Unfortunately, Japanese food in the US has been stereotyped as "Oh, you mean a Teriyaki Bowl." Yet there is so much more, most of which isn't seen unless you go to a Japanese supermarket.
Okonomiyaki- Sort of a lunch or dinner pancake. Varieties include beef, shrimp, vegetables, etc. Sadly, I've never seen a US restaurant serve this.
Sukiyaki- Almost like flat plate fondue. Cooked beef, vegetables, mushrooms, clear sukiyaki noodles. You can eat the stuff over rice or dip in raw egg with soy sauce- just make sure you have non-salmonella kind.
Mochi- A chewy rice cake wrapped in seaweed and dipped in soysauce.
A Takoyaki pan is easily found on the Intarweb -- I bought one for about 20 USD, and it works great!
The Kansai trifecta of Takoyaki, Yakisoba and Okonomiyaki is totally awesome, great comfort food.
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Anonymous2005-08-04 7:35
YOSHINOYA
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Anonymous2005-08-09 11:48
>>6
Here in the States, most good supermarkets will have mirin in the Asian section (I know that Giant does here in NoVA). There's plenty of Asian-specific and "world food" (Latin, Asian, sometimes East Indian) stores here, too, but anything except basic packaged Chinese and Thai may be a hard find on in the country.
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Anonymous2005-08-14 9:29
>>Konnyaku is a traditional Japanese jelly-like health food made from a kind of potato called "Konnyaku potato" and calcium hydroxide or oxide calcium extracted from eggshells."
Sounds utterly delicious.
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Anonymous2005-08-23 5:31
Konnyaku is alright, if you know what to do with it. You obviously don't eat it alone. Often it ends up in soups or stews.
There's a place near me that serves Pizza Okonomiyaki. It's pretty good. Miso soup is, of course, the win. Yawaraka chicken, and karaage chicken are delicious. Katsudon is always a good choice. etc.
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Anonymous2005-08-28 9:02
I wish I could get okonomiyaki in this country. Had it when I was in Japan for a few weeks and I miss it every.single.day!
The mighty, mighty Yakisoba OMELETTE. Only saw it in one restaurant in Shinjuku but it kicked so much ass it's making my stomach sing a sad love song just thinking about it.
Also, Yukimi Daifuku, those little mochi things with ice cream in them.
And basically anything ending with 'don'. Tendon, Gyuudon, Yakinikudon, Udon, Yakiudon, all godly.
Does your country have flour? Eggs? Milk? Meat and vegetables?
Whoa there partner! Looks like you've got okonomiyaki! Your nearest chinese market will be able to supply you with Bulldog sauce, nori, and any other condiments and sprinkles you may fancy. If you don't have one of those, you can just go it Osaka-style and pile on loads of mayonnaise and ketchup. FUCK YEAH!
I had shabu-shabu this weekend, it is made of win and good.
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Anonymous2005-11-03 4:57
Omolette Rice...
Jesus christ dear god I love that stuff. Just the cheap restaurant stuff with fried rice and ketchup is fabulous, or the home cookin' kind, or the fancy restaurant kind with gravy and cheeses.
Oh god...
Actually, my favorite variety is Omelette Rice made with SPAM fried rice and ketchup.
I could never get into it - too thin and watery for me. Then again, maybe I've been trying the wrong recipes.
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Anonymous2005-11-16 15:27
I personally like Unagi, that stuff is the shit.
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blake2005-12-10 22:09
ramen is chinese
curently I am livving in Japan and I have to say I find Japanese food kind of boring. I like tonkatsu, okonomiyaki, udon, sukiyaki, karaage (fried chicken), sushi, sashimi... but it gets boring when you live here and eat that shit all the time. When they have foreign foods usually it's overpriced garbage. Curry I don't like very much, I have to be in the right mood to eat it. I love ramen, and Japan is filled with many ramen restaurants, but again it's too expensive and not as good as the authentic Chinese stuff.
One thing Japan does right is bread- their bread is delicious! Way better than the selection in American bakeries. But of course they always think of weird and stupid concoctions for food, especially pizza- which is the epitome of garbage here! I also miss mexican food...so damn much!
i find jap food very unfilling. every dish seems to be an entre.
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Anonymous2006-05-14 2:22
Meh, we Americans eat too much as it is. The Japanese, like many other countries eat to enjoy the taste and texture and to gather and be social. Though the social part is also true for many Americans, so few of us really eat our food conciously and really learn to focus on the flavors and textures, not to mention the fact that most of our food is the most unhealthy, ungodly shit on the planet. We just have different eating habits as Americans, I'll bet if you switched to an only Japanese food diet for a while you might change your mind.
But really, yakitori is where it's at. Also, pizzaman and nikuman.
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Anonymous2006-05-18 19:17
I far prefer Jap food to Korean food. Which is a pity, since there are many more Korean places around my city. Currently I would like some sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, katsudon, ramen, unagi and tofu sushi and ice-cream mochi. Maybe some shochu too.
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Anonymous2006-05-23 16:00
u didnt have anything i needed thanks alot
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Anonymous2006-05-26 7:03
semen dipped oysters
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Anonymous2006-05-26 11:14
i like pocky it kawaii
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Anonymous2006-06-03 9:01
>>68
for your information i am asian and not american so i'd consider myself quite cultural when it comes to food.
my friends always take me to jaws EVERY DARN time we go out. do you have any freakin idea what a ripoff their menu is? plus there's just so much udon one can stand. give me a dimsum any day.
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Anonymous2006-06-04 1:32
i love the japanese stores around my area, i can get all sorts of awesome food there <3
Why does Japanese food stay in Japanese stores? Mainstream Americans get teriyaki chicken as their exposure to Japanese food, or sushi if they're going out, and that's it. Do they really hate the more exotic dishes, or the chocolates and dessert that try really hard to be european, or just about any traditional food?