Explaining Japanese food and drink
Part One
Imagine your partner is a foreign guest who arrived in your country for the first time yesterday and has little experience eating your country’s food. Choose places from below that you think might be suitable for a foreign guest. Suggest going there to them, then explain what each place and its food is like. Do they like your ideas?
Akachochin bar
Champon restaurant
Chankonabe restaurant
Conveyor belt sushi bar
Donburi restaurant/ Gyudon restaurant
Family restaurant
Fugu restaurant
Geisha bar
Genghis Khan restaurant
Hanami party
High ball bar
Izakaya
Karaoke box
Kushiyaki restaurant
Monjayaki restaurant
Motsuyaki restaurant
Nomihoudai
Oden restaurant
Okinawan bar/ restaurant
Okonomiyaki restaurant
Ryotei
Sake bar
Shabu-shabu restaurant
Shochu bar
“Snack”/ Mama-san bar
Soba restaurant
Tachinomiya bar
Teishokuya
Tempura restaurant
Tonkatsu restaurant
Tonkotsu ramen restaurant
Wagashiya
Yakatabune
Yakiniku restaurant
Yakitori restaurant
Yatai
Youshoku restaurant
Are any of the places above unsuitable for entertaining foreign guests? Why?
Explaining Japanese food and drink Part Two
Roleplay a conversation with the same foreign guest who is in your country for the first time, this time imagining you are already inside a Japanese-style restaurant or bar and this is its menu. Make recommendations for what your partner should try, explaining what all the things are. Only use words that a foreign person who has only eaten a little Japanese food in their own country would understand (meaning words like “sushi” are fine).
Agedashi dofu
Basashi
Champon
Chawan mushi
Chikuwa
Chirashizushi/ Maki-zushi
Daikon salad
Edamame
Genmai
Gobo kinpira
Goya champuru
Gunkan sushi
Gyoza
Hayashi rice
Hijiki salad
Ikura
Kamaboko
Kappamaki
Karaage
Kareraisu
Konnyaku
Maguro and negi sushi
Mentaiko
Mochi
Motsuyaki
Natto
Nikujaga
Nikuman
Nori
Ochazuke
O-kayu
Omuraisu
Onigiri
O-sechi- ryori
Oyakodon
Reimen
Sashimi
Sekihan
Shabu-shabu
Shumai
Somen
Sukiyaki
Sunomono
Tamagoyaki
Tekkamaki
Temaki-zushi
Tofu
Tonjiru
Tonkatsu
Tsukemono
Udon
Umeboshi
Unagi-don
Yaki-imo
Yakiniku
Yakisoba
Yakitori
Zaru soba
Sauces and condiments
Mirin
Ponzu
Shichimi
Wasabi
Desserts
Anmitsu
Daigaku imo
Daifuku
Dango
Dorayaki
Kakigori
Karinto
Manju
Taiyaki
Drinks
Chuhai
Genmai cha
Happoshu
Hoppy
Houjicha
Matcha
Mugicha
Shochu
Umeshu
Explaining Japanese food and drink Part Three
What Japanese food matches each of the following descriptions? Try to write the names next to the descriptions without looking above first of all.
Japanese-style curry.
Japanese-style fried chicken.
Various parts of chicken and vegetables threaded on bamboo skewers and grilled over charcoal. Before cooking, it is flavoured with salt or a mild sweet soy sauce.
A fairly sweet plum liqueur.
A giant savoury pancake cooked right in front of you on a hot plate. You choose the ingredients and make it yourself.
A rice ball with fillings, sometimes wrapped in dried seaweed.
A slightly hot mixture of seven spices.
A slightly sweet Japanese omelette, usually made in thin layers and then folded together.
Barley tea, usually served cold.
Brown rice.
Chewy rice cake, made from short-grained sticky rice.
Chinese steamed pork buns.
Crispy sheets of thin seaweed.
Cucumber sushi, wrapped in dried seaweed.
Fermented soy beans, often eaten at breakfast but very much an acquired taste due to their strong smell, aftertaste and sliminess.
Fresh green soya beans, often served as a healthy snack or appetiser.
Fried breaded pork cutlets served with a spicy brown sauce.
Grilled tripe (kidneys, liver, guts, etc).
Japanese horseradish, with a green colour and very pungent taste which goes up your nose, something like English mustard.
Japanese mushrooms, often dried.
Japanese pickles, usually fairly lightly salted.
Japanese rice wine.
Japanese spirits made from ingredients such as rice, Japanese potatoes and sweet potatoes. Not usually as strong as Western spirits such as vodka. Drinkable straight, on the rocks, diluted with water, or with mixers such as oolong tea.
Large fish eggs, often served as part of sushi or on rice.
Like a kind of stew or non-spicy curry with a sauce that tastes like gravy, served on rice.
“Potstickers” – a kind of Chinese dumpling that are fried on one side, filled with minced meat and garlic.
Powdered green tea, with a somewhat or very bitter taste. Drunk as part of the Japanese tea ceremony, but nowadays more common as a flavour in other things such as ice cream.
Processed fish cake, often included in the broth of noodles.
Raw horse meat.
Rice porridge.
Seafood and vegetables are deep-fried in a crispy, light batter.
Shaved ice with sweet toppings such as strawberry syrup and condensed milk.
Slices of raw fish.
Small spicy fish eggs.
A cheap, low malt alternative to beer.
Sour pickled dried plums.
Sweet Japanese rice dumplings, often covered with a caramelly sauce.
Sweet rice wine vinegar, used as a flavouring in things such as sushi rice.
A kind of savoury custard, usually served as a side dish.
Thick white wheat noodles.
