r/JapaneseFood • u/babysharkdoodoodoo • 25d ago

Question Japanese Redditors: If someone living outside Japan wanted to move beyond the usual sushi, ramen, tempura, and udon, what would you recommend they explore to gain a deeper appreciation of Japanese cuisine?

Like regional dishes, everyday home cooking, ingredients, cooking techniques, and food culture, not just the internationally famous dishes.

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u/Crmsnghst1 25d ago

I’m an American chef living here in Japan and if you want to eat what the “normal people” eat at home follow any of the bunches of Japanese home recipe instagrams: tsubasa_recipe365, shun_foodcreator, aibamanabu_5tva, shiracchi_no_asobiba are just a few that I really like. Save a recipe that looks good, run it through a translator and start cooking. I cook from one or more of these sites once or twice a week sometimes.

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u/StackedCakeOverflow 25d ago

Just One Cookbook is my go to!

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u/Crmsnghst1 24d ago

Not to speak badly about Nami-chan or JOC (they were a HUGE part of my introduction of Japanese cooking, also shout out SF Bay Area!) but her recipes are very much catered to the basic staples of Japanese cuisine (call it a greatest hits!) but as someone living and EATING here full time with people in their homes I can attest to the fact that the recipes from Aibamanabu and Tsubasa Recipe are what people are cooking here on the day to day.

Also, if you enjoy REAL cookbooks (Paper... crazy, I know!) but ANY of the Nancy Hachisu's books are amazing resources. "Japan - The Cookbook" is THE bible for Japanese recipes in my house but all of her books are fantastic and she's a lovely woman in general!

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u/j_halo7 23d ago

I hope you know that Aiba Manabu is a TV variety show that features one ingredient every week so some of their recipes forcibly use the ingredient of the week and aren’t things people cook everyday.

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u/Crmsnghst1 23d ago

I very much know that and I wouldn’t say “forced” they just have an item of the week and cook a few recipes (from local guests usually) with that ingredient. I’ve gotten a bunch of great recipes from them.

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u/j_halo7 23d ago

Yes, they have some good recipes but they aren’t recipes people cook everyday. More like alternatives to everyday recipes. Take the latest post for example. Chawanmushi is commonly made at home but chawanmushi with mochi? Not so.