5 Japanese Foods For The Unadventurous Eater

Tired of the usual sushi and seaweed salad, but don't know what to order? Below are five tasty Japanese dishes that will only push your buttons ever so slightly.

1. Yakitori

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Yakitori is skewered food--which can range from veggies to all sorts of meat. There are Japanese restaurants that primarily serve yakitori, and they often offer more than 30 different skewers, while other restaurants may serve just chicken yakitori. The best-tasting ones are charcoal-grilled, glazed with a special, sweet sauce.

2. Takoyaki

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Takoyaki are fried/grilled balls of batter made with green onions, pickled ginger, tempura flakes, and a small piece of octopus. If the octopus part freaks you out, just think of it as calamari. Besides, octopus is costly, so it'll most likely be a very small piece. These delicious balls are topped off with a takoyaki sauce, drizzled with mayo, and garnished with bonito shavings. If you want to be amazed, pray that you get this dish fresh because the bonito shavings will dance for you from the heat!

3. Tuna Tataki

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Tuna Tataki is thinly seared slices of tuna, drenched in ponzu sauce. It is usually served with shredded radish, fish roe, ground ginger, and scallion. How to eat it: put a little of the side ingredients and as much wasabi as you can handle on the tuna, roll it up, and pop that refreshing little thing into your mouth. It's tuna sashimi all grown up.

4. Ramen

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No, I'm not talking about the instant kind that you get from a preserved package. Think about a a pig bone broth that's milky and has been stewing for hours just for you. Now throw in chewy noodles, fatty char siu (roast pork), crunchy bamboo shoots, scallions, minced garlic, and a runny-yolked, soft-boiled egg.

5. Katsudon

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Want something more filling than Japanese tapas? Try a katsudon--a bowl of rice topped with deep-fried pork or chicken cutlet with onions, scallions, and lightly scrambled egg. A perfect entree for the conservative, starving you. Maybe next time, you'll be more daring?