Food guide for first-time travelers to Osaka

Osaka is the largest city in West Japan. Here there are lots of dishes that few Japanese people living outside of Osaka know exist. But even in the food-loving country of Japan, Osaka is still known as one of the ultimate food destinations – a city with passionate food lovers and an abundance of things to eat.

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a pancake-like dish popular in various styles across Japan. In Osaka, shredded cabbage and a whole range of other ingredients such as squid, prawn, octopus or meat are mixed into a flour-based batter and cooked before eaten with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, green laver (aonori) and dried bonito (katsuobushi). In some restaurants, okonomiyaki is prepared by the customers on a hot plate at their table.

Negiyaki

Similar to okonomiyaki, negiyaki is a savory pancake-style food. Negi, or Japanese leek, is a popular ingredient in Japan both raw and cooked. Negiyaki features tons of sliced green onion cooked into it, and is often also topped with freshly diced onion, as well as soy sauce or okonomiyaki sauce. While okonomiyaki is a popular food all over Kansai, negiyaki is a style of mixed pancake native to Osaka.

Takoyaki

Takoyaki is the main street food associated with Osaka. This tasty treat is a fried round mixture of batter, octopus, ginger, and usually some vegetables and spices. The best place to sample takoyaki is at one of the food stalls along the Dotonbori, but this dish can be found all over the city. Many locals even have special takoyaki-making grills at home.

Ramen 

Osaka is a ramen kind of town. The hearty, meaty and plebian nature of the dish is a natural fit for rough and ready Osaka. You’ll find ramen restaurants in every Osaka urban hub, but they’re most numerous in Minami and the Tennoji Area.

Read more: What is the difference between Ramen, Tsukemen and Soba?

Kushi-Katsu

The fried food to beat all fried foods, kushi-katsu is another classic Osaka dish. “Kushi” means skewer and “katsu” is derived from “cutlet,” and the name means all kinds of goodies stuck on a stick, dipped in batter and deep fried. As you might imagine, this is drinking food (only someone half drunk would eat this stuff without feeling guilty), so you’ll find kushi-katsu restaurants primarily in drinking areas and entertainment districts.

Taiko-Manju

Taiko-manju is a type of Japanese baked sweet. It's made from a batter of flour, eggs, and sugar baked in a drum shaped steel or copper mold with steamed bean paste in the middle. Taiko means drum, and as you can imagine, the name comes from the drum-like shape. In other regions of Japan, they’re called “Ohban-yaki” or “Kaiten-yaki” or ”Imagawa-yaki”. One of the Osaka's most famous Taiko-manju shops is the "Gozasouro".

Butaman

These soft buns are made by fermenting a flour and water-based batter that is then stuffed with fillings and steamed.  Fillings normally include pork and onion, with some shops also adding finely chopped vegetables such as takenoko (bamboo shoots) or dried shiitake mushrooms.

Read more: Explore various dumplings around Asia

Kitsune Udon

Kitsune udon is a simple dish of udon (thick wheat noodles) served in a hot soup with a piece of deep fried tofu (aburaage). Kitsune means "fox" in Japanese, and the dish is thus named because fried tofu is believed to be a fox's favorite.

Doteyaki

Kansai is historically the “cattle country” of Japan, as evidenced by the number of top beef brands in close proximity, including Kobe beef from Hyogo prefecture, Omi beef from Shiga prefecture, and Matsutaka beef from Mie prefecture in the nearby Chubu region. As a result, beef is an important ingredient in Kansai cuisine and especially in Osaka. One famous beef dish from Osaka is doteyaki, or beef tendon simmered in miso and mirin rice wine. It’s a popular side dish to enjoy in kushikatsu restaurants.

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Visit Japan, enjoy the best ramen in the world

Ramen is a noodle soup dish that was originally imported from China and has become one of the most popular dishes in Japan in recent decades. Ramen is inexpensive and widely available, two factors that also make them an ideal option for budget travelers. Ramen restaurants, or ramen-ya, can be found in virtually every corner of the country and produce countless regional variations of this common noodle dish.

The modern ramen scene has a wealth of serving variations, even if the dishes are all called ramen: cold or hot noodles eaten together with soup, noodles served without soup, and thin noodles are eaten with a hot dipping sauce.

Ramen is a Japanese adaptation of Chinese wheat noodles. Ramen was first introduced to Japan in 1660s by Zhu Shun Shui. There is another theory which claims that the second origin story centers on ramen’s arrival in the nineteenth century as a result of changes in Japanese food practices inspired by American imperialism. It was also said that Ramen was introduced by Chinese immigrants in the late 19thor early 20th century.  According to the record of the Yokohama Ramen Museum, ramen originated in China and made its way over to Japan in 1859. Early versions were wheat noodles in broth topped with Chinese-style roast pork.

The word ramen is a Japanese transcription of the Chinese lamian. In 1910, a Chinese restaurant serving ramen in Yokohama's Chinatown received public praise in Japan. Until the 1950s, ramen was called shina soba but today chūka soba or just ramen is more common, as the word has acquired a pejorative connotation.

Shoyu

Shoyu ramen soup is a clear, brown broth flavored with soy sauce (shoyu). The soup is usually made of chicken broth but often contains other meats such as pork, beef or fish depending on the region. Shoyu ramen is the most common type of ramen and is usually what is served when the menu does not specify a specific type of soup.

Shio

Shio ramen soup is a light, clear broth seasoned with salt. It is typically made from chicken broth, but may also be flavored with other meats such as pork.

Miso

Miso ramen soup is flavored with soybean paste (miso), resulting in a thick, brown soup with a rich, complex flavor. The style originated in Hokkaido where the long cold winters spurred the need for a heartier type of ramen soup, but it has spread to the point where it can be found pretty much anywhere in Japan.

Tonkotsu

Particularly popular around Kyushu, tonkotsu ramen is made of pork bones which have been boiled down until they dissolve into a cloudy white broth. The thick, creamy soup is also often flavored with chicken broth and pork fat.


See more: 8 typical dishes from Northern Japan, Aomori cuisine

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