Japanese Otsumami 101

So you walk into a nice Japanese Izakaya, greeted by energetic "Irasshaimase", find yourself a seat, clean your hands with the warm wet towel (oshibori) and order a glass of beer.

Great.

Now what to order...

Most of the Izakaya do not carry English translated menu, and it is often difficult to understand what it is that you are going to eat, or even what it is that you are eating!!
Most Otsumami are realtively simple dishes flavored with salt or soy sauce that stimulates your thirst.
However, there are certainly more complicated otsumami that uses parts of fish that you have never heard of or peices of meet that you never thought you would put it into your mouth.
So in this article, I woud like to give you a lesson on Otsumami -the tapas of Japan- 101, giving a basic sense of Japanese drinking food

Beginner's course: The most basic, safe, deliciou otsumami

• Edamame （えだまめ） : One of the most popular snack items in the beer party and Japanese restaurants. This simple boiled Edamame soybeans flavoured with salt goes very well with Japanese beer
• Yakitori （やきとり）: Grilled chicken speared on sticks. It is usually served with salt or tare (BBQ sauce) All different parts of the chicken, thighs, skin, liver, etc. can be used for yakitori. The most classic most loved yakitori is "Negima", a combination of chicken breast and negi scallion
• Chicken Karaage （からあげ）: Japanese chicken nugget. Quite different from the western fried chicken for flavor and texture. Should be tried
• Coroquette （コロッケ）: Japanese style coroquett made of potato and beef
• Asazuke　（浅漬け）: Japanese pickles of eggplant, cucumber, Japanese daikon radish, carrot,...
• Tempura　（天ぷら）: Some izakaya carry large variety of tempura of vegetable and seahood
• Kushikatsu　（串かつ）: Kushikatsu is a dish made up of pieces of pork and vegetables fried on a skewer after being coated in bread crumbs.
• Hamukatsu　（ハムかつ）: Fried thin peice of pork
• Potato salad　（ポテトサラダ）
• Kimchee　（キムチ）: Korean spicy pickles smothered with red hot chilly pepper
• Atsuyaki Tamago　（厚焼き玉子）: Japanese style omlet eaten with soy sauce
• Tebasaki　（手羽先）: Japanese style buffalo chicken
• Tofu　（豆腐）

Intermediate course: A little more adventurous flavor

• Oden　（おでん）: Japanese winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku (yam cake) and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth. Ingredients vary according to region and between each household. Karashi (Japanese mustard) is often used as a condiment
• Toriwasa　（鳥わさ）: Sashimi of chicken and parsley with wasabi
• Itawasa　（板わさ）: Sliced Kamaboko fishcake served with wasabi
• Shishamo　（ししゃも）: Shishamo, a smelt, is a dried fish about 15 cm long. Their season starts October 10, but the most delicious ones are caught around November 10, when the eggs in their bodies are about to hatch. Shishamo is broiled and served as an appetizer with sake. It has a simple taste, bit salty with the eggs.
• Gyu-tataki （牛たたき）: Gyu-tataki is essentially marinated thin slices of raw beef (perhaps imperceptibly seared), served with a dipping sauce. Sometimes appears on menus as "beef sashimi".

Advanced course: For the real (courageous) food lover

• Motsuni　（もつ煮）: Motsuni-Nabe is mostly pork and cow and pig intestines stewed in miso based soup, which sounds disgusting but some claim a cup of sake and a bowl of Motsuni is all about life. It's a very popular dish in Japan.
• Shiokara　（塩辛）: Fermented squid meat with ink
• Geso Karaage　（ゲソ）: Deep fried soysauce marinated Calamari usually served with mayonaise.
• Nankotsu Karaage　（軟骨から揚げ）: Fried chicken cartilage are definitely not for the middle of the road diner but the adventurous will savour the crunchy-chewy joints
• Surume　（するめ）: It is a dried squid which undergoes very complicated process of cooking. A squid gets gutted, eyes removed, split and dried. Then afterwards boiled, pressed, and dried again, after seasoning