10 Best Japanese Side Dish Recipes – Easy Japanese Cooking for Beginners

1. Spinach and Corn with Soy Butter

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・1.7 oz (50g) Spinach
・1.7 oz (50g) Corn
・1.5 tsp Butter
・1 tsp Soy sauce

Direction

1. Chop spinach. Boil the stem part for 30 sec, then add the rest of it. Boil for another 30 sec. (You can just stir-fry spinach right away, but I like to boil them in advance to remove the harsh taste. No need for baby spinach).

2. Squeeze boiled spinach to remove water. Be careful of burns.

3. Prepare butter on a pan, and stir-fry spinach and corn with it.

4. Add soy sauce and mix them thoroughly.

Ready to eat!

2. Eggplant and Bacon with Miso

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・5 oz (140g) Eggplant
・1 oz (30g) Bacon
・2 tsp Miso paste
・2 tsp Sake
・2 tsp Mirin
・1/2 tsp Sugar
・1 tsp Oil

Direction

1. Cut eggplant into bite-sized, and shred bacon.

2. Bake bacon, and take them out once. Bake eggplant with oil.

3. Put the bacon back in the pan, and add miso, sake, mirin, and sugar.

4. Mix them thoroughly.

Ready to eat!

3. Ginger Miso Pork with Bell Peppers

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・3.5 oz (100g) Thinly sliced pork
・1 oz (30g) Red bell pepper
・1 oz (30g) Yellow bell pepper
・1 tsp Sake
・1 tsp Soy sauce
・1 tsp Grated ginger
・1 tsp Miso paste
・1 tsp Mirin

Direction

1. Shred bell peppers. Cut pork into bite-sized, and season them with sake, soy sauce, and ginger in advance.

2. Stir-fry the pork and when it’s almost cooked add bell peppers.

3. Add miso paste and mirin.

4. Mix them thoroughly.

Ready to eat!

4. Bell Pepper and Sausage with Sweet Soy

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・2 oz (60g) Green bell pepper
・1 oz (30g) Sausage
・1 tsp Mirin
・1 tsp Soy sauce
・1/2 tsp Sesame oil
・A pinch of White sesame

Direction

1. Shred bell peppers, and slice sausage.

2. Stir-fry them with sesame oil.

3. Add mirin and soy sauce, and mix them thoroughly.

4. Sprinkle white sesame.

Ready to eat!

5. Mashed Tofu Salad

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・3.5 oz (100g) Firm tofu
・1 oz (30g) Spinach
・1 oz (30g) Carrot
・1 tsp Soy sauce
・1 tsp Sugar

Direction

1. Wrap the tofu with paper towel, then put a weight to drain water. Leave for 30 minutes.

2. Chop spinach and shred carrot. Boil them in water.

3. Gently squeeze the water from the tofu and pat vegetables dry on paper towel. Put them in a bowl.

4. Add soy sauce and sugar.

5. Mash the tofu, and stir to combine.

Ready to eat!

6. Stir-fried Eggs and Tomatoes

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・3.5 oz (100g) Tomato
・A pinch of Salt
・1 tsp Sake
・2 Eggs                                                    
・1/2 Sugar
・2 tsp Water
・1 tsp Sesame oil
・1/2 tsp Soy sauce

Direction

1. Cut tomato into wedges. Sprinkle salt and pour sake. Leave it for a while.

2. Mix egg with water and sugar. Stir well.

3. Pour sesame oil in a pan, and make runny scrambled eggs. Take it out from the pan.

4. Cook tomato in the pan for 1 minute to make them soft and juicy.

5. Put scrambled egg back in the pan. Add soy sauce, and mix thoroughly.

Ready to eat!

7. Red Cabbage and Tuna Salad

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・3.5 oz (100g) Red cabbage
・1.4 oz (40g) Canned tuna
・A pinch of Salt
・1 tsp Soy sauce
・1 tsp Vinegar
・A pinch of Black pepper
・1 tsp Black sesame                

Direction

1. Shred red cabbage, and sprinkle salt. Stir well.

2. Drain the oil from tuna.

3. Add tuna, soy sauce, black pepper, vinegar, and black sesame.

4. Stir to combine.

Ready to eat!

8. Honey Mustard Kabocha Squash

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・7 oz (200g) Kabocha squash
・1 tsp Grain mustard
・1 tsp Soy sauce
・2 tsp Honey              

Direction

1. Dice kabocha squash, and microwave it at 500W for 4 minutes.

2. Add grain mustard, soy sauce, and honey.

3. Stir to combine.

Ready to eat!

9. Stir-fried Konjac with Sweet Soy

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・7 oz (200g) Konjac
・4 tsp Water
・2 tsp Sake
・1.5 tsp Soy sauce
・1.5 tsp Mirin
・1 tsp Sugar
・A pinch of White sesame
・Red pepper as you like   

Direction

1. Dice konjac, and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes to remove smell.

2. Drain hot water. Put water, sake, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a pot.

3. Make sure konjac is well coated with the sauce. Heat until the sauce is gone.

4. Sprinkle white sesame and thread pepper as you like. (If you like spicy one you can add red pepper when frying.)

Ready to eat!

10. Burdock and Carrot Mayonnaise Salad

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

・1.7 oz (50g) Burdock
・1.7 oz (50g) Carrot
・1 oz (30g) Edamame
・A pinch of Salt
・1 tsp Vinegar
・1 tsp Soy sauce
・2 tbsp Mayonnaise
・1/2 tsp Wasabi

Direction

1. Heat frozen edamame in microwave, and take the beans out of the pod.

2. Shred burdock and carrot. Boil them in water. Add salt and vinegar when boiling.

3. Drain hot water. Pat dry the vegetables well and put them in a bowl with edamame beans.

4. Put soy sauce, mayonnaise, and wasabi.

5. Stir to combine.

Ready to eat!

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