first saw this dish, I felt the same surprise as seeing whale sashimi. Horsemeat sashimi is very chewy, even some parts of the meat is not chewy (personal experience). It's actually similar to whale meat, except the fat part is easier to chew. It is recommended to prepare a paper towel when eating, and you can spit it out if you can't chew it.

③ Kyushu tonkotsu ラーメン · Kyushu pork bone ramen

Its Japanese name is ラーメン(kyushu tonkotsu ramen). I remember the first time I came to Japan is to go to Kyushu, 2 in the morning with friends to have a midnight snack, the bowl of delicious Kyushu tonkotsu ramen is unforgettable. My favorite is the Kyushu ramen, because of its rich flavor, oil but not greasy, side dishes are also very rich. In fact, you can also eat some of the more delicious Kyushu ramen in Tokyo, such as: Kyushu じゃんがら and so on.

3. Shikoku represents Japanese cuisine

①讃 ki うどん · Zanki Udon noodles

Japanese name: 讃 I うどん(sanuki udon). Sanki Udon noodles from Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku Region are the most famous. Udon noodles are made by hand. Melt the dough, roll it flat with a rolling pin, and then cut it into strips with a knife. Zanki Udon is characterized by its white crystal and elasticity. Add a little ginger and green onion and special chilled fish sauce, taste and taste are very good, suitable for summer. Of course, it can also be served in hot soup, which is a different kind of delicious.

② Bonito のタタキ · Roasted bonito Sashimi

Japanese name: bonito のタタキ(katsuo no tataki). This is the most famous dish in Kochi Prefecture of Shikoku region, grilled bonito Sashimi. In general, sashimi is either cut and ready to eat, or sprayed with fire for a roasting effect. But Kochi's roast bonito sashimi is where the eye catches the eye: Whole bonito is placed in an iron net and then baked in burning straw for about a minute or two. Its flavor not only has the fresh fragrance of sashimi itself, but also a kind of straw paste fragrance, which makes people want to stop. At わらやき House in Tokyo, you can enjoy the delicious food of Kochi Prefecture while watching the fireworks.

4，Representative Japanese cuisine of Kansai region

①すき shochu き · Sukiki pot

Japanese name: すき shochu き(sukiyaki). The classification of Sukiwokan as the representative cuisine of the Kansai region is actually somewhat controversial. Because generally speaking, suki pot is indeed a famous dish in Kansai, but it is said that Suki pot first originated in Kanto. At that time, the Sukiki pot in the Kanto region used fish slices and tofu instead of beef, and the Sukiki pot in Kansai was originally called "beef pot". Now, wagyu Sukiki can be eaten in Kansai and Kanto regions. But Kansai and Kanto have slightly different tastes and practices. Kanto is cooked with beef and vegetables. ※ Please refer to the picture below

In Kansai, wagyu beef is grilled on an iron pan, followed by vegetables and tofu. Kansai's sukiki pot is also sweeter than Kanto's, and eating it with raw eggs is a common feature of the two. In Tokyo, you can eat very good sukiwoku at restaurants such as Reina Seshase, Imagami and ざくろ.

②たこ shochu き · Octopus meatballs

Japanese name: たこ shochu き(takoyaki). The origin of octopus meatballs, a well-known Japanese dish, is Osaka. It is said that people in Osaka eat an average of three octopus balls a week, which is really one of the indispensable foods in the life of Osaka people. Young people also like to open octopus ball parties, and you can buy special baking sheets at Don Quixote to make a variety of "DIY octopus ball". For example, add beef, ginger, cheese, spicy cabbage, sausage, shrimp, Ming prince, asparagus, natto, chocolate and so on...

③お good み shochu き · Osaka yaki & Hiroshima yaki

Japanese name: お み shochu き(okonomiyaki). It can be directly translated into: roast as you like, it can also be translated into Osaka or Hiroshima. The raw material is wheat flour, cabbage, meat or fish, put on the iron plate after the completion of baking with mayonnaise, Qinghai moss powder, dried bonito flakes can be eaten! This is a well-known dish in Osaka. In fact, not only in Osaka, the whole of Japan is popular to eat this dish, each place has different characteristics of each place.

④ Skewer カツ · Fried skewers

Japanese name: カツ(kushikatsu). Yakitori is a very popular food among the working class in Osaka. Unlike tempura, it is covered with a thin crust of bread. You eat sweet raw cabbage, you eat shish kebabs with special sauce sweet and sour sauce, and you drink beer or cider. By the way, the sauce is public, you can only dip it once when eating, otherwise you will be angry with the restaurant manager. Because it will contaminate the communal sauce, and others will eat it! Is it very plebeian...

5，Kanto representative of Japanese cuisine

① Tenぷ ら · Tempura

Japanese name: ぷら(tenpura). It's translated as tempura. The dish is actually said to have originated around the 8th century as tempura wrapped in rice noodles from China. In the 16th century, Portuguese missionaries brought wheat flour to Japan and improved tempura into wheat flour. Tempura, along with sushi and soba noodles, is called the "three flavors of Edo." In the Edo period of Japan, the streets were bustling with commerce, and all kinds of delicious "house food" and stall food were very popular. Tempura, sushi, soba noodles are popular among the common people, and later these three dishes gradually advanced, in taste, sensory and price are transformed, and become the favorite of the middle and upper classes. Therefore, in Japan, one can find "Edo Sami," which costs 1,000 yen for a person to eat, and one can find "Edo Sami," which costs 30,000 yen.

②トンカツ · Pork chop with rice

Japanese name: トンカツ(tonkatsu). Pork chop with rice. In fact, the dish originated from a French dish コートレット(cotelette), beef fried in butter wrapped in eggs and breadcrumbs. However, the dish did not fail to catch on in Japan until 1899, when the "Lianwa Pavilion" in Ginza introduced a pork version of pan-fried pork. Gradually, such fried pork evolved into fried pork and became popular among Japanese people.

