Flavorful, healthy, and easy to prepare! Check out these delicious Japanese takeout recipes you can make at home!

Dumplings (Gyoza)

Serves 10 | Prep. time 30 minutes | Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce) package wonton wrappers
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¼ cup water

For filling

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 cups cabbage, chopped
• ½ small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• ¼ cup carrot, chopped
• 1 cup minced pork (minced chicken, beef, or seafood may also be used)
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat.
2. In the sesame oil, sauté the cabbage, onion, garlic, and carrot until the cabbage is tender and translucent.
3. Add the pork and egg, stirring constantly. Cook until the pork is browned. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
4. To make the dumplings, place about a tablespoon of filling on the center of each wrapper and fold it in half to enclose the filling. Moisten the inner edges and pinch to seal.
5. In a large skillet, preheat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
6. Fry the gyoza until lightly browned (about 1 minute per side).
7. Add the water and cover the skillet. Let the dumplings steam until almost all the liquid has evaporated.
8. Serve with soy dipping sauce or spicy soy dipping sauce.

 

 

California Maki

Serves 8-10 | Prep. time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 sheets nori
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut lengthwise into long strips
• 2-3 avocados, halved, pitted and cut into thin strips
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Imitation crab sticks, cut lengthwise
• Wasabi
• Sesame seeds, if desired

Directions

1. Sprinkle the avocado with lemon juice to prevent browning.
2. Follow the steps for making sushi for an inside-out roll, up to step 3.
3. For filling, arrange the strips of avocado and cucumber along the center of the rice, and top with crab meat.
4. Proceed with succeeding steps up to step 5 (do not cut yet)
5. Wrap the plastic wrap around the roll and set aside until ready to cut. Refrigerate for longer storage. Repeat with remaining nori sheets to make additional rolls.
6. Roll in sesame seeds if desired. Cut into 6-8 rolls as desired.
7. Serve with wasabi, soy sauce, and sushi ginger.

 

 

Mixed Vegetable Tempura

Serves 3-4 | Prep. time 20 minutes | Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound assorted vegetables such as:
• Broccoli, cauliflower, or green beans, cut in 3-inch lengths
• Sweet potatoes, sliced ¼-inch thick
• Zucchini or eggplant, cut into 3-inch strips
• Carrots, sliced ¼-inch thick
• Others: onions, bell pepper, squash, lotus root, mushrooms
• Basic tempura batter
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• Oil for frying
• Tempura sauce or mentsuyu for dipping

Basic tempura batter

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
• ½ teaspoon white pepper (optional)
• 1 cup ice-cold water

Tempura sauce

• 1 cup Dashi stock
• ¼ cup mirin
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon sugar
• ¼ cup daikon radish, peeled and grated

Directions

1. Whisk ingredients for the batter in a bowl and keep it refrigerated until use (cold batter contributes to getting crispier results).
2. To make the tempura sauce, mix the ingredients, except the daikon, together in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Remove it from heat and let it cool down. Add grated the daikon and set aside.
3. Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl.
4. Dip the vegetables in the cool batter.
5. Next, dip them in breadcrumbs, making sure to pack them well.
6. Heat up the oil in a wok or fryer, at least 2 inches deep.
7. While heating the oil, dip the vegetables in the batter and breadcrumbs a second time.
8. Drop the vegetables into the hot oil one by one. Do not crowd.
9. Cook until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes), and drain on paper towels.
10. Serve with tempura sauce or mentsuyu for dipping.

 

 

Hotpot Beef with Noodles and Vegetables (Sukiyaki)

Serves 4 | Prep. time 10 minutes | Cooking time 3-5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef tenderloin or sirloin, very thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons beef suet, oil, or butter
• 1 package shirataki (konjac yam) or cellophane noodles, washed, drained, and cut into 3-inch pieces
• 8 shiitake mushrooms, destemmed
• 1 enoki mushroom, trimmed
• 1 leek, cut into 2-inch pieces
• ½ head Chinese cabbage, cut into 2-inch pieces, stalks separated from leaves
• 1 bunch chrysanthemum leaves (shungiku); or other leafy greens; torn from stalk
• 1 grilled tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 pasteurized eggs (fresh and preferably free-range)

Sukiyaki sauce

• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons sake
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• ¾ cup water

