| Japanese |
English |
| abekawa mochi |
grilled cut mochi topped with mixed sugar and kinako, or syrup and kinako |
| abura |
oil |
| aburage |
puffy, thin brown fried tofu slices |
| aemono |
cooked salad, foods in vinegar dressing or sauces |
| agari |
green tea (as served in sushi restaurants) |
| age |
fried |
| agedofu |
thick slices of deep fried tofu used in soups, nimono etc |
| agemono |
fried foods |
| aji, aji-no-tataki |
Spanish mackerel, horse mackerel |
| aji-no-moto |
monosodium glutamate (MSG) |
| aka miso |
red soy bean paste |
| akagai |
red clam |
| akami |
lean tuna, cut from the back of the fish |
| ama-ebi |
sweet shrimp, usually served raw (see odori-ebi) |
| amiyaki |
cooked over a wire grill |
| an |
sweetened pureed paste of cooked adzuki or white kidney bean |
| ankimo |
monkfish liver |
| anko-nabe |
monkfish stew |
| anmitsu |
dessert made from agar-agar, an and sugar |
| annago or anago |
conger eel (saltwater) |
| ao shiso no mi |
prepared beefsteak plant seeds |
| aoyagi |
yellow clam |
| asa gohan |
breakfast |
| awabi |
abalone |
| awaze-zu |
rice vinegar (also su) |
| ayu |
sweetfish, a medium sized river fish |
| azuki or aduki |
small red bean |
| baigai |
small water snails |
| bara sushi |
sushi rice and other ingredients mixed together, like a rice salad |
| basashi |
horse-meat sashimi |
| bata |
butter |
| battera-sushi |
Osaka-style pressed and moulded mackerel sushi |
| beni shoga |
red pickled ginger |
| bento |
traditional boxed lunch |
| biru |
beer |
| bulgogi |
Korean marinated beef dish |
| buri |
adult yellowtail tuna (also hamachi) |
| burokkori |
broccoli |
| buta |
pork |
| California roll |
crab meat, smelt or flying fish roe, with avocado (the avocado is the Californian bit!) |
| chanko-nabe |
seafood and vegetable stew eaten by sumo wrestlers |
| chawan mushi |
egg custard with diced vegetables |
| chazuke |
rice and various toppings, over which green tea is poured |
| chiizu |
cheese |
| chikuwa |
tube shaped, hollow browned fish cake |
| chirashi sushi |
bed of sushi rice with other ingredients mixed on top; usually consists of assorted raw fish on a bed of vinegared rice (also iso-don or gomoku sushi) |
| chutoro |
medium fatty tuna, from the upper belly |
| daikon |
giant long white, carrot-shaped Japanese radish |
| daizu |
soybeans |
| dango |
dumplings |
| dashi |
soup stock made from kelp and fish (basic to Japanese cooking) |
| dengaku |
tofu or konnyaku broiled with sweet miso |
| doburoku |
type of thick, soupy sake |
| donburi |
large bowl for noodle and rice dishes |
| ebi |
cooked shrimp or prawn |
| engawa |
halibut fin muscle or the orangey meat that surrounds a scallop |
| enoki |
long, thin, white mushrooms |
| fugu |
blowfish; requires a licence for preparation as it is poisonous if prepared incorrectly! |
| fugu-chiri |
blowfish soup |
| fuki |
fibrous vegetable often simmered in broth |
| fukusa sushi |
type of sushi which is wrapped in a crepe |
| funamori |
nigiri sushi wrapped to hold in less-solid ingredients (also gunkan maki or kakomi sushi) |
| furutsu |
fruit |
| futomaki |
large roll |
| gari or shoga |
sliced pickled ginger, a condiment used to refresh the palate |
| genmai |
brown rice |
| geta |
wooden block used at a sushi bar as a plate |
| gobo |
long, slender burdock root |
| gohan |
formal word for rice, also meaning “meal” (the informal word meshi can also be used) |
| goma |
sesame seeds |
| gomoku sushi |
bed of sushi rice with other ingredients mixed on top (also chirashi sushi or iso-don) |
| gunkan maki |
nigiri sushi wrapped to hold in less-solid ingredients (also funamori or kakomi sushi) |
| gyoza |
or wonton: Chinese style meat dumplings pan-fried, sautéed and/or steamed |
| gyu tataki |
beef tataki |
| hamachi |
yellowtail tuna (also buri) |
| hamo |
pike conger |
| hari hari zuke |
pickled vegetable mix (yellow) |
| harusame |
thin semi-transparent bean gelatine noodles |
| hashi |
chopsticks |
| hatahata |
sandfish |
| hijiki |
variety of black seaweed in tiny threads |
| hikari-mono |
fish sliced for serving, with the silver fish skin left on |
| hirame |
flounder |
| hiru-gohan |
lunch |
| hiya yakko |
blocks of cold tofu |
| hiyashi |
cold |
| hiyashi-bachi |
served chilled in a bowl with ice and cold water |
| hocho |
general term for knives |
