foodha for thought – menuism blog

In No, Shabu Shabu Isn’t a Type of Dance, Part 1, we delved into a few types of Japanese dining options.  What I find fascinating about Japanese restaurants is how they really make an effort to branch out into dining establishments that specialize in a certain type of food or cooking style. Previously, what was covered included restaurants that featured bento, curry dishes, pasta, ramen, shabu shabu and soba and udon noodles.  Here are six more types of restaurants to add to the mix.

Sushi: By now, most people have either heard of or eaten at sushi restaurant.  If you haven’t, what you’ll see on the menu of a sushi restaurant is raw preparations of fish and other seafood.  The word sushi literally means “it’s sour”, which harkens back to the day when sushi used to be fermented fish and rice that was preserved through a salt process.  There are four basic types of sushi that you’ll always see on the menu. First, there’s nigiri sushi which is basically an oblong mound of sushi rice with a topping draped over it like shrimp or fish.  Second, there are two types of rolled sushi.  There’s the maki sushi, which is a rolled sushi with the rice inside while the uramaki sushi is a sushi roll with the rice on the outside.  Third, there’s the temaki sushi which are hand rolled and look like seaweed cones filled with fish, rice and vegetables.  Finally, there’s the inari sushi which is deep fried tofu filled with sushi rice.  Sashimi, on the other hand, is not considered sushi, since it’s raw fish eaten on its own and not with rice.

Teppanyaki: A teppanyaki restaurant may also be familiar to most people.  In this type of restaurant, meat, seafood and vegetables are expertly prepared by a chef using an iron griddle in front of the customers.  The word teppanyaki is derived from the Japanese words, teppan and yaki.  Teppan means iron plate and yaki means fried or boiled.  The preparation of the food is literally performance art with chefs who might juggle utensils, catch an egg in their hat or arrange onion rings into fire-shooting volcanos.  Dinner and a show in one full swoop.

Teriyaki: Like sushi, teriyaki is a well-known Japanese food. Even with such a familiar food, there are restaurants that take pride in the way their teriyaki sauce is made and will build their menu around teriyaki dishes.  Teriyaki sauce, referred to as tare,  is made from soy sauce, mirin (sweet rice wine) and sugar or honey.  Meats are marinated or basted with tare and then grilled until the meat’s surface has a glaze.  In fact, the word teriyaki is derived from the noun teri, which refers to a shine or luster given by the sugar content of the tare and yaki which refers to the cooking method of grilling or broiling.  The teriyaki sauce is also sometimes added to the meat after it’s cooked or offered as a dipping sauce.

Yakitori: In Japan, a yakitori is a restaurant or even just a stand that traditionally serves only chicken meat, including its organs.  In fact, the word yakitori means grilled chicken.  This chicken is usually seasoned with salt, tare sauce (see above) and/or lemon juice, put on skewers and then promptly grilled over charcoal.  These days, the term Yakitori is now referring to skewered food in general which means that vegetable, seafood and other meat skewers will also be reflected on the menu.  All the non-chicken skewers are called kushiyaki.

Yakiniku: Yakiniku is a Japanese term which means grilled meat and is a style of cooking thought to be influenced by Korean immigration to Japan after World War II.  Basically, a yakiniku is a type of restaurant where customers can order several types of bite-size raw ingredients, both meat and vegetables, that they cook themselves at tableside grills.  Like Korean BBQ, different types of sauces are provided for dipping the cooked meats in before eating.

Izakaya: When it comes to describing what an izakaya is, three words come to mind – Japanese Pub Food.  The concept of  izakayas originated from sake shops where sake shop owners would serve food to encourage customers to stay and continue drinking and of course, purchase more sake.  In fact, the term izakaya reflects this history.  The i means to stay while zakaya came from the word sakaya means sake shop.  Izakayas soon evolved to become restaurants that are more drinking establishments than anything else that just happen to serve food.  As for the food itself, they’re generally small plates or tapas sized.  Food-wise, the great thing about izakayas is that you’ll be able to sample a wide range of Japanese cuisine all at one time, which could include grilled skewers, sushi, soba noodles and so much more.

Hopefully, this Japanese restaurant journey has left you eager to do some culinary explorations of your own.  It’s so much easier to make choices when you can understand what the choices are.   Whether it’s checking out the Japanese pub food of an izakaya or having the Japanese version of fondue by dining at a Shabu Shabu restaurant, go out and explore and take your taste buds on the ride of their life.