8 Japanese Comfort Foods That Are Worth Seeking Out

Japan’s culinary riches include its unassuming, soul-soothing comfort food. Whether you want to make something at home, order a delivery, or plan meals for a visit to Japan, these satisfying dishes are essential eating. From a warming bowl of Japanese curry to a bubbling pot of nabe, they can quickly win you over while offering a glimpse of the everyday cooking woven into Japanese culture.

Comfort food is not defined in exactly the same way in every culture, though certain qualities overlap. “Japanese comfort food typically consists of dishes that one might find in a Japanese home kitchen, rather than a high-end restaurant," says Masako Morishita, executive chef of Perry’s in Washington, D.C., and an expert in Japanese comfort food who’s received wide acclaim for introducing it to her community. "They are the dishes that Japanese mothers and family members have been cooking for centuries, infused with love.”

Katsuya Fukushima, another Washington, D.C.-based chef and owner of several Japanese restaurants, including Tonari, a wafu Italian - or Japanese-style Italian - restaurant, shares that view: “I mostly relate home cooking to comfort food. Granted, there are specific dishes that restaurants have taken to astronomical culinary levels, like sushi, udon, tempura, ramen, and soba. I’ve even been to shops specializing in tonkatsu that have put me in awe. But does that take away anything from when my mom shallow fries tonkatsu as I sit at the dining room table after a long drive from D.C. to go visit her? Not at all.”

Morishita also points out that appearance is not the priority in comfort food; instead, the cuisine places more value on its “warmth and wholesomeness”. Several ingredients are central to Japanese cookery, including miso, sake, soy sauce, mirin and dashi. Morishita considers one method especially significant to comfort food: nimono, meaning “simmering” in Japanese.

Naturally, no list of familiar comfort foods can cover every recipe that brings back happy or nostalgic memories. Morishita’s most meaningful comfort dish is the Miso Butter Clams served at Perry’s, which were inspired by her father. For Fukushima, it is the memory of his obachan (grandmother) making curry with beef mince and tinned sweetcorn in Hawaii. Use this non-exhaustive selection of cosy Japanese comfort foods, complete with recipes, to find the dishes that feel most meaningful - and, naturally, most delicious - to you.

Nikujaga

Meaning “meat and potatoes”, this stew is fairly self-explanatory. Finely sliced beef or pork, potatoes and onion are simmered in dashi flavoured with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sake. A form of nimono, or simmered dish, nikujaga is cooked until much of its liquid has evaporated. It also commonly contains carrots and shirataki noodles - translucent, gelatinous noodles made from glucomannan fibre from the konjac plant - while ingredients such as sugar snap peas or tomatoes may be included as well.

Okonomiyaki

You may already know this savoury pancake, whose name translates as “grilled as you like” - an apt description of its flexibility. Okonomiyaki begins with a wheat-flour batter, usually combined with cabbage and/or a protein, then cooked on a flat teppan griddle. Its toppings are among its greatest pleasures: they are customisable, but generally include the distinctive sweet-and-savoury okonomiyaki sauce - often containing ketchup or Worcestershire sauce - Japanese mayonnaise, nori, bonito flakes and pickled ginger. Alongside the many ways to make this light, savoury pancake your own, there are regional versions, including Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, which is assembled in layers and contains noodles.

Hambagu

Hambagu belongs to yōshoku, a branch of Japanese cooking influenced by Western dishes that also includes chicken nanban, sandos and various spaghetti dishes. These minced-meat patties may therefore recall Salisbury steak or meatloaf, while the name itself acknowledges the influence of Hamburg steak. Japanese hambagu consists of beef and pork mince, panko breadcrumbs and egg, finished with a sweet ketchup sauce. The recipe is readily adjusted to suit individual tastes, using other minced proteins or finely chopped vegetables. Since its ingredients are generally economical, hambagu is accessible to many home cooks - and home-style food is a defining feature of comfort food.

Udon

Noodles are fundamental to Japanese cookery, making it impossible to select only one variety as comfort food, yet thick, springy udon may be the most heartwarming. Depending on the season, the regional tradition and the person cooking, udon can be served hot or cold, with broth or sauce, stir-fried as yaki udon, and in countless other ways. Most types are notably thick, chewy noodles made with wheat flour, although some are slimmer or made with potato starch.