| hokkigai |
surf clam |
| horenso |
spinach |
| hotatagai |
scallops |
| iidako |
small octopus |
| iIka-geso |
squid’s tentacles |
| ika |
squid |
| ikura |
salmon roe |
| inari sushi |
aburage stuffed with sushi rice |
| ishikari-nabe |
salmon stew with sake |
| iso-don |
bed of sushi rice with other ingredients mixed on top (also chirashi sushi or gomoku sushi) |
| iwana |
char |
| iwashi |
sardine |
| ji- |
prefix meaning locally made or caught |
| kabayaki |
grilled eel on skewers without rice |
| kabu |
small white turnip |
| kai |
generic term for shellfish |
| kaiseki ryori |
elaborate Kyoto-style cuisine |
| kajiki |
swordfish |
| kakomi sushi |
nigiri sushi wrapped to hold in less-solid ingredients (also funamori or gunkan maki) |
| kamaboko |
fish cake |
| kamachi-kama |
yellowtail collars |
| kampyo |
seasoned Japanese dried gourd |
| kani |
crab meat |
| kani-kamaboko |
fake crab meat |
| kanimiso |
green contents of a crab’s head |
| kanpachi |
very young yellowtail |
| kanpyo |
strips of dried gourd |
| kanten |
gelatine derived from seaweed |
| kappa |
cucumber |
| kappa -maki |
rolled cucumber sushi |
| kareh katsu |
curry sauce poured over deep-fried pork cutlet |
| karei |
halibut |
| katsu |
cutlet |
| katsuo |
bonito fish |
| katsuo-boshi |
dried bonito fish used to make dashi |
| kayaku gohan |
mixed rice |
| kikurage |
dried fungus, wood-ear mushroom (substitute: cloud-ear) |
| kimachi |
small fish from the yellowtail family |
| kinako |
parched soya bean flour |
| kinoko |
generic term for mushrooms |
| kinome |
leaves of the Japanese prickly ash |
| kissaten |
coffee shop |
| kohada |
gizzard shad |
| kohi |
coffee |
| koi |
saltwater carp |
| kombu (or konbu) |
kelp, may be dried |
| konnyaku |
gelatinous rubbery cake made from the “devils-tongue” tuber or snake palm |
| koyadofu |
freeze-dried tofu |
| kuro goma |
black sesame seeds |
| kurodai |
snapper |
| kyur |
Japanese cucumber |
| langostino |
small shellfish (a bit Italian really!) |
| maguro |
tuna |
| makisu |
mat made of bamboo strips for making roll sushi |
| manju |
sweet bun filled with an |
| masago (or masagu) |
smelt roe |
| masu |
trout |
| matsutake |
very rare pine mushroom |
| mekajiki |
blue marlin |
| meshi |
informal word for cooked rice, can also mean “meal”, See also gohan) |
| meshimono |
rice mixed with meat or vegetables |
| mirin |
sweet rice wine (sake) for cooking |
| mirugai |
long neck clam, geoduck, in the American Pacific northwest |
| miso |
fermented paste of soya beans and either barley or rice, with salt; basic to Japanese cookery and especially miso soup |
| mitzutaki |
cooked in liquid |
| mizu |
water |
| mochi |
sweet glutinous rice cakes |
| mochigome |
mochi rice |
| mochiko |
sweet glutinous rice flour |
| momen tofu |
‘cottony’ bean curd; see tofu |
| momo |
peach |
| mori-soba |
cold buckwheat noodles served on a bamboo screen |
| moyashi |
bean sprouts |
| murasaki |
sushi bar term for soy sauce |
| mushimono |
steamed foods |
| myoga |
variety of ginger |
| nabemono |
quick-cooked and rustic stews |
| nama |
prefix meaning raw food or draught beer |
| nama-tako |
fresh or raw octopus |
| nametake chazuke |
prepared mushrooms |
| nanami togarashi |
mixed hot spices (also shichimi togarashi) |
| narizushi |
stuffed bean curd rolls or sushi rice in fried tofu pockets |
| nasu |
eggplant or aubergine |
| natto |
fermented soy bean |
| negi |
Japanese onion |
| negitoro |
chopped and mixed negi-onion and toro |
| neta |
the fish topping in nigiri sushi |
| nigiri |
hand-made sushi is the typical sushi and is ordered and served in pairs |
| nigiri sushi |
slice of fish or other topping on vinegared rice |
| nihon shu |
type of sake, rice wine |
| niika |
cooked Monterey squid |
| nijimas |
rainbow trout |
| nimono |
simmered or boiled foods, usually in an otoshi buta |
| nori |
purple laver seaweed pressed and toasted in thin sheets |
| norimake |
roll with nori seaweed on the outside |
| ocha |
green tea |
| ochazuke |
rice and tea soup |
| odori-ebi |
‘dancing shrimp’, served live (see also ama-ebi) |
| ohba |
Japanese beefsteak plant |
| ohitsu |
special bowl to keep rice warm |
| okonomi-zushi |
home-style nigiri sushi |
| onigiri |
balls made with plain steamed rice with various stuffings |
| oshi |
pressed sushi, cut into small squares |
