The complete guide to Japanese comfort food

Dashi is a clear soup stock that forms the base of almost all Japanese recipes. It’s incredibly simple, with just kombu (dried kelp seaweed) and bonito flakes (dried, smoked tuna) boiled in water until fragrant. The main reason why dashi is used in so many recipes is because it is full of umami flavour. Vegetarian and stronger stocks made with dried sardines (niboshi dashi) are also quite common.

Ton-jiru means pig or pork in Japanese. It is a rich pork and vegetable miso soup served with tonkatsu (fried pork cutlets).

Suimono means 'things to sip', and refers to a clear soup. This is served at the end of a meal or as part of an elegant kaiseki (traditional) dinner after the starter or sashimi course and before the main.

The basic Suimono recipe is exceedingly simple, but because of its very simplicity, it is hard to master. The flavours are so delicate and subtle that it is easy to go overboard with flavouring. The ingredients are fragrant herbs such as mitsuba and the rind of citrus fruits like yuzu.

Presentation is also important for Suimono. The ingredients should be cut into beautiful shapes and ideally served in covered lacquer bowls. The wow-factor of enjoying Suimono is the fragrance that is released when the lid is lifted from the bowl.

There are a few different forms of nabe, like Shabu-shabu, a type of Japanese hot pot where vegetables and thinly sliced meat are cooked in a boiling pot of dashi. It is a traditional Japanese dish that is generally enjoyed at home because of its simplicity. Family and friends gather around the table and cook their own food on a hot-pot over a naked flame as they enjoy each other's company. The very thinly sliced meat, seafood and vegetables are cooked while you eat, and the meat should only sit in the broth for as long as it takes to say 'shabu-shabu'; just a couple of seconds.

Sukiyaki is another form of Japanese hot pot in a stew-like broth which is made of a mix of sugar, soy sauce and mirin. Vegetables, tofu, vermicelli noodles and thinly sliced beef similar to that of Shabu-shabu are cooked in the pot.

Sukiyaki is enjoyed by dipping the cooked food into a bowl of beaten raw egg. The egg must be fresh as it will be consumed uncooked. This dish is most commonly enjoyed during the wintertime.

What makes Japanese curry different from other curries is the way the sauce is cooked. It all starts with a flour-butter paste (roux), resulting in a creamy and thick curry sauce. The British introduced curry to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) when India was under the colonial rule of British Raj and Japan opened its doors to foreigners and their goods. The dish became well-liked in Japanese homes after the development of an instant powdered curry mix in the early twentieth century, and its demand took off after World War II when the curry roux was introduced in cubes. The dish then became available in supermarkets and restaurants menus in the late 1960s.

There are a wide variety of vegetables and meats used to make Japanese curry. The main vegetables are onions, carrots, and potatoes, with meats such as beef, pork, and chicken. Japanese curry is commonly served on top of rice. Katsu curry is breaded meat or tofu shallow-fried and served on a bed of rice with curry sauce on top. Curry can also be added to many other Japanese dishes like soups.

There are a few regional curries that have gained popularity throughout Japan as vacuum-sealed versions of the sauces became available. The most popular are: