Japanese Comfort Food at Home: 15 Easy Recipes Beyond Sushi

Japanese comfort food is tipped as a major trend for 2027, and it's easy to see why: warm, savory, satisfying dishes that are often simpler to cook than you'd expect. Here's where to start.

A starter pantry

• Japanese short-grain rice
• Soy sauce
• Mirin
• Rice vinegar
• Miso paste (white or red)
• Dashi (instant granules are fine)
• Japanese curry roux blocks
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds
• Nori sheets
• Kewpie-style mayonnaise

Rice dishes

1. Japanese curry rice: onions, carrots, potatoes and meat simmered with curry roux. Mild, rich and kid-friendly.
2. Oyakodon: chicken and egg simmered in dashi, soy and mirin over rice.
3. Gyudon: thinly sliced beef and onions in a sweet-savory sauce over rice.
4. Katsudon: a crispy pork cutlet simmered with egg over rice.
5. Onigiri: rice balls with salmon, tuna-mayo or umeboshi, wrapped in nori.
6. Omurice: ketchup fried rice wrapped in a soft omelet.

Noodles

1. Miso ramen at home with store-bought noodles, a miso-based broth and a jammy egg.
2. Yaki udon: stir-fried udon with vegetables and soy.
3. Kitsune udon: udon in dashi broth with sweet fried tofu.
4. Cold soba with dipping sauce (great in summer).

Eggs and pancakes

1. Tamagoyaki: sweet-savory rolled omelet.
2. Okonomiyaki: cabbage pancake with okonomiyaki sauce and mayo.
3. Ajitama: soy-marinated soft-boiled eggs for ramen.

Soups and sides

1. Miso soup with tofu, wakame and spring onion.
2. Karaage: Japanese fried chicken marinated in soy, ginger and garlic.

Techniques that matter

• Rinse rice well and use the right water ratio. See how to cook rice.
• Don't boil miso; stir it in off the heat to keep its flavor.
• Balance soy (salty), mirin (sweet) and dashi (umami) for many sauces.

Save and explore

Japanese home cooking is huge on TikTok and YouTube. Share recipes you find to SmartChef AI to save them as written recipes in a "Japanese" collection, and ask Cook AI for substitutions if you can't find an ingredient (e.g. "mirin substitute"). See also food trends 2027.

Easy Japanese curry rice

Brown 400 g chicken thighs or beef in a little oil. Add 2 sliced onions and cook until soft, then 2 carrots and 2 potatoes in chunks. Pour in about 800 ml water (check your roux box) and simmer 15–20 minutes until tender. Turn off the heat, stir in half a box of Japanese curry roux until dissolved, then simmer gently 5 more minutes until thick. Serve over short-grain rice with pickles. Leftovers taste even better the next day.

Where to find ingredients

Most supermarkets now stock soy sauce, mirin, miso and panko. Asian grocery stores and online shops carry curry roux, dashi, Japanese rice and nori.

Frequently asked questions

What is Japanese comfort food?

Everyday home dishes like curry rice, donburi rice bowls, ramen, udon, onigiri and okonomiyaki.

What can I use instead of mirin?

A little sugar dissolved in rice vinegar or dry white wine works in a pinch.

Is Japanese curry spicy?

Usually mild to medium; roux blocks come in different heat levels.