Beyond Sushi

[Wimpy]

Ikura-don! Uni-donburi (is that what they're called?)

Actually, apart from sushi, I find that most of my favorites can be made at home by a halfway dedicated cook.

1) kimpira-gobou

2) korokke

3) japanese eggplant (nasu) in sweetened miso sauce

4) lightly grilled tarako with rice

5) natto with yama-imo (aka tororo imo) with raw egg and nori on rice

6) condiments/side thingies with rice e.g. tsukudani (chirimen kurumi is fantastic- walnuts and dried fish) also kombu-maki (with ayu or salmon)

I could go on and on....

[Akiko]

My husband insists on edamame... even though we make it at home all the time, he simply cannot get enough of the stuff.

Me? I love kim chie ramen.... and hard to find outside of Japan would be Japanese pasta... spaghetti in mentaiko sauce with slivers of seaweed.... or uni cream sauce! But if the restaurant has gyoza (dumplings) or seaweed salad... I always start with that.

My mom will always have saba shioyaki, or the rainbow trout

[tissue]

fried eggplant

[coastcat]

I always order gyoza, even though I regularly make it at home. Tempura is hard to resist (especially the sweet potato tempura), and in cold weather I usually end up with some sort of udon in broth. Grilled/broiled/teriyaki fish cheeks are also a major temptation.

Hubby has, as Calvin Trillin once phrased it, a Naugahyde palate. He sticks with yakitori and negimayaki, but I consider it a victory that he's even that adventurous.

[tissue]

yamakake

[torakris]

raw oysters!

I used to go to this Japanese restaurant in Columbus, Ohio during oyster season and just order the oysters, about 6 to 8 dishes of them.

I still dream about those oysters, with grated daikon and a type of ponzu sauce

spaghetti with mentaiko sauce, I love this!

we make it for lunch on the weekends at least once a month.

[Stone]

In case you're like me -- natto.

[jschyun]

A sushi restaurant near me does this dish with rings of baby squid in miso. I love it.

[Jason Perlow]

I'm always a sucker for katsu or some type of Nabe.

[Hiroyuki]

Just a quick review of this thread.

Did anyone mention Shogayaki (ginger pork) Teishoku (table d'hote)?

http://kagoshima.e-machi.ne.jp/201663/

[Rachel Perlow]

Nabeyaki udon

tempura

grilled fish

Beef negamaki

tonkatsu

Horenso gomai (no more, now that we make it at home all the time, thanks Kris!)

That deep fried tofu with peanut sauce sounds like satay to me. A Malaysian restaurant we like has tofu satay on the menu, but I don't think I've seen it at any Japanese restaurants.

[thursdaynext]

Ika Sugatayaki

Unaki don

any fresh tempura

Yum

[tootallfortoques]

Shirasu oroshi

Gyuniku no tataki

Sunomono

[torakris]

Gyuniku no tataki

I order gyu no tataki EVERYTIME I see it on the menu!

This is probably one of my favorite foods, second to yuke, the Korean raw beef dish.

[torakris]

Now would I be a good Japan forum host if I didn't have a tataki thread??

ta-da!

[Collins]

Chawanmushi - either hot or cold

Oyako donburi - love the simple stuff, plus mom made it all the time growing up

Unagi donburi

Kamameshi (probably spelled that one wrong)

Curry - still working at beating mom out for best curry in the family...

[eipi10]

I'm a sucker for seaweed salad. But as much as I love it, I'm getting bored with it. Even the best Japanese places I've been to have essentially the same recipe. Some add tobiko, but that hardly changes the flavor. It's only bad when it's too sweet. The other important factor seems to be the quantity and quality of sesame oil used. Come to think of it, I'm a sucker for any cold dish with sesame oil.

Edited March 10, 2006 by eipi10 (log)

[Briarhill]

Gekikara-Ramen (spicy miso ramen). Not easy to find, however. The only place I've seen it is at Sakana-Ya here in Atlanta.

[MissAmy]

I desperately miss okonomiyaki, and can't find anywhere here that has it. So sad.

Also: all sorts of donburi, particularly katsu don. Yum.

Yakiudon. Drooool.

And there's nothing quite like a nice, refreshing zaru soba on a hot summer day.

[jkonick]

One of the best foods I've discovered via the Japan forum is takoyaki or okonomiyaki with mochi and cheese - unfortunately I haven't seen this at any restaurants in Seattle (or okonomiyaki or takoyaki at all, for that matter).

My favorite things to eat when I got out are usually saba shioyaki and anything curry, like corrokke with curry or curry udon.