Learn Real Japanese Through Cooking | 3 Homemade Japanese Dishes — Kitchen Vocab for Beginners

📘 You will learn: Real kitchen vocabulary, cooking steps, and everyday expressions used while cooking Japanese food at home 🎯 Japanese level: Beginner – Upper Beginner ✅ Best for: Learners curious about Japanese home cooking and practical kitchen vocabulary

What You'll Learn

• Real Japanese cooking vocabulary used in an actual home kitchen
• How to describe food preparation steps in Japanese
• Natural expressions like 「冷蔵庫で少し寝かせます」 and 「失敗しながら上達しています」
• Budget-friendly Japanese ingredient tips from a real household
• A tour of common Japanese kitchen appliances

Today's Expressions

Today's Recipes

① Tandoori-Style Chicken Tender (ささみのタンドリーチキン風)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Chicken tenders — 250–300g
• Plain yogurt — 3 tbsp
• Salt — 1/3–1/2 tsp
• Garlic — 1 clove (or garlic paste)
• Curry powder — 1 tsp (Japanese twist: swap for miso — 2 tsp)
• Black pepper — a pinch
• Oil — 1 tsp

How to make it:

1. Slice chicken tenders diagonally or into bite-sized pieces.
2. Mix all marinade ingredients together.
3. Place chicken and marinade in a ziplock bag, massage well. Rest 15–30 min (overnight = extra tender).
4. Wipe off excess yogurt, cook in toaster oven or pan until fully cooked through.

---

② Japanese Simmered Dish / Nimono (和風煮物)

Serves 2–3

Ingredients:

• Burdock root (ごぼう) — 1/2 stalk
• Daikon — 1/3 of a large daikon (leaves included!)
• Enoki mushrooms (えのき) — 1/2 pack
• Shirataki (白滝) — 1 pack
• Dashi pack (出汁パック) — 1
• Water — 400ml
• Soy sauce — 2 tbsp / Mirin — 2 tbsp / Cooking sake — 2 tbsp

How to make it:

1. Scrub burdock root clean, cut diagonally (斜め切り).
2. Cut daikon into large random chunks (乱切り). Keep the leaves — they're delicious!
3. Briefly parboil shirataki, then cut into shorter pieces with scissors.
4. Add all ingredients to pot. Bring to boil, then simmer on low with lid on for 20–30 min.

---

③ Japanese-Style Tofu Salad (豆腐サラダ)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Green leaf lettuce (サニーレタス) — 1/4 head
• Firm tofu (もめん豆腐) — 1/2 block
• Kimchi — to taste
• Nori seaweed — a few sheets
• Kombu tsuyu (昆布つゆ) — 1–2 tbsp
• Toasted sesame seeds — 1 tsp

How to make it:

1. Wash lettuce and tear into pieces by hand. Place in bowl.
2. Add firm tofu on top, then pile on kimchi.
3. Sprinkle sesame seeds and drizzle kombu tsuyu.
4. Tear nori by hand and scatter on top. Done!

---

Full Transcript (Japanese)

Bilingual Script

Play the video above — the current line highlights automatically. Click any line to jump to that moment.

Key Expressions from This Video

乱切り — random large chunks (a cutting technique for root vegetables) 例：大根を乱切りにします。大きめに切ると旨味が出る気がします。

斜め切り — diagonal cuts 例：ごぼうは斜め切りにします。ネギにもよく使われます。

石づきを切る — to cut off the base/root of mushrooms 例：えのきの石づきを切り落とします。

大さじ〜杯 — tablespoon(s) of... 例：醤油を大さじ3杯入れます。

下処理をする — to prep / pre-process ingredients 例：白滝は下処理をしてから鍋に入れます。

冷蔵庫で寝かせる — to let it rest / marinate in the fridge 例：調味料がお肉に馴染んできたので、冷蔵庫で少し寝かせます。

煮込みます — to simmer / to stew 例：鍋を弱火でじっくり煮込みます。

時短になります — it saves time 例：冷凍食品を使うと時短になります。

もったいない — wasteful; a shame to throw away 例：食べられる部分を捨ててしまうのはもったいないです。

いただきます — expression of thanks before eating 例：では、早速いただきます！

Vocabulary Notes

ごぼう（ごぼう） burdock root; an earthy, fibrous root vegetable popular in Japanese cooking 例：ごぼうは斜め切りにして鍋に入れます。

白滝（しらたき） shirataki noodles; thin konjac noodles, nearly calorie-free 例：白滝は下処理をしてから使います。