Thin, greyish noodles made of buckwheat and wheat flour. Sometimes eaten plain and cold dipped in a sauce.
Thinly sliced beef and a variety of vegetables are dipped into a bubbling broth and quickly cooked. A selection of special dipping sauces are used.
A big white radish, something like a long suede, which is often grated and eaten raw.
Bean curd.
Look at the worksheets above to help with this task, then check your answers as a class.
Find words and expressions in the descriptions above that have the meanings below. If you get stuck, try to think about which food might be described that way, then find words in that description that match these definitions.
a piece of hot flat metal that you cook on top of
a small course or snack served right at the very beginning of the meal, sometimes while still looking at the menu
an extra dish served with the main course, usually on a separate smaller plate or bowl
cooked floating in a lot of oil
hard and thin, so it breaks and crunches when you bite it
not sweet
plants from the sea
put around the outside of something
put one food briefly into another food or sauce
soft drinks such as soda water when put with alcoholic drinks to make them weaker and/ or add taste
something that most people don’t like the first time that they try it (although people who have got used to it may love it)
strong but sweet alcohol
the insides of an animal
the main ingredient of beer, similar to wheat
the opposite of strong
thin sharp pieces of wood or metal, put through food in order to cook it
things inside
things put on a dish to give it more flavour and/ or colour.
things that make up a recipe
uncooked
very strong taste or smell
water and flour plus maybe egg that things are coated in before frying
water flavoured by meat and/ or vegetables for cooking in
with no sauce
Hints
The words to match the task above are in bold below
Japanese-style curry.
Japanese-style fried chicken.
Various parts of chicken and vegetables threaded on bamboo skewers and grilled over charcoal. Before cooking, it is flavoured with salt or a mild sweet soy sauce.
A fairly sweet plum liqueur.
A giant savoury pancake cooked right in front of you on a hot plate. You choose the ingredients and make it yourself.
A rice ball with fillings, sometimes wrapped in dried seaweed.
A slightly hot mixture of seven spices.
A slightly sweet Japanese omelette, usually made in thin layers and then folded together.
Barley tea, usually served cold.
Brown rice.
Chewy rice cake, made from short-grained sticky rice.
Chinese steamed pork buns.
Crispy sheets of thin seaweed.
Cucumber sushi, wrapped in dried seaweed.
Fermented soy beans, often eaten at breakfast but very much an acquired taste due to their strong smell, aftertaste and sliminess.
Fresh green soya beans, often served as a healthy snack or appetiser.
Fried breaded pork cutlets served with a spicy brown sauce.
Grilled tripe (kidneys, liver, guts, etc).
Japanese horseradish, with a green colour and very pungent taste which goes up your nose, something like English mustard.
Japanese mushrooms, often dried.
Japanese pickles, usually fairly lightly salted.
Japanese rice wine.
Japanese spirits made from ingredients such as rice, Japanese potatoes and sweet potatoes. Not usually as strong as Western spirits such as vodka. Drinkable straight, on the rocks, diluted with water, or with mixers such as oolong tea.
Large fish eggs, often served as part of sushi or on rice.
Like a kind of stew or non-spicy curry with a sauce that tastes like gravy, served on rice.
“Potstickers” – a kind of Chinese dumpling that are fried on one side, filled with minced meat and garlic.
Powdered green tea, with a somewhat or very bitter taste. Drunk as part of the Japanese tea ceremony, but nowadays more common as a flavour in other things such as ice cream.
Processed fish cake, often included in the broth of noodles.
Raw horse meat.
Rice porridge.
Seafood and vegetables are deep-fried in a crispy, light batter.
Shaved ice with sweet toppings such as strawberry syrup and condensed milk.
Slices of raw fish.
Small spicy fish eggs.
A cheap, low malt alternative to beer.
Sour pickled dried plums.
Sweet Japanese rice dumplings, often covered with a caramelly sauce.
Sweet rice wine vinegar, used as a flavouring in things such as sushi rice.
A kind of savoury custard, usually served as a side dish.
Thick white wheat noodles.
Thin, greyish noodles made of buckwheat and wheat flour. Sometimes eaten plain and cold dipped in a sauce.
Thinly sliced beef and a variety of vegetables are dipped into a bubbling broth and quickly cooked. A selection of special dipping sauces are used.
A big white radish, something like a long suede, which is often grated and eaten raw.
Bean curd.
Suggested answers
a piece of hot flat metal that you cook on top of – hot plate
a small course or snack served right at the very beginning of the meal, sometimes while still looking at the menu – appetiser
an extra dish served with the main course, usually on a separate smaller plate or bowl – side dish
cooked floating in a lot of oil – deep fried
hard and thin, so it breaks and crunches when you bite it – crisp
not sweet – savoury
plants from the sea – seaweed
put around the outside of something – wrap
put one food briefly into another food or sauce – dip
soft drinks such as soda water when put with alcoholic drinks to make them weaker and/ or add taste – mixer
something that most people don’t like the first time that they try it (although people who have got used to it may love it) – an acquired taste
strong but sweet alcohol – liqueur
the insides of an animal – tripe
the main ingredient of beer, similar to wheat – barley
the opposite of strong – mild
thin sharp pieces of wood or metal, put through food in order to cook it – skewer
things inside – fillings
things put on a dish to give it more flavour and/ or colour – toppings
things that make up a recipe – ingredients
uncooked – raw
very strong taste or smell – pungent
water and flour plus maybe egg that things are coated in before frying – batter
water flavoured by meat and/ or vegetables for cooking in – broth
with no sauce – plain
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Related pages
Worksheets for Japanese learners of English
Teaching Social English: Interactive Classroom Activities Second Edition
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