Japanese Side Dish Recipes

Japanese side dishes help build a meal around ichiju-sansai, meaning "one soup, three dishes." Alongside rice and pickles, you serve a soup, a main dish, and two smaller sides, all eaten together. Each dish adds something different, so you can move between flavors and textures as you eat.

The sides themselves can be very simple: greens dressed with ground sesame, or vegetables briefly steeped in seasoned dashi. I think about what will complement the main dish when choosing them. If you're deciding what to serve with tempura, a tangy cucumber sunomono adds a refreshing crunch between bites. These recipes give you plenty of ways to bring that contrast to the table.