出汁（だし） dashi; Japanese soup stock made from kombu, bonito, etc. 例：出汁パックを使うと簡単においしい出汁が取れます。

みりん（みりん） mirin; a sweet rice wine used to add sweetness and gloss to Japanese dishes 例：みりんを大さじ2杯入れます。

もめん豆腐（もめんどうふ） firm tofu; denser and more textured than silken tofu 例：もめん豆腐をサラダの上にのせます。

ささみ（ささみ） chicken tender; a lean cut of chicken breast 例：ささみはタンパク質が多く、節約にもなる食材です。

石づき（いしづき） the root/base of a mushroom that is tough and inedible, removed before cooking 例：えのきの石づきを切り落とします。

乱切り（らんぎり） irregular/random cutting technique; pieces are cut into large, uneven shapes 例：大根を乱切りにして鍋に入れます。

斜め切り（ななめぎり） diagonal cutting technique; creates oval-shaped slices with more surface area 例：ごぼうやネギは斜め切りにすることが多いです。

下処理（したしょり） pre-processing / prep work done before the main cooking 例：白滝は下処理をするのが一般的です。

まな板（まないた） cutting board 例：まな板の上に大根をのせて、包丁で切ります。

冷凍食品（れいとうしょくひん） frozen food; widely used in Japan for convenience and time-saving 例：冷凍食品を使うと時短になります。

Comprehension Quiz

Q1. What 3 dishes does Ren make in this video?

Q2. What does Ren do after massaging the seasonings into the chicken?

Q3. Which part of the daikon does Ren also use in the nimono, and why?

Q4. Why does Ren wash the shirataki before putting it in the pot?

Fill-in-the-Blank Practice

Q1. 調味料がお肉に馴染んできたので、冷蔵庫で（　　　）。

Since the seasoning has soaked into the meat, I'll let it rest in the refrigerator for a bit.

Q2. 僕は料理をあまりしてこなかったので、日々、（　　　）ながら上達しています。

Since I haven't cooked much before, I've been improving day by day while repeatedly making mistakes.

Q3. えのきの根っこの部分を、（　　　）と言います。

The root part of enoki mushrooms is called the "ishizuki" (石づき).

Q4. このサイズの計量スプーンを、日本では（　　　）と言います。

In Japan, a measuring spoon of this size is called a "tablespoon" (大さじ).

Reverse Challenge: English → Japanese 🔄

The harder direction — producing Japanese from meaning. This is what builds real conversation ability.

Q1. How do you say "I'll let it rest in the fridge for a bit" in Japanese?

Q2. How would you say "I've been improving day by day through trial and error" in Japanese?

Q3. What is the Japanese word for the hard root base of mushrooms like enoki?

Q4. In Japanese, what is a tablespoon-sized measuring spoon called?

Conversation Practice

Practice topic 1: Describe a dish you know how to cook. What ingredients do you use?

〜を作ります。材料は〜です。

Practice topic 2: Do you ever cook Japanese food? What's the most interesting ingredient you've tried?

〜を使ったことがあります。

Practice topic 3: Do you think you improve through trial and error in cooking, or do you prefer following recipes exactly?

料理は〜しながら上達しています。

AI Conversation Practice Prompt

Feedback Practice

よくある間違いと自然な言い換え

❌ 冷蔵庫に寝させます ✅ 冷蔵庫で寝かせます

❌ ハサミで切れます ✅ ハサミで切ります

❌ もったいないです、だから使います ✅ もったいないので、しっかり使います

❌ 味を入れます ✅ 味を染み込ませます

もう一度言ってみましょう

1. 調味料がお肉に馴染んできたので、冷蔵庫で少し寝かせます。
2. 僕は料理をあまりしてこなかったので、日々、失敗を繰り返しながら上達しています。
3. 野菜の皮など、食べることができる部分を捨ててしまうのはもったいないと感じます。

Summary

In this video, you saw real Japanese home cooking in action — three different dishes, each with its own vocabulary and techniques. Key takeaways:

• 乱切り and 斜め切り are two common Japanese cutting techniques worth remembering
• 下処理 (ingredient prep) is an important step in Japanese cooking
• 失敗しながら上達しています is a naturally humble and encouraging expression — great for talking about any skill you're working on

---

🍳 Try It in Japanese

Today's challenge: Describe one dish you know how to make. Try using:

• 〜を使います — I'll use...
• 冷蔵庫で少し寝かせます — Let it rest in the fridge

💬 What Japanese food would you like to try cooking at home? Leave a comment below!

👉 Next step: AI Conversation Practice · Related: Evening Routine in Japan