Weeknight Meal Ideas: Easy Japanese recipes for a quick, reliable dinner you can make for the family at the end of a long day.
What do you make on those nights when you’re tired but still just want something nourishing & healthy for the family? If you love a quick dinner like I do on most days, here are some family-friendly Japanese recipes that are tasty yet easy-to-follow.
These recipes are perfect for weeknight meals as they can be prepped in less than 1 hour! They are my go-to rotations, so I hope they will help you plan your meals as well.
15 Easy Japanese Recipes for Weeknight Meals
1. Easy Fried Rice (Gluten-Free) 基本のチャーハン
When comes to a weeknight meal, we can always count on fried rice for a fool-proof dinner. Bursting with flavor, this classic Fried Rice recipe with ham, egg, and green onion is a delicious one-pan meal that you can whip up under 20 minutes.
2. Teriyaki Salmon 鮭の照り焼き
This easy homemade Teriyaki Salmon is cooked in soy sauce, sake, and mirin. If you buy salmon as a whole fish, you can fillet it the Japanese way. It helps to cook faster and absorb the flavors quickly. Not a seafood fan? Try Chicken Teriyaki or Beef Teriyaki.
3. Yaki Udon 焼うどん
Fat, chewy udon noodles stir-fried with vegetables and your choice of protein, this Yaki Udon is a keeper for the noodle lovers. It’s a great meal to use up your leftover too.
4. Easy Wafu Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus 海老とアスパラの和風パスタ
Pasta is always a good call for a weeknight meal. Seasoned with soy sauce and flavorful dashi broth, this Japanese-style wafu pasta with shrimp and asparagus is a delicious option than the usual tomato-based pasta.
5. Stir Fry Vegetables 野菜炒め
Loaded with plenty of vegetables and your choice of protein, this Stir fry Vegetables (Yasai Itame) makes a well-rounded weeknight meal. Not only everything comes together in less than 30 minutes, but it’s also a great way to use up any leftovers.
6. Omurice (Omelette Rice) オムライス
A really popular Japanese Yoshoku (Japanese fusion) recipe, Omurice is one of my children’s favorite meals. The rice is pan-fried with ketchup and chicken, then wrapped in a thin layer of egg. When there is leftover rice, it’s a perfect single-plate meal to prepare the next day.
7. Salmon in Foil 鮭のホイル焼き
This Salmon in Foil recipe is packed with Omega-3 Fatty Acids from the fish and healthy nutrients from the vegetables. A healthy yet flavorful dinner dish that we all need to power through a busy week. It’s incredibly easy and versatile to make too.
8. Soba Noodle Salad 蕎麦サラダ
Enjoyed chilled or at room temperature, this Soba Noodle Salad makes a healthy choice when you are looking for a quick, light meal.
9. Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Bowl) 親子丼
Oyakodon is one of the easy dishes I learned at the home-making class in middle school. If you have older children at home, this would be a fun dish to teach them. It’s a classic Donbori dish, where the beaten egg and chicken pieces are simmered in sweet soy dashi sauce and served over white rice.
10. Gyudon (Beef Bowl) 牛丼
Gyudon (Beef Bowl) is comfort food for the Japanese. Simple ingredients such as onion, sliced beef, and eggs, are tossed into a hot frying pan for a quick cook. In 15 minutes, you’d get to serve some delicious rice bowl for dinner.
11. Baked Tonkatsu 揚げないとんかつ
When you feel like you’re stuck in the usual dinner rut, this Baked Tonkatsu (Japanese pork cutlet) will shake things up a little. The best part is you don’t need to deep fry the meat to achieve the crispy crust and tender, juicy texture. You can also try Crispy Baked Chicken or Crispy Salmon in replace of pork.
12. Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆腐
Craving for some spicy food on the weeknight? This Japanese-version of Mapo Tofu is a lot milder than the Sichuan-style mapo tofu, yet it is flavorful enough that even both adults & children can enjoy it.
13. Honey Soy Sauce Chicken はちみつ醤油チキン
Marinated in sake, soy sauce, and honey, these Honey Soy Sauce Chicken can be prepped the night before. When you’re ready to cook, pop them into the oven while you prepare a simple salad or miso soup to serve along.
14. Ginger Pork (Shogayaki) 豚の生姜焼き
Although you can find Ginger Pork (Shogayaki) at most of the Japanese restaurants in the US, it is a simple dish to make at home. You want to use thinly sliced pork loin or sukiyaki meat to cook. The sweet garlic ginger sauce makes it a delicious savory dish to go with shredded cabbage.
15. Yakisoba Recipe 焼きそば
A classic Japanese stir-fried noodles – Yakisoba. You can literally add any ingredients to make your own version of Yakisoba.
MORE EASY JAPANESE RECIPES?
- 15 Easy Japanese Salad Recipes
- 26 Pantry-Led Japanese Recipes Everyone Can Make
- Meal Prep DIY Bowls
- Under 30-Minutes Recipes
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Hi Namiko, My husband and I are planning to serve a “Midnight Diner” meal to friends who are also fans of the series. We’d like to make the food ahead of time. What dishes can you suggest that we can prepare a day or two in advance? We wish to keep it simple. Thank you. Carol
Hi Carol! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
Here is a list of the dish that you can prepare it ahead of times from “Midnight Diner menu”:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tonteki/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/chicken-cheese-katsu/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/yakisoba-pan/ (Prepare the yakisoba ahead of time and make Yakisoba pan on the day of gathering.)
https://www.justonecookbook.com/egg-tofu/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/sauteed-yam/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/curry-ramen/ (Prepare the Curry ahead of time and make the ramen noodle on the day of gathering)
We also recommend this hot pot. You can prepare the Dashi and chop up the veggies ahead of time and cook together with friends!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/hot-pot-for-one
Just in case, here is the link to the all Midnight Diner recipe in our website:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/netflix-midnight-diner-tokyo-stories-season-1-recipes/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/netflix-midnight-diner-tokyo-stories-season-2-recipes/
We hope this helps! Happy Cooking!
