Eating seafood, Japanese style

More than just sushi!

In Japan, fish isn't just eaten raw with rice. A Japanese man eats an average of 70 kilos of fish a year, so thankfully there are many ways to prepare it. With so much accessible coastline, Japanese cuisine is full of delicious seafood to discover. It's best to sample the specialties of each region you visit!

Ishikari nabe

JNTO

To add flavor

Does the fifth flavor come from the bottom of the ocean? Perhaps it does - many seafood products are rich in umami and constitute the foundations of Japanese cuisine. Among them, seaweed, fish and shellfish.


Many Japanese dishes are often seasoned or garnished with ingredients made from seaweed or dried fish, such as katsuobushi or furikake.

Furikake on white rice

Bonus sweet version!

What's this strange-looking fish? It's called a taiyaki, literally "cooked sea bream". However, there's no fish or seafood in this very popular and inexpensive sweet cake that you'll find anywhere in the country. Treat yourself to this traditional Japanese dessert filled with red bean paste, after having tried one of the dishes mentioned above!


Discover: Taiyaki

Taiyaki, a popular snack at festivals

Taiyaki, a popular snack at festivals

[cipher], Flickr

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