Bring the comforting, umami-packed flavors of Japan to your kitchen with these creative, family-friendly recipes. From slurp-worthy ramen bowls and crispy chicken katsu to silky miso-glazed eggplant and fluffy Japanese cheesecake, these dishes capture the essence of Japanese cooking. Balanced, flavorful, and beautifully simple.

Japanese cuisine is known for its harmony of flavors and emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients. Staples like soy sauce, miso, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic create that signature savory-sweet balance. You’ll also find ingredients like kabocha squash, sweet potatoes, scallions, nori, and pickled vegetables, which bring depth and variety to every meal. Together, these pantry staples make it easy to infuse Japanese-style taste into your everyday cooking, no special equipment required.

You’ll find plenty of inspiration here. Enjoy!

1. Savory-Sweet Japanese Noodles by Chanie Nayman

I love that the ingredients in this recipe are so interchangeable, but the way I present it here is for sure my favorite, not to mention the most original!

See how to make it here.

2. Speedy Ramen Japanese Noodle Soup by Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer

Homemade ramen soup is totally different from the highly processed packages you find in any corner store. No synthetic flavor enhancers for us! We pack our ramen broth full of fresh vegetables, miso, and tofu.

3. Japanese Sweet Potato and Kabocha Squash Soup by Vanessa Seder

This velvety, mild, sweet, and fragrant soup’s two star ingredients, Japanese sweet potato (a white-fleshed tuber with a subtle, slightly nutty flavor similar to a chestnut) and kabocha squash (a sweet and starchy winter squash), lend an earthy depth and complexity to this concoction that I think you’ll dig, no pun intended. Pro tip: If you have soup left over, bring some to work in a thermos for a delightful, warming lunch option.

4. Miso-Glazed Eggplant by Elizabeth Kurtz

This side dish is best served right out of the oven or warmed. It’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and full of flavor. This fusion Japanese-American dish is a wonderful accompaniment to any meat or chicken dish.

5. Honey-Garlic Chicken Katsu by Estelle Chait

Chicken Katsu has its roots in the Japanese culture and, like many other Asian and Portuguese dishes, eventually found its way to the melting pot of Hawaii. It’s a highly popular dish for the island locals, and is often served with a side of white rice and mac salad. Here the cutlets are bathed in a sticky honey and garlic sauce, then sliced into thin strips and served on a bed of rice, with pops of color from scallions and black sesame seeds.

6. Beef Gyozas by Vera Newman

This delicate Asian appetizer is as beautiful as it is delicious. The delicate folds on top may look intimidating, but they are really simple to achieve. Serve these as the first course for an Asian-themed meal to wow your guests.

7. Sweet and Pungent Japanese-Style Fish and Noodles by Estee Kafra

This recipe makes a delicious sauce that I have multipurposed as a marinade for the fish and a dressing for the noodles. It’s simple and elegant, and the sauce can easily be made up to three or four days in advance.      

8. Pickled Salmon Roll by Ryland, Peters & Small

To many sushi fans, delicious raw fish is part of the pleasure of this dish. However, if you’re not an aficionado of fish au naturel, using smoked or pickled fish is a delicious compromise. It is very easy to pickle fish at home, and you can control the sharpness more easily.  

9. Miso Soup with Asian Flavors Green Salad by Marla Rottenstreich

Serve with store-bought sushi or Homemade Kani Cakes (recipe follows).

10. Ramen Soup by Michal Frischman

A traditional ramen is made with a dashi, which is broth made by steeping kombu (edible kelp) an katsuobushi flakes (preserved and fermented tuna) and straining the resulting liquid. I’ve never found kosher katsuobushi, never mind being able to use it in a fleishig stock, and my grocery store stopped stocking kombu, but there are plenty of other umami sources in this stock, so you won’t even miss them. The beef fry seems a bit out of left field, but it imparts a distinct smokiness that really brings this to another level. I make a huge pot of broth and freeze into individual portions for a quick and easy meal.

11. Cottony Japanese Cheesecake by Kat Lieu

This recipe took me three years to perfect, so don’t feel too discouraged if your Japanese cheesecake is not perfect the first time around. When a nearly perfect Japanese cheesecake comes out of the oven, it’s an ethereal experience. You’ll want to bake this airy, melt-in-your-mouth showstopper over and over again. Note: Once refrigerated and “aged,” the cake will transform into a denser yet still light cheesecake. Depending if your oven runs too hot or too cold, you may need to adjust baking temperatures accordingly. If the top of the cake cracks, your oven may be running too hot. Try beating the meringue to firm peaks instead of stiff peaks.