26 Foods That Start with う (u) – Learn Hiragana Characters

Let’s check the list of foods that start with “う” for here.

うーろんちゃ (ウーロン茶) / U-RONCHA

This is Chinese tea called oolong tea.
It’s one of the common type of tea that drunk in Japan. You can get it at grocery stores or vending machines, and you can order it at restaurants and fast food shops too.

ういろう / UIRO

It’s Japanese style of steamed cake that is made from rice flour or flour and sugar. Sometimes bean jam and matcha is added to the dough.
Each region all over Japan has their original flavor and shape of ういろう (UIRO).

ういんなー (ウインナー) / UINNA-

It’s Japanese term for “sausage”.
Japanese sausage is usually small and thin size, and similar to Vienna sausage. This is one of the most popular ingredient in bento box.
Also, it can be substitute for meat in various dishes such as fried rice, curry, and stir-fried dishes.

うえはーす (ウエハース) / UEHA-SU

It’s Japanese term for “wafer”.
A thinly baked sweets sandwiched between checkered pattern molds. The dough is made from wheat, sugar, and egg. Often sold with cream sandwiched between two wafers.

うぐいすまめ (うぐいす豆) / UGUISUMAME

It’s Japanese term for “sweetened green peas”.
うぐいす (UGUISU) means nightingale. Since the color of sweetened green peas is similar to the body color of the nightingale (warbler), we call it うぐいすまめ (UGUISUMAME).
This is often used to make uguisuan which is sweet brownish-green paste made from green peas. This sweet paste is used in several types of Japanese sweets and bread.

うこっけい (烏骨鶏) / UKOKKEI

It’s a chicken breed name.
It looks completely different from a normal chicken: even adult chicken has fluffy like a chick, and its skin, internal organs, and bones are all black. It is traded at a higher price than ordinary chicken.

うこん (ウコン) / UKON

It’s Japanese term for “turmeric”.
In Japan, turmeric is often used in the curry roux. Also, it is also a raw material of a drink that prevents hangovers expecting the effect of curcumin on liver function.

うざく(鰻冊) / UZAKU

It’s a Japanese traditional side dish, shredded grilled eel and sliced ​​cucumber with sweet vinegar sauce.
The crunchy texture of cucumber and refreshing taste of vinegar are perfect match for juicy grilled eel.

うじきんとき (宇治金時) / UJIKINTOKI

It’s shaved ice with green tea and sweet beans (sweet bean paste).
うじ (UJI) means matcha, powdered green tea. きんとき (KINTOKI) means a type of adzuki beans. There is the specific kind of beans called KINTOKI adzuki, but ordinary adzuki beans is generally used for this shaved ice.

うじちゃ (宇治茶) / UJICHA

It’s a brand of green tea that are finished by a local manufacturing method of Uji region in Kyoto prefecture. Tea leaves for this product are come from 4 prefectures: Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, and Mie.
It’s known as one of the three greatest teas of Japan (Uji-cha, Sayama-cha, and Shizuoka-cha).

うすかわまんじゅう (薄皮饅頭) / USUKAWAMANJU

It’s a Japanese traditional sweets, steamed yeast bun with filling.
うすかわ (USUKAWA) means thin skin, and as the name says, the skin of the bun is very thin. You can fully enjoy the red bean paste inside.

うすくちしょうゆ (薄口醤油) / USUKUCHISHOYU

It’s light colored soy sauce.
The reason why it’s light colored is that the ratio of soybeans and wheat which are the main raw materials of soy sauce is different from the normal soy sauce.
Normal soy sauce is made from one-to-one ratio of soybeans and wheat, while light colored soy sauce is made from a lot more amount of wheat.

うすたーそーす (ウスターソース) / USUTA-SO-SU

It’s Japanese-style Worcestershire sauce.
Japanese Worcestershire sauce is probably sweeter than the one in other countries. It’s made from a lot of vegetables and fruit, so has complex umami (delicious taste) and koku (richness). This is essential material when eating yakisoba (stir-fried noodles), deep-fried dishes, and so on.