Nabemono

Nabemono, shortened to “nabe”, is a category of hot-pot dishes. Vegetables, tofu and thinly sliced meat are cooked together in a large pot of broth, often a donabe: a traditional clay pot named for its purpose. Nabe is typically shared, simmering in the middle of the table so that everyone can help themselves. Nabemono comes in many styles, from light dashi broths to richer, more intensely flavoured versions. The accompaniments also vary greatly, but ingredients that need the longest cooking time, such as tofu and firmer vegetables, should be added first.

Japanese Curry

Like nabemono, Japanese curry is a broad category encompassing numerous forms of this iconic dish. British people introduced Indian curry to Japan in the 19th century, but it has since evolved into a distinctly Japanese comfort food. Although it is most often served with rice, it can certainly be eaten with udon or other accompaniments. Japanese curry sauce is known for its smooth, thick texture and distinctive sweetness, which can come from honey or grated apple. A roux provides the sauce’s foundation and creates its dense consistency, and it need not be made from scratch: curry roux is sold in small blocks to stir into water. Japanese curry sauce is often combined with potatoes, carrots, onions and a protein. Katsu curry, topped with a crisp panko-crumbed fried cutlet, is one of its most popular styles.

Omurice

You may have seen omurice videos on social media, with a silky, softly set omelette sliced open over fried rice for an appealing, satisfying reveal. Though this restaurant-style version, whose egg remains slightly unset in the middle, is popular, omurice is also regularly made at home. In the home-style version, the eggs are more likely to be cooked through, enclosing pan-fried rice with chicken and/or vegetables. This Japanese-style fried-rice filling is generally seasoned with ketchup, soy sauce and sometimes Worcestershire sauce, while more ketchup is often added on top. Given its deeply comforting flavour profile and plentiful ketchup, it is unsurprising that omurice is popular with children.

Gyudon

Gyudon makes an excellent easy, economical and comforting meal. Its name translates as “beef bowl”, a fitting description for this rice bowl of thinly sliced beef and onions simmered in a soy-based sauce. As with every dish here, gyudon is adaptable and can differ from one household to the next. Rice, onions and beef are always included, while possible toppings include pickled ginger, sesame seeds, spring onions and egg.

01 of 07: Nikujaga (Japanese-Style Meat and Potatoes)

This interpretation combines Japanese and Western influences: traditional thinly sliced steak is replaced with beef mince, carrots and onions simmer alongside it, and fresh ginger adds brightness. Russet potatoes cook in chicken stock with soy sauce and light brown sugar until tender, with creamy edges.

02 of 07: Hiyashi Udon with Goma Dare (Cold Udon with Sesame Sauce)

Ideal for warm days, this chilled udon dish is also one we enjoy throughout the year. Crisp, finely sliced vegetables offer a contrast to the soft noodles, while goma dare - or sesame sauce - brings plenty of flavour to every mouthful.

03 of 07: Life-Changing Udon with Soft-Boiled Egg, Hot Soy, and Black Pepper

These noodles demonstrate that the simplest recipes can be the most comforting. A deeply savoury, slurpable broth needs only melted butter, soy sauce, vegetable stock and plenty of ground black pepper.

04 of 07: Cauliflower Okonomiyaki

This okonomiyaki strays from tradition by using nutty cauliflower in place of cabbage. Toasted hazelnuts make a welcome topping, lending buttery flavour alongside a drizzle of sharp yuzu kosho mayonnaise.

05 of 07: Okonomiyaki

This more traditional okonomiyaki recipe can quickly become a household staple and is an excellent way to use up leftovers. Dashi added to the batter and a scattering of bonito flakes on top provide an extra layer of umami.

06 of 07: Katsu Curry (Japanese Curry with Tonkatsu Nuggets and Fried Egg)

This katsu curry recipe is from Sonoko Sakai, food writer and author of the IACP award-winning cookbook Japanese Home Cooking. It brings together Japanese curry and tonkatsu in a comforting pairing of crisp textures and flavour-rich broth. Sakai uses homemade curry powder, and the result makes the extra effort worthwhile.

07 of 07: Omurice (Japanese Omelet Rice)

Ketchup-flavoured sweet-and-savoury fried rice is the centrepiece of this dish. Enclosed in a buttery omelette, it is just as welcome for breakfast, lunch or dinner - or as a midnight snack.