| oshibori |
moistened heated towel |
| oshinko |
pickled vegetables, usually cucumber |
| oshiwaku |
wooden box with top |
| oshizushi |
sushi rice and other ingredients pressed into a box or mould |
| otoro |
fattest tuna |
| otoshi buta |
heavy straight-sided pan with wooden lid, used for simmering (see nimono) |
| pan-joon |
very light Korean scallion (spring onion) pancake |
| renkon |
lotus roots |
| robata-yaki |
fresh ingredients cooked over a wood fire |
| ronzu |
sauce made with Japanese citron |
| saba |
pickled mackerel |
| sake |
rice wine |
| sake |
salmon |
| sakura denbu |
seasoned shredded cod fish (pink powder) |
| sanma |
Japanese mackerel |
| sansho |
Japanese pepper |
| sashimi |
raw seafood, usually slices or slabs of raw seafood, such as tuna and octopus, served on a platter with thinly sliced ginger, finely shredded radish, and wasabi |
| sato-imo |
taro root |
| sawagani |
small crabs |
| seigo |
young sea bass |
| senbei |
thin, crisp rice crackers |
| shako |
mantis shrimp |
| shamoji |
flat rice-serving spoon |
| shari |
sushi bar term for sushi rice |
| shichimi togarashi |
mixed hot spices (also nanami togarashi) |
| shiitake |
type of Japanese mushroom |
| shirako |
milt of cod |
| shiratake |
translucent rubbery noodles |
| shira-uo |
whitebait, icefish or salangid |
| shiro goma |
white sesame seeds |
| shiro maguro |
albacore tuna |
| shiro miso |
white soy bean paste |
| shiromi no sakana |
sushi/sashimi fish which are relatively white in colour |
| shirumono |
Japanese term for soup |
| shiso |
Japanese mint |
| shiso sakura |
pickled radish and ginger with beefsteak plant (pink) |
| shochu |
25-40% spirit made from potatoes or rice |
| shoga |
ginger root |
| shoyu |
soy sauce, mixed with the wasabi for dipping the sushi |
| shu-mei |
stuffed wontons, served steamed or deep-fried |
| soba |
buckwheat noodles |
| soba-zushi |
sushi made with soba rather than rice |
| somen |
white, threadlike wheat noodles |
| soy sauce |
salty sauce made from fermented soybeans |
| su |
rice vinegar (also awaze-zu) |
| sudare |
floor- or window-sized bamboo mat |
| suimono |
clear soup |
| sukimi |
bits of fish scraped from the bones, used in rolls |
| sunomon |
vinegared foods |
| suribachi |
bowl with a rough corrugated inside, used as a mortar |
| surikogi |
wooden pestle shaped like a big cucumber |
| sushi |
delicacies made with fish, seafood or vegetables moulded on top of vinegared moulded rice fingers |
| sushimeshi |
rice for preparing sushi |
| suzuki |
sea bass, striped bass or rockfish |
| tai |
sea bream, porgy or snapper |
| tairagai |
razor-shell clam |
| takenoko |
bamboo shoots |
| tako |
octopus |
| takuwan |
pickled daikon |
| tamago |
eggs |
| tamago yaki |
fried egg |
| tare |
thick sauce, usually soy-based and slightly sweetened |
| tataki |
grilled on the surface, then finely chopped |
| tazuna sushi |
roll with diagonal strips of food across the top, Rainbow roll |
| tekka |
tuna, especially in a roll |
| temaki |
hand rolls, usually cone-shaped |
| tempura |
seafood or vegetables, battered and deep-fried usually in a light batter |
| teriyaki |
broiled foods marinated in a sweet soy sauce |
| tobiko |
flying-fish roe |
| tofu |
set soya bean curd |
| togarashi |
whole dried hot red peppers |
| tonkatsu |
pork cutlet, breaded then fried |
| tori |
chicken |
| torigai |
cockle clam |
| toro |
fatty tuna |
| toshi-koshi soba |
Japanese custom of eating soba at the end of the year |
| tsukemono |
pickles |
| udon |
thick, wide wheat noodles |
| umeboshi |
small, bitter, pickled Japanese plum |
| ume-shiso |
plum paste and shiso leaf mixture |
| una-don |
grilled eel, served on rice |
| unagi |
freshwater eel |
| unagi |
grilled or smoked eel |
| unagi maki |
eel roll |
| unagi no kimo |
eel innards |
| uni |
sea urchin |
| usukuchi shoyu |
light Japanese soy sauce |
| wakame |
lobe-leaf seaweed, possibly dried, in strands |
| wasabi |
Japanese horseradish sauce (beware: very hot) |
| yak |
grilled, toasted |
| yakidofu |
broiled or grilled soy bean curd |
| yakimono |
broiled foods |
| yakinori |
toasted seaweed |
| yakitori |
skewer-grilled foods |
| yakumi |
one of several strongly-flavoured seasonings |
| yamakaki |
grated mountain potato with chunks of maguro |
| yosenabe |
fish, seafood and vegetable soup |
