Do you ever watch an episode of your favourite anime and suddenly hear your stomach growling when you get a good look at the mouthwatering animated food beyond the screen? So do we. Here’s just a few picks of scrumptious treats that hail from the land of Japan.
Taiyaki
Photo courtesy of kyotoanimation.co
This Japanese fish-shaped cake is made by baking pancake batter in a mold and filled with red bean paste or other sweet fillings and enjoyed at festivals.
Omurice
Photo courtesy of square-enix.com
This fun food item which is an omelette folded over fried rice, is a popular order at Japanese cafes in which customers are able to ask waitresses to draw cute shapes or write words on top of their omurice in ketchup.
Nabe
Photo courtesy of kyotoanimation.co
Pronounced “nah-bay,” this hearty stew is highly versatile and has many distinct styles depending on the ingredients that are added to it. This warm dish is meant to be shared with a large group of people, usually during the colder months.
Melon Bread
Photo courtesy of myanimelist.net
This sweet bun which is not traditionally actually melon-flavoured, gets its name from its appearance which resembles a cantaloupe. A crispy cookie dough layer is wrapped around the dough and is uniquely flavoured.
Nagashi Somen
Photo courtesy of myanimelist.net
Literally translated as “flowing noodles,” these noodles are served in a quirky manner in which small bundles of somen noodles are placed in a long bamboo flume with a stream of cold water across the serving area. Diners must use their chopsticks to dexterously catch the noodles as they flow by them and can enjoy them with a light dipping sauce.
Okonomiyaki
Photo courtesy of toei-animation.com
Okonomiyaki is a savoury pancake that is prepared with pancake batter and a variety of other ingredients and fried on a teppan grill.
Japanese Curry
Photo courtesy of myanimelist.net
This western-influenced dish was introduced to Japan via the English when India was under British administration during Japan’s Meiji era. This Japanese counterpart to India’s traditional recipe is milder in flavour and thicker in texture in contrast and has been so widely popularized that it is regarded as a Japanese national dish.
Katsudon
Photo courtesy of myanimelist.net
Japanese students eat this pork cutlet-topped rice dish on the night before a major exam as a good luck charm because the “katsu” in katsudon is pronounced the same as the verb katsu which means “to be victorious”.
Soba
Photo courtesy of kyotoanimation.co
Another play on words; these thin noodles are traditionally served to ring in the new year as Toshikoshi Soba, meaning “from one year to the next”.
Dango
Photo courtesy of myanimelist.net
These Japanese dumplings are made using rice flour and are eaten year-round, but have different customary varieties depending on the season.
Ramen
Photo courtesy of myanimelist.net
Unlike the cheap instant noodles that the average college student stocks up on, authentic ramen is a flavourful noodle soup dish which is proudly served in different variations in each region of Japan.
Takoyaki
Photo courtesy of myanimelist.net
This popular street vendor food item is often enjoyed at street festivals and is a ball-shaped batter with chewy pieces of octopus inside and topped with a special sauce and sprinkled with seaweed shavings and dried bonito shavings.
Onigiri
Photo courtesy of myanimelist.net
These iconic triangular rice balls filled with salty or sour ingredients and wrapped with seaweed are easily found in a diverse assortment of flavours in convenience stores.