Random Japanese Food Generator

Press for a Japanese dish to cook or order, with what goes into it.

Random Japanese Food Generator

  1. Kinpira goboThin sticks of burdock and other roots, stir-fried and braised in sweet soy.
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How it works

This random Japanese food generator picks one of 61 dishes, from rice bowls and sushi to ramen, tempura and taiyaki, with a line on what each is made of.

Read the full guide

Dinner tonight

Press once and cook or order what comes up. Many are quick at home: tamago kake gohan is hot rice and a raw egg, ochazuke is tea or dashi poured over rice, and hiyayakko is chilled tofu.

Rice, noodles, mains or sweets

After the first press, the list beside the button keeps the draw to rice and sushi (20 dishes), noodles (8), mains, soups and sides (23) or sweets (10). Set the count to 3 to build a whole meal.

Tips
  • Draw one from Rice and sushi, one from Mains and a miso soup, and you have a set meal.

Questions and answers

Are curry rice and gyoza really Japanese food?

They came from abroad and are now everyday Japanese food. Curry arrived from Britain in the late 19th century and is milder than Indian curry; gyoza are Japan's take on Chinese dumplings, usually pan-fried.

What is the difference between a donburi and sushi?

A donburi is a big bowl of plain steamed rice with a hot topping, such as gyudon's beef and onion. Sushi uses rice seasoned with vinegar, pressed, rolled or scattered with fish and vegetables.

Where are the dishes from?

From Wikipedia's list of Japanese dishes, read on 24 September 2026, with dorayaki from its own article. Each line is ours. Drinks and brand-name snacks are left out, so every card is a dish.

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All 61 dishes

Rice and sushi 20

  • Chahan Japanese fried rice, lighter than the Chinese dish it comes from.
  • Chirashizushi "Scattered" sushi: fish and vegetables laid over sushi rice in a bowl.
  • Curry rice Japanese curry over rice: brought from Britain in the late 19th century and much milder than Indian curry.
  • Gyudon A beef bowl: rice topped with seasoned beef and onion.
  • Inarizushi Sushi rice packed into a pouch of fried tofu simmered in sweet soy.
  • Kamameshi Rice with vegetables and chicken or seafood, baked in its own small pot.
  • Katsudon A rice bowl topped with a breaded pork cutlet and egg.
  • Makizushi Rolled sushi: rice and fillings rolled up in a sheet of nori.
  • Nigirizushi Sushi with fish or another topping pressed onto a block of rice.
  • Ochazuke Hot green tea or dashi poured over rice, with toppings such as pickled plum.
  • Omurice An omelette wrapped round ketchup-flavoured fried rice.
  • Onigiri A ball of rice with a filling in the middle.
  • Oyakodon "Parent and child" bowl: rice topped with chicken and egg.
  • Sekihan Rice cooked with azuki beans. The name means red rice.
  • Takikomi gohan Rice cooked with vegetables, mushrooms or meat, seasoned with soy sauce and dashi.
  • Tamago kake gohan Hot rice with a raw egg stirred through it.
  • Temaki Hand-rolled sushi, the nori wrapped into a cone round the rice and filling.
  • Tendon A rice bowl topped with tempura shrimp and vegetables.
  • Unadon A rice bowl topped with grilled eel.
  • Zosui Rice simmered in stock with egg, vegetables or mushrooms: a soft rice soup.
Show all 61 dishes (41 more)

Noodles 8

  • Champon Nagasaki noodles in chicken broth, heaped with seafood and vegetables.
  • Hiyashi chuka Cold noodles topped with cucumber, ham or chicken and strips of omelette.
  • Ramen Thin yellow wheat noodles in hot chicken or pork broth, with toppings.
  • Soba Thin brown buckwheat noodles, served hot or cold.
  • Somen Very thin white wheat noodles, served chilled with a dipping sauce.
  • Udon Thick white wheat noodles, usually in a hot soy and dashi broth.
  • Yakisoba Stir-fried wheat noodles, also stuffed into a bread roll as yakisoba-pan.
  • Zaru soba Cold soba noodles on a bamboo tray, dipped in sauce as you eat.

Mains, soups and sides 23

  • Agedashi tofu Cubes of fried silken tofu served in hot broth.
  • Chawanmushi A savoury egg custard steamed with chicken or seafood.
  • Edamame Boiled, salted young soybeans in the pod.
  • Goya champuru An Okinawan stir-fry of bitter melon with tofu, meat and often egg.
  • Gyoza Pan-fried dumplings, usually filled with pork, cabbage, garlic and ginger.
  • Hamburg steak A beef patty with onion and breadcrumbs, served with rice.
  • Hiyayakko Chilled tofu with a garnish on top.
  • Karaage Bite-size pieces of chicken, floured and deep-fried.
  • Kinpira gobo Thin sticks of burdock and other roots, stir-fried and braised in sweet soy.
  • Korokke Breaded croquettes of mashed potato or white sauce, deep-fried.
  • Miso soup Miso stirred into dashi, with tofu, seaweed or vegetables.
  • Natto Fermented soybeans, sticky and strong-smelling, often eaten at breakfast.
  • Nikujaga A stew of meat and potatoes flavoured with sweet soy sauce.
  • Oden Eggs, daikon, fish cakes and konnyaku stewed in light dashi: a winter food.
  • Okonomiyaki A savoury pancake with meat and vegetables, topped with a Worcestershire-style sauce or mayonnaise.
  • Shabu-shabu A hot pot: thin slices of beef and vegetables swished in stock at the table.
  • Sukiyaki Thin beef and vegetables simmered at the table in soy sauce, sugar and dashi.
  • Takoyaki Round fried balls of batter with a piece of octopus inside: a street snack.
  • Tempura Seafood or vegetables fried in a light, crisp batter.
  • Teriyaki Meat, fish or vegetables grilled with a glaze of sweetened soy sauce.
  • Tonjiru Miso soup made with pork and vegetables.
  • Tonkatsu A breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet.
  • Yakitori Grilled chicken on skewers.

Sweets 10

  • Anpan A sweet bread roll filled with red bean paste.
  • Castella A soft sponge cake from Nagasaki, first brought by Portuguese traders.
  • Dango Sweet dumplings of rice flour, related to mochi.
  • Dorayaki Two small pancakes sandwiched round red bean paste.
  • Kakigori Shaved ice with a sweet syrup poured over it.
  • Manju Sticky rice dough round a sweet bean filling.
  • Melon pan A round sweet bun under a crisp cookie crust, scored in a criss-cross.
  • Mochi Steamed sweet rice pounded into a soft, sticky cake.
  • Oshiruko A warm, sweet red bean soup with pieces of mochi.
  • Taiyaki A fish-shaped cake, usually filled with red bean paste.

How this list was compiled: Dishes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Japanese_dishes, fetched through the MediaWiki API on 2026-09-24; each line is ours, written from that list's entry. Dorayaki, which the list does not name, is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorayaki (same date). No drinks and no dish made with alcohol as its main flavour. Licence: own work