length, it mostly comes to Japan frozen. The bulk is salted and sold for grilling. It is also used in Western-style cooking.
bentō べんとう 弁当 boxed meal consisting of rice, pickles, and any number of accompanying foodstuffs. Most bentō are prepared at home to be taken to school or the workplace for lunch. There is also a large industry preparing and selling bentō at all times of day or night, often with the rice put in hot at the time of sale. There are also restaurants, especially in Kyoto, that specialize in bentō, which may extend beyond the box and not actually be portable. Perhaps the best-known kind of bentō is the ekiben えきべん 駅弁, sold at all major railway stations throughout Japan, usually with some distinct local touch. Makunouchi bentō まくのうちべんとう 幕の内弁当 is a good standard bentō, while shōkadō bentō しょうかどうべんとう 松花堂弁当 is high class and elegant.
bera ベら 倍良、 遍羅 Family Labridae includes a large number of very colorful fish, especially sasanohabera (Pseudolabrus japonicus), and several kinds of wrasse called kyūsen. As well as being the basic ingredient of kamaboko, it is prepared as nitsuke, kara-age, and nanbanzuke. Also called gizami.
bettarazuke ベったらづけ ベったら漬け daikon pickled in kōji. It has a sweet flavor and alcoholic aroma. Highly recommended.
biifun ビーフン 米粉 Chinese rice noodles. Popular in Japan, but not strictly part of Japanese cuisine.
biwa びわ 枇杷 loquat, Japanese medlar Eriobotrya japonica. A very bland, early-summer fruit, eaten fresh. It may also be canned, and used in jams, jellies, and liqueurs.
bōfū ぼうふう 防風 1. common abbreviation of hama bōfū. 2. root of Ledebouriella seseloides, one of the ingredients of toso.
bora ぼら 鯔、 鰡 striped mullet, (British) grey mullet Mugil cephalus cephalus. Growing up to 80 cm in length, this fish is suitable for sashimi only when extremely fresh, since it feeds on mud and green algae and deteriorates very quickly. It is best eaten as gyoden ぎょでん 魚田 (fish dengaku), teriyaki, or misozuke. The female roe of bora is made into karasumi. See also chinmi.
botan ebi ぼたんえび 牡丹海老 botan shrimp Pandalus nipponensis. See also ebi.
botan nabe ぼたんなベ 牡丹鍋 nabemono with wild boar (inoshishi) as the main ingredient. Botan is Japanese for peony.
budō ぶどう 葡萄 grape Vitis spp. Eaten fresh in late summer and autumn, the best grapes are a considerable luxury. There is a vigorous wine industry in Japan, and though the number of discriminating consumers is increasing, they tend to prefer imported wines.
buntan ぶんたん 文旦 pomelo, shaddock Citrus grandis. The largest of the citrus fruits, it is grown in Kyushu and Shikoku. It is eaten raw and is similar to the grapefruit, though not as juicy. The candied peel is a popular delicacy. Buntan is also called zabon.
buri ぶり 鰤 yellowtail, Japanese amberjack Seriola quinqueradiata. A large fish about 1.3 m in length and weighing about 15 kg, it is highly regarded and is particularly good as sashimi and also very good grilled and as teriyaki. It is at its best in autumn and winter and is extensively cultivated artificially, as is its younger form (hamachi). In western Japan, buri is the favored fish at New Year. It is first eaten as sashimi, then in zōni, later grilled, especially as teriyaki, and finally fixed as aradaki.
buta niku ぶたにく 豚肉 pork Sus scrofa var. domesticus. Pork is principally eaten as tonkatsu, but also appears in yakiniku and nimono.
butsugiri ぶつぎり ぶつ切り roughly chopped fish or meat on the bone, though fish may be filleted. It is mostly used in soups and nabemono.
—C—
cha ちゃ 茶 tea Camellia sinensis (otherwise Thea sinensis). Introduced from China at the end of the sixth century, Japanese tea is green tea, ryokucha りょくちゃ 緑茶, a term that indicates the leaves are dried without fermentation. This is achieved by sterilizing the leaves with steam before they are dried. They may be powdered for making matcha for the tea ceremony, or infused with hot (rather than boiling) water, in one of several grades. The best is gyokuro, next is sencha, and the ordinary tea for daily use is bancha, which, when freshly toasted, becomes hōjicha. See also appendices 12 and 13.
chabudai ちゃぶだい 卓揪台 low table used without chairs for serving food and drinks in a Japanese-style room. Such tables have been used only since the beginning of the Meiji era (1868) and at first were often round. The legs are often collapsible for convenience of storage. The word chabudai is rather old-fashioned, being largely replaced by zataku.
chāhan チャーハン 炒飯 Chinese-style name for yakimeshi.
cha kaiseki ちゃかいせき 茶懐石 the highly refined style of food associated with the tea ceremony. Since it is not desirable to drink strong matcha on an empty stomach, the practice arose of serving a meal beforehand. The menu should emphasize the season, and is based on rice with ichijū sansai. The meal starts with a tray of rice, soup, and mukōzuke, followed by wanmori (the cha kaiseki term for nimono) and yakimono. Hashiarai (a clear suimono soup to “wash the chopsticks”) is then served with hassun, usually two chinmi, one from the mountains (e.g., iwatake) and one from the sea (e.g., karasumi). Finally, kō no mono is served with yutō (hot washings of the rice pot served in a yutō, a lacquerware container shaped like a teapot without a handle).
chankonabe ちゃんこなべ ちゃんこ鍋 nabemono that is supposed to fatten up sumo wrestlers. Basically a kind of mizutaki, it consists of soup made with roughly chopped chicken on the bone, in which seasonal vegetables, chicken, fish, and tofu are cooked and then dipped in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar flavored with finely sliced negi. Traditionally the flesh of quadrupeds was not used, since being down on all fours means defeat in sumo. However, in recent years this custom has not been strictly observed.
chanpon チャンポン 1. a famous local dish of Nagasaki. A selection of pork, squid, prawns, oysters, and fish is fried in ample lard along with thinly sliced onion, carrot, cabbage, and other vegetables, and is then served in a large bowl containing lightly cooked Chinese noodles and soup made from roughly chopped pork and chicken on the bone. 2. the practice of mixing Japanese and Western drinks during the same drinking session.
chasen ちゃせん 茶筅、 茶筌 delicate bamboo whisk used for making matcha. These whisks are a special product of the town of Takayama in Nara Prefecture. There are also electric ones for people with weak wrists.
chāshū チャーシュー 叉焼 sliced roast pork served with rāmen.
chawan ちゃわん 茶碗 bowl, usually made of china or pottery for serving food, especially rice, and matcha.
chawan mushi ちゃわんむし 茶碗蒸し steamed savory custard made of egg and dashi. It usually contains chicken, prawns, ginkgo nuts, kamaboko, yurine, and mitsuba, and is steamed in special china cups with lids. Well-liked by all.
chikuwa ちくわ 竹輪 paste of fish (surimi), starch, and egg white, with salt, sugar, and other seasonings, formed into sausage shapes on skewers, and steamed or grilled. Among many uses, it makes an agreeable tsumamimono.
chimaki ちまき 粽 mochi made of glutinous or non-glutinous rice or rice flour wrapped in bamboo leaf and steamed or boiled. It is particularly eaten on Boys’ Day, May 5, because of its phallic symbolism. May 5 is now usually called Children’s Day.
chingensai チンゲンサイ