Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes; there is an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth. Seafood is common, often grilled, but also served raw as sashimi or in sushi. Seafood and vegetables are also deep-fried in a light batter, as tempura. Apart from rice, a staple includes noodles, such as soba and udon. Japan also has many simmered dishes, such as fish products in broth called oden, or beef in sukiyaki and nikujaga.
Nori(海苔) is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus Pyropia, including P. yezoensis and P. tenera. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi or onigiri.
Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of ingredients, such as seafood—often raw—and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice", also referred to as shari (しゃり), or sumeshi (酢飯).
Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Onigiri, also known as omusubi (お結び), nigirimeshi (握り飯), or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes and often wrapped in nori. Traditionally, an onigiri is filled with pickled ume (umeboshi), salted salmon, katsuobushi, kombu, tarako, mentaiko, takanazuke or any other salty or sour ingredient as a natural preservative. Because it is easily portable and eaten by hand, onigiri has been used as portable food or bento from ancient times to the present day. Originally, it was used as a way to store left-over rice, but it later became a regular meal. Nowadays, Most Japanese convenience stores and supermarkets stock their onigiri with various fillings and flavors. It has become so mainstream that it is even served in izakayas and sit-down restaurants. There are even specialized shops which only sell onigiri to take out. Due to the popularity of this trend in Japan, onigiri has become a popular staple in Japanese restaurants worldwide.
Conveyor belt sushi, also called rotation sushi, is a type of sushi restaurant common in Japan. In Australasia, it is also known as a sushi train.
The history of sushi began with paddy fields, where fish was fermented with vinegar, salt and rice, after which the rice was discarded. The earliest form of the dish, today referred to as narezushi, was created in Japan around the Yayoi period. In the Muromachi period (1336–1573), people began to eat the rice as well as the fish. During the Edo period (1603–1867), vinegar rather than fermented rice began to be used. The dish has become a form of food strongly associated with Japanese culture.
Nyotaimori, often referred to as "body sushi", is the Japanese practice of serving sashimi or sushi from the naked body of a woman. Nantaimori (男体盛り) is the male equivalent.
California roll or California maki is an uramaki containing crab, avocado, and cucumber. Sometimes crab salad is substituted for the crab stick, and often the outer layer of rice is sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds or roe.
A spider roll is a type of makizushi sushi that includes breaded or battered soft-shell crab and other ingredients such as cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts or lettuce, and spicy mayonnaise, rolled inside nori and sushi rice.
A Philadelphia roll is a makizushi type of sushi generally made with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber, with the rice on the outside (uramaki). It is commonly made with imitation crab instead of salmon, but can be found to include other ingredients, such as other types of fish, avocado, scallions, and sesame seed. Like many Western-inspired sushi rolls, its design and name are modified to target an American market, which includes putting the rice on the outside, and the nori in the inside to appeal to western aesthetics.
Japanese cuisine has a vast array of regional specialities known as kyōdo ryōri (郷土料理) in Japanese, many of them originating from dishes prepared using local ingredients and traditional recipes.
How Do You Roll? was a franchise fast-casual sushi restaurant, headquartered in Austin, Texas. The first How Do You Roll? location opened in October 2008 and the company began franchising in early 2010. As of April 2016, it had stores operating in California and Florida, but was later closed.
An automated restaurant or robotic restaurant is a restaurant that uses robots to do tasks such as delivering food and drink to the tables and/or cooking the food.
Norimaki (海苔巻) are various Japanese dishes wrapped with nori seaweed, most commonly a kind of sushi, makizushi (巻き寿司).
Ingredients in a manually operated sushi roll machine
Nori being wrapped around the roll
