Are you new to Just One Cookbook? Let us guide you through how to best use our website.
Just One Cookbook focuses on 3 main topics on the site.
Click the link of your interest:
Let’s take a look at each topic below.
1. Recipes
★ Looking for a Specific Recipe or Inspiration?
You can browse our recipe collection in 4 different ways.
- Search Box on the menu bar – enter the recipe name or ingredient
- Recipe Menu Dropdowns – pick the topic of your interest
- Recipe Filter – narrow down your choice
- Recipe Index – pick the topic of your interest
We also share:
- Kitchen and Cooking Tips
- Japanese Ingredients (with pictures!)
My recipes include detailed instructions with step-by-step photos and a video tutorial. I focus on sharing with you the real flavors of Japanese cuisine.
If you prefer video tutorials, do visit our YouTube channel!
★ Interested in Learning How to Make a Basic Japanese Meal?
If you have never cooked Japanese food before or still new to the cuisine, you’re at the right place!
There are a lot of recipes to explore, but let’s start from the basic.
For a typical Japanese meal, we serve steamed rice, miso soup, pickled vegetable, main dish, and 1-2 side dishes. This style is called Ichiju Sansai.
I will show you the steps in preparing a very basic Japanese meal at home. Are you ready? Let’s’ jump in.
Step 1: Get Essential Japanese Ingredients
Stock up on these 26 ingredients to cook Japanese food. If you haven’t decided what to cook yet, then start with these basic 6 condiments.
Not sure where to find Japanese/Asian ingredients?
Check this list, where our readers helped create this directory. You may help us with your local shops if it is not listed.
If you can’t find Japanese ingredients locally, you can shop online or on Amazon.
You can also browse my pantry page to learn more.
Step 2: Make Perfect Steamed Rice
Rice is the fundamental of Japanese cuisine (you can read more about it here). So it’s important to learn how to choose rice and make good rice.
Choose your cooking equipment to make perfect rice:
Step 3: Make Dashi (Japanese Soup Stock)
Whenever we serve rice, we always serve it with miso soup. Miso soup is made of dashi (Japanese soup stock) and miso (fermented soybean paste), both of which are included in the 6 essential Japanese condiments.
To make miso soup, let’s make dashi first. If you want to learn more about dashi, click here.
Here are a few ways to make Dashi:
- Dashi Powder (easy and quick, but not so good)
- Dashi Packet (easy, quick, and decent taste)
- Dashi from Scratch (take 20 minutes, excellent taste)
- Vegan Dashi
Step 4: Make Miso Soup
Now that you’ve made dashi, you are ready to make miso soup.
- Basic Miso Soup (with video)
- Vegan Miso Soup
- Tonjiru (Pork & Vegetable Miso Soup) (with video)
- Kenchinjiru (Vegetable Miso Soup)
Step 5: Make the Main Dish
Today, for a basic Japanese meal, let’s prepare an easy teriyaki dish with a few of the 6 condiments you already purchased. Want to make different dishes? Browse our Main Dish category for inspiration.
- Teriyaki Salmon (with video)
- Teriyaki Chicken (with video)
- Teriyaki Beef
- Teriyaki Tofu
Step 6: Make 1-2 Side Dishes
Side dishes should be vegetable-focused. For a beginner, I recommend preparing one non-cooked dish (like a salad) and one cooked dish (like simmered dish).
If you’re not sure where to begin, here are my recommendations.
- Spinach Salad with Sesame Dressing (Gomaae) (with video)
- Broccoli Blanched with Sesame Oil
- 4 Easy Soy Sauce Pickle (with video)
- Quick and Easy Tamagoyaki (Rolled Omelette)
Step 7: Serve!
Optional Add-ons:
This is just a quick guide on how to make a simple Japanese meal. Hope you enjoy browsing and cooking from our recipe collection.
2. Japan Travel Guides
If you are here to read our travel guides to Japan, start here. We cover the majority of popular destinations and some lesser-known areas in Japan.
By Regions
- Hokkaido Region
- Tohoku Region – (not visited yet)
- Kanto Region – Tokyo, Yokohama, Yamanashi, Hakone, Nikko
- Chubu Region – Nagoya, Kanazawa, Takayama, Toyama, Nagano, Kamikochi
- Kansai Region – Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe
- Chugoku Region – Hiroshima, Okayama
- Shikoku Region – (not visited yet)
- Kyushu and Okinawa Region
Travel Tips
- 8 Top Travel Tips for Your First-Time Visit to Japan
- 20 Things You Should Know Before Visiting Japan
- What to Do When You Lost Wallet in Japan
- Hakuba Travel and Ski Guide
3. Japanese Culture
If you love learning about Japanese culture, you’re going to enjoy reading these articles.
- Washoku 101 – Everything about Japanese Food
- Entertainment – Best Japanese Movies, What Shows to Stream, Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories Season 1 & 2 Recipes, Best Website to Learn Japanese, and more
- Dining – Japanese Dining Etiquette, Japanese Beer Guide, Japanese Ramen Guide for Beginner, Ekiben, and more
Hope you enjoy browsing Just One Cookbook!
Nami & JOC Team