The "Japanese western food" represented by pork chop rice also began to form its own body in the Meiji era. The so-called "Japanese western food" and the traditional Japanese "washoku" is the opposite of the Japanese food, is the fusion of Western food and national taste produced by the Japanese new cuisine. It is said that the Japanese have not eaten animals since ancient times, because they think that animals are worthy of respect and should not be killed for meat. However, the Meiji government encouraged the people to eat meat to improve their health, so the emperor began to eat beef and it was published in the press at the time. Examples of "Japanese food" include pork chop rice, beef curry rice, Patty burgers, cola patties, fried oysters, fried prawns, egg bun rice, steak, tomato pasta, mushroom milk soup, and so on. All very delicious, have a chance to try all!

③もんじゃ shochu き · Word burning

Japanese name: もんじゃ shochu き(monjayaki). It was invented during the Edo period as a game of barbecuing characters on iron plates. Later, starting in the 1920s after the war, in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo, the characters were cooked into a dish. Compared to Osaka-yaki/Hiroshima-yaki, inoki-yaki is made with a thinner liquid of wheat flour and chopped vegetables and meat or seafood on a iron plate, grilled with a slightly larger shovel, and eaten with a smaller shovel. Look to tell the truth personally feel really not good, but it is also a very good experience!

④ Yokohama genei ラーメン · Yokohama genei Ramen

Her Japanese name is ラーメン(yokohama iekei ramen). Among the ramen in Kanto, Japan, Yokohama family ramen can be called a famous representative player. The ramen was first started in 1974 at this shop in Yoshimura, Yokohama, and is said to sell 1,000 bowls a day. Later, this series of ramen shops have been all over the Kanto Circle, and even promoted to the whole country. When you go into a ramen shop and buy a ramen coupon, you will be asked by the clerk: "The hardness of the noodles?" ", "The amount of oil? ", "The concentration of the soup?" I like to eat some light, so even if you trouble them to do the lightest, this face will be very thick and greasy. Because that's what Yokohama-style ramen is all about. Like friends, welcome to try!!

6，Representative Japanese cuisine of the Tohoku region

① ox タン shochu き · Ox tongue

Japanese name: Niu タン shochu き(gyutan yaki). When it comes to roast ox tongue in Japan, Sendai is definitely the most famous. Because Sendai is the birthplace of roast beef. In Showa 23, the first generation of roast ox tongue restaurant in downtown Sendai was "Itaisuke", which has since expanded its delicacy to all over Japan. In Tokyo, you can also eat such a roast ox tongue set.

②きりたんぽ · Roasted rice sticks

Japanese name: きりたんぽ(kiritanpo). Written in Chinese, it means "cutting a dandelion," perhaps because the roasted rice sticks are shaped like dandelions? It is made by wrapping crushed rice on a stick and then roasting it over a charcoal fire. This is the representative dish of Akita Prefecture in Tohoku. It can also be put together with "Binay chicken" and added to the broth to cook grilled rice sticks hot pot. It seems that there are several places in Tokyo that can also eat, I hope that the epidemic will be better, and I will find an opportunity to try it.

7，Hokkaido's representative Japanese cuisine

①ジンギスカン · Roast mutton

Japanese name: ジンギスカン(jingisukan). The direct translation is Genghis Khan, which is actually roast lamb. In such a "barbecue shop" can only eat mutton, but its delicious is not inferior to Wagyu and black pig, very tender and delicious. What's more, the gravy and oil from the meat will flow along the special iron pan to the side, so that the juice baked out of the green Onions, Onions, mushrooms, and so on, the taste is very fresh!

②タラバガニ · King crab

Japanese name: タラバガニ(tarabagani). Hokkaido is located in the northern hemisphere high latitude and surrounded by the sea, such geographical advantages determine that it can have rich seafood resources. For example, king crab is one of them, the huge king crab is good to eat raw, cooked to eat, roast to eat, stew rice to eat, porridge to eat, are very delicious. In addition to king crabs, Hokkaido also has a variety of hairy crabs, golden crabs and other precious crab species. And sea urchins and all kinds of fish roe. If you go to Hokkaido, be sure to go to the "Nijo market" to eat cheap and delicious seafood oh!

③ Sapporo ラーメン · Sapporo ramen

Japanese name: sapporo ラーメン(sapporo ramen) Sapporo Ramen is the representative ramen of Hokkaido and is also very famous in Japan. Hokkaido ramen is said to have started with the soy sauce ramen shown above, and later added salt ramen and miso ramen. Their common characteristics are heavy flavor, noodles are curved and thick, and the topping is relatively simple, only add Onions and green Onions.

④チーズ · Dairy products

Japanese name: チーズ · Dairy (cheeze · nyuseihin). Hokkaido is rich in dairy cattle, which makes Hokkaido the largest producer of dairy products and cheese in Japan. Moreover, it is said that more than 90% of the cheese is produced in Hokkaido. In Hokkaido, in addition to eating the famous seafood, we must remember to eat the dairy products and cheese here, of course, the local milk ice cream and all the cake snacks contain dairy products and cheese, the taste is very mellow and delicious. The silky taste that lingers between the lips and teeth, and the sweet taste between the breath and the taste buds, is one of the great joys of life.

Of course, there are many things that are not introduced, such as eel rice, yakiniku, beef rice, potato yakiniku and other very well-known Japanese dishes. These dishes are famous all over Japan. If you like, you can try it in Japan! I hope that after the end of the epidemic, you are welcome to experience a bite of Japan as soon as possible, and taste the food from different parts of Japan.