Popular Japanese Summer Dishes - Cold Soba Noodles, Eel, and Grilled Seafood
One of the most popular dishes for a hot summer day is cold soba noodles. These buckwheat noodles are served chilled and topped with a variety of sauces and condiments, such as wasabi, seaweed, scallions, and pickles. The flavor combinations make the dish both savory and refreshing at the same time. Another traditional summer dish is eel. Grilled over a charcoal fire, this fish is full of flavor and perfect for cooling down on a hot day. And lastly, grilled seafood is also popular in Japan during the summer months. From squid to salmon to mackerel, these dishes bring out the best flavors of the season!
Japanese Summer Festival Foods - Festival-Specific Dishes
During the summer, Japan celebrates a variety of festivals known as matsuri. Many of these festivals feature unique and traditional Japanese foods. For example, during Nagasaki’s Kunchi festival, the local delicacy is sata andagi, which are small fried doughnuts made with sugar and sweet potato. There is also the famous eel dish called unagi, which is often grilled on a skewer and served with rice, soy sauce, and wasabi. And of course there are many other dishes such as takoyaki (octopus balls) and yakisoba (stir-fried noodles). All these dishes are incredibly popular at festivals in Japan - so if you ever have the chance to attend one of them, don’t miss out on trying these delicious traditional summer foods!