Interested in learning more about Japanese Worcestershire sauce?
What Is Worcestershire Sauce in Japan?

うずらたまご (うずら卵) / UZURATAMAGO

It’s Japanese term for “Quail eggs”.
It’s tiny eggs and usually used after boiling. The taste is similar to normal egg, but has a little bit unique smell.
Some popular recipes for this are seasoning boiled egg with soy sauce based sauce, using it as deep-fried skewers material, and putting it in meatballs.

うどん / UDON

It’s thick Japanese noodles made from wheat.
The taste of noodles is simple and light, so usually eaten with mentsuyu soup or dashi stock soup. The texture is depending on the type of udon, but usually it has chewy texture. You can put whatever your favorite ingredients in the udon soup such as vegetables, meat, egg, mushrooms, tempura, etc.

うなぎ (鰻) / UNAGI

It’s Japanese term for “eel”.
Grilled eel is the basic style of serving うなぎ (UNAGI) in Japan. The most popular seasoning for this grilled eel is the sweet-salty sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake.

うに (雲丹) / UNI

It’s Japanese term for “sea urchin”.
Sea urchin is very popular, luxury ingredient in Japan. Generally, it’s eaten raw as a sushi material and uni bowls. It’s also used in some sauce such as pasta sauce. The taste is very creamy and has unique flavor.

うのはな (卯の花) / UNOHANA

It’s another name for okara, the residue left when soymilk is squeezed in the process of making tofu from soybeans.

Interested in learning more about Unohana (Okara)?
What Is Okara and How Is It Used?

うまいぼう (うまい棒) / UMAIBO

It’s a famous snack in Japan. うまい (UMAI) means delicious, and ぼう (BO) means stick. So, it literally means “delicious stick”.
Its texture is somewhat like the Cheetos, crispy as you bite. And, there are so many flavors that you can’t even know every taste.

うまき (鰻巻き) / UMAKI

It’s omelette-wrapped eel.
Along with #8 うざく (UZAKU), this is also very popular eel dish. The fluffy Japanese-style omelette matches so well with the sweet, strong taste of eel.
If you are afraid of tasting eel at really first time, probably うまき (UMAKI) is the best choice for first try.

うまみちょうみりょう (うまみ調味料) / UMAMICHOMIRYO

It’s Japanese seasoning that can add umami (delicious taste) to dishes. Ajinomoto is the most famous brand for this type of seasoning.

うみぶどう (海ぶどう) / UMIBUDO

It’s Japanese term for “green caviar” or “sea grapes”.
This is a type of seaweed, and known as a Okinawan local food among Japanese people. The biggest feature of this is the popping texture like the caviar.
うみぶどう (UMIBUDO) can be added to various dishes, for example, the topping for cold tofu and natto, ingredient in salad and miso soup, etc.

うめしゅ (梅酒) / UMESHU

It’s Japanese term for “plum wine”.
It’s made from plum fruits, sugar, and distilled liquor. It has refreshing smell of plum and tastes very sweet.

うめぼし (梅干し) / UMEBOSHI

It’s Japanese term for “salted plum”.
To make うめぼし (UMEBOSHI), you make salted plums first, then add red shiso leaves, and finally dry in the sun. It’s very salty so usually it’s eaten with rice.

うり (瓜) / URI

A general term for plants of the Cucurbitaceae family that make fruits edible. The famous and popular Japanese うり (URI) are cucumber, kabocha squash, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

うるちまい (うるち米) / URUCHIMAI

It’s another name for white rice, in other words, it’s ordinary rice.
The rice that is used for making rice cake is called mochigome in Japanese which is glutinous rice. So, うるちまい (URUCHIMAI) is used to distinguish ordinary rice from glutinous rice.