Some Japanese soup Recipes
Hi Manendra, Are you looking for soup recipes?
Here is a link to soup and stew recipes: https://www.justonecookbook.com/categories/recipes/soup-stew/
or you can search by the categories at the top of the website. Happy Cooking!
I’ve done salmon in foil and gyudon already, and they are both magnificent! Now I can’t wait to try the rest and thank you so much for these recipes.
Hi Dennis! Thank you very much for trying many recipes from our site. 🙂
We are glad to hear you enjoyed them all! Thank you for your kind feedback.
Hi I recently had a dish with Tokyo sauce but can’t find anything online about it. It was sweet with sesame seeds. Can you help me please
Hi Sarah, Tokyo sauce…. Hum… We never heard about it. Sorry, we wish we could be of more help.😞
Thank you very much. I really like Japanese foods,but wasn’t getting any trustworthy sites for learning it. You truly helped me. 😀
Hi Zahrin, Welcome to our website! We hope you enjoy many easy home-cooked Japanese recipes from our website! Enjoy!😊
Great recipes! Recently signed up and am enjoying all your info! I lived in HI for many years and there are many many choices of restaurants for Asian cuisines!
One of my favorite dishes when going to a new Japanese restaurant is Katsudonburi. If they can do that well I’ll be back!
Thanks for the info on the different shoyus! I’d learned the Japanese shoyu is best for marinating (as it’s saltier) and Chinese shoyu is sweeter. For a “middle-of-the-road shoyu” Aloha Shoyu is very popular there. So it’s illuminating to learn more from a pro!
There’s a tremendous range of noodles and I’d like to learn more about which ones are best adapted to different sauces/recipes.
Domo arigato!
Hi Barbara!
Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear you learned about Shoyu from our website.
Here is the post link for many noodles if you would like to check it out.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/categories/pantry/noodles-wrappers/
We hope this is helpful too.☺️
Thanks! I am very happy with your Japanese recipes and cooking tricks.
I tried to cook “Japanese style” memorising the food I liked by traveling in Japan.
The Asian food selling supermarkets confused me by their possibilities and I offen made the wrong choise.
The knowledge of buying the right product and your instructive videos are of graet help.
Being organised before starting the cooking is an important part of the game.
Hi Yvonne,
Thank you very much for trying many of Nami’s recipes and for your kind words.
We are so glad to hear Nami’s Youtube videos are helpful.
Thank you for writing to us!😊
I am Vegan… I liked some of your dishes like Yaki Udon and Yaki Soba which are Vegetarian dishes…
I like to learn the Vegetarian Sushi and Uramaki… if you have the recipe.
Thank you for your recipe’s Nami San💝🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🙏
Hi Camani! Thank you for trying my recipes. I try to organize vegan and vegan adaptable recipes here.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/vegan/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/vegan-adaptable/
I love sara udon and am wondering which store is carrying this crispy noodles in the States. Thank you.
Hi Dzung! I use Myojo brand Sara Udon package (that comes with crispy noodles and sauce, but I only use noodles). It can be purchased from Japanese grocery stores.
Thank you for making Japanese cooking easy to understand and make.
Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Prima! 🙂
Thank you for this series. My family loves Japanese cuisine, but I have always found it too intimidating to try cooking myself. Thanks to this series, my family thinks I am a star by making restaurant style dishes they love. Thanks so much.
Hi Arlene! Aww, I’m so happy to hear that. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me. I’ll be happy to help you! I’m glad you are cooking Japanese food at your own home! Your family is so lucky to have you!
I just purchased your just one cookbook ebook but can’t find the download on my iPad anywhere. Can you please tell me how to retrieve the download? I can’t wait to cook some of these recipes as I am half Japanese and love their food. Thank you so much.
Hi Carol! Thank you so much for purchasing my eBook! I just checked… your PayPal account is different from this email you used (it’s Gmail account). The ebook has been automatically sent to the buyer PayPal account. Let me know if you have trouble downloading it. I’ll be happy to help!
Thank you again! 🙂
Hi Carol! I spoke too quickly; I was looking at someone’s account (who has a similar name!) and I didn’t read your message carefully. Let me email you separately.
Thank-you for making these recipes so easy to follow and delicious! After watching anime I am always craving Japanese food – I am going to make Yakisoba and Cripsy Salmon tonight 🙂
Hi Illy! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. Happy to hear you enjoy eating Japanese food. 🙂 Hope you liked the yakisoba and crispy salmon recipes. xoxo
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes, Nami! These are perfect for when I’m craving Japanese food after working late and translating tons of emails.
色々教えてくれてありがとうございます!本当になみさんのお世話になっています。
-Tristan
Hi Tristan! I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. こちらこそ、ご丁寧に優しいメッセージを下さりありがとうございます!
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