Directions

1. Follow the packaging instructions for the noodles. Some may need to be parboiled to remove an offensive odor. Submerge them in cold water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Immediately remove the noodles from the boiling water, drain and submerge in cool water. Drain again.
2. To pasteurize your own eggs, submerge them in water at 140°F for 4 minutes (This is optional if you are sure that the eggs are fresh and you are used to eating raw egg). Remove them from the hot water.
3. Combine the sukiyaki sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set it aside.
4. Preheat an electric pan or skillet on the table for cooking ingredients. The meal is served hot, served straight from the pan.
5. Arrange all ingredients on a large serving platter beside the skillet.
6. Add the suet, oil, or butter to the skillet and fry the beef just until it is no longer pink.
7. Push the beef to one side and pour in 2-3 tablespoons of sukiyaki
8. When the sauce begins to boil, add the other ingredients. Traditionally, these are arranged in the skillet in an orderly manner; bunching each type of ingredient in a section of the pan.
9. Start adding the tofu, mushrooms, and cabbage stalks.
10. Next, add the noodles, making sure to place them away from the beef as the shirataki can cause the beef to toughen. Add the leafy greens and onions last, and more sauce, if needed.
11. Place a lid over the skillet and let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
12. Meanwhile, crack one egg per person in a bowl and beat.
13. Sukiyaki is eaten by dipping ingredients from the hotpot in raw beaten egg.
14. Make sure the liquid does not dry up. Add more sauce or hot water to the pan when needed.
15. Leftover sukiyaki broth is traditionally saved to make udon.

 

 

Chicken Teriyaki

Serves 4 | Prep. time 5 minutes | Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 green onions, green and white parts, sliced

Teriyaki sauce

• ¾ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

For slurry (optional)

• 2 teaspoons water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions

1. Mix the teriyaki sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Set it aside.
2. Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board, smooth side facing up. Cover with plastic wrap and pound to flatten them to ½-inch thickness. Cut each piece in half. Season evenly with freshly ground pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until golden brown (about 3 to 4 minutes on each side).
4. Pour the teriyaki sauce mixture over the chicken. Do not stir. Allow the chicken to absorb the sauce as it cooks. Flip the chicken pieces over, if needed. Ensure that the chicken is evenly cooked and that there are no pink areas, especially inside.
5. Remove the chicken pieces with tongs and transfer them to a serving dish.
6. Heat the sauce in the pan for 3 to 5 minutes longer for a thin sauce.
7. For a thicker sauce, whisk together the slurry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk the sauce while pouring in the slurry. Keep mixing for about 30 seconds until thickened. Remove from the heat.
8. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
9. Best served with steamed rice.

 

 

Deep-Fried Breaded Pork Cutlet (Katsudon)

Serves 2 | Prep. time 5 minutes | Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 servings steamed white rice, freshly cooked
• Green onion, chopped, for garnish

For sauce

• ½ cup dashi stock
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons mirin

Katsu or breaded cutlet 

• 2 pieces boneless pork chops, pounded to ⅛-inch thickness (may be substituted with chicken breast or thigh, or beef)
• Salt and pepper
• Flour, for dusting
• 1 egg, beaten (for coating)
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• Cooking oil, for frying

Directions

1. Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Set aside.

For breaded cutlets

2. Place the egg and panko in separate shallow bowls.
3. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Dust lightly with flour.
4. Heat up a skillet or wok and add the oil. Test if the oil is hot enough by dropping in a pinch of panko. The panko should sizzle.
5. Dip the pork in the egg, followed by the panko. Press down on the breadcrumbs to make sure they stick well to the pork.
6. Fry the breaded pork until golden brown (about 5 minutes on both sides).
7. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Cut the pork into ½-inch strips, but not all the way to the other one edge, so you can still pick it up as a whole piece.

For sauce and to assemble Katsudon

8. Heat up another wok or skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil that is used to fry the cutlets.
9. Add the onions and sauté until slightly caramelized.
10. Pour the sauce over the onions and bring it to a boil.
11. Arrange the cutlets over the onions.
12. Reduce the heat to low, and pour the eggs over the meat. Do not stir. At this point, fill 2 donburi bowls (or regular bowls) with hot rice and set them aside.
13. When the egg has set, turn off the heat.
14. Place the cutlets with sauce, onions, and egg over steamed rice and garnish with green onion.

 

 

***These recipes and more can be found in Lina Chang’s Japanese Takeout Cookbook Favorite Japanese Takeout Recipes to Make at Home: Sushi, Noodles, Rice, Salads, Miso Soups, Tempura, Teriyaki, and More. To get your copy, click on the cover below or click here.

To download a copy of the featured recipes, click here.