Japanese Food Quiz
Sushi rice, tonkotsu, fugu and Kobe beef: 15 questions on the food of Japan.
Which ingredient must be present for a dish to count as sushi?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Vinegared rice
The word sushi refers to rice seasoned with vinegar, sugar and salt, not to raw fish. Sliced raw fish served on its own is sashimi, while sushi can be topped or filled with cooked seafood, egg, vegetables or pickles.
Sushi began as narezushi, fish preserved for months in fermented rice that was thrown away before eating; the fast Tokyo style with fresh fish appeared in the 1800s.
Miso paste is made mainly from fermented what?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Soybeans
Miso is made by fermenting cooked soybeans with salt and koji, a mould grown on rice, barley or soybeans. Longer fermentation gives darker, saltier red miso, while pale white miso is sweeter and milder.
Miso soup is often made with dashi rather than plain water, and the paste is stirred in at the end so that boiling does not dull its flavour.
Soba noodles are made from which grain?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Buckwheat
Soba are thin brownish noodles made from buckwheat flour, often with some wheat flour added for strength. They are served cold with a dipping sauce in summer or in hot broth in winter, and are eaten on New Year's Eve for long life.
Udon, the thick white chewy noodles, are made from wheat flour, and ramen noodles are wheat noodles treated with alkaline water for their springy bite.
Tonkotsu ramen gets its rich, milky broth from boiling what for many hours?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Pork bones
Tonkotsu means pork bone, and the broth is made by boiling pork bones hard for eight hours or more until the collagen and marrow emulsify into a creamy white soup. The style is most associated with Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu.
Other classic ramen styles are shoyu, seasoned with soy sauce, shio, seasoned with salt, and miso ramen, which was developed in Sapporo.
Takoyaki, the battered balls sold at street stalls in Osaka, contain pieces of which seafood?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Octopus
Takoyaki means grilled octopus, and each ball holds a chunk of boiled octopus plus pickled ginger and spring onion, cooked in a special pan of half-sphere moulds. They are brushed with sauce and topped with mayonnaise, seaweed and dancing bonito flakes.
Takoyaki was invented in Osaka in 1935 by street vendor Tomekichi Endo, and the city still sees itself as Japan's street-food capital.
Katsuobushi, the smoked and dried flakes shaved into dashi stock, is made from which fish?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Skipjack tuna
Katsuobushi is skipjack tuna, also called bonito, that has been simmered, smoked repeatedly and in the finest grades fermented with mould until it becomes a wood-hard block. Shavings steeped briefly in kombu broth make classic dashi.
Properly dried katsuobushi is among the hardest foods in the world and was traditionally shaved at home with a plane set into a wooden box.
Fugu, which Japanese chefs need a special licence to prepare, is what kind of fish?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Pufferfish
Fugu is pufferfish, whose liver, ovaries and skin contain tetrodotoxin, a nerve poison with no antidote. Since 1958 chefs have needed a licence to serve it, earned through years of apprenticeship and an exam that many candidates fail.
Fugu is traditionally sliced so thinly that the pattern on the plate shows through, and the city of Shimonoseki handles most of Japan's catch.
Chemist Kikunae Ikeda identified the taste of umami in 1908 after studying a broth made from which ingredient?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Kombu seaweed
Ikeda, a professor at Tokyo Imperial University, isolated glutamate from kombu kelp broth and named its savoury taste umami, meaning deliciousness. Scientists later confirmed that the tongue has specific receptors for glutamate.
In 1909 Ikeda and businessman Saburōsuke Suzuki founded Ajinomoto to sell monosodium glutamate as the first umami seasoning.
Genuine Kobe beef must come from cattle raised in which Japanese prefecture?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Hyōgo
Kobe beef is a protected brand for meat from Tajima-strain Japanese Black cattle born, raised and slaughtered in Hyōgo Prefecture, whose capital is the city of Kobe. The beef must also pass strict grading for marbling and quality.
Stories about Kobe cattle being massaged and fed beer are mostly myth, and only a few thousand head qualify as Kobe beef each year.
Okonomiyaki, the savoury Japanese pancake, has two famous rival styles from Osaka and which other city?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Hiroshima
Osaka-style okonomiyaki mixes cabbage and other ingredients into the batter before frying, while Hiroshima-style layers the batter, a mountain of cabbage, pork and fried noodles on the griddle, then tops it with a fried egg.
The name comes from okonomi, meaning as you like it, and yaki, meaning grilled, so the toppings are entirely up to the diner.
When a diner orders omakase at a sushi counter, what does the word literally mean?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
I leave it up to you
Omakase comes from the verb makaseru, to entrust, so the diner is telling the chef to choose every course. It lets the itamae serve whatever is best that day and build the meal in a deliberate order from lighter to richer fish.
The phrase diners say before eating, itadakimasu, means I humbly receive and is a thank you to everyone and everything that produced the meal.
Momofuku Ando launched the world's first instant noodles, Chikin Ramen, in 1958 as the founder of which company?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Nissin
Ando, working in a shed behind his house in Osaka, developed a way to flash-fry pre-cooked noodles so they could be revived with hot water. His company Nissin sold the first packets on August 25, 1958, and followed with Cup Noodles in 1971.
Ando was born in Japanese-ruled Taiwan in 1910, and a 2000 poll in Japan named instant noodles the country's greatest invention of the 20th century.
In which year did UNESCO add washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine, to its intangible cultural heritage list?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
2013
UNESCO inscribed washoku on December 4, 2013, recognising it as a social practice built around seasonal ingredients, respect for nature and New Year celebrations rather than any single dish.
Japan's entry followed French gastronomy, traditional Mexican cuisine and the Mediterranean diet, which were all added to the list in 2010.
Toyosu Market, which opened in Tokyo in 2018, replaced which famous fish market?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Tsukiji
Tokyo's wholesale fish trade moved from the ageing Tsukiji market to a purpose-built complex at Toyosu on October 11, 2018. Tsukiji's outer market of shops and sushi stalls stayed open and remains a popular tourist spot.
Toyosu's New Year tuna auction regularly makes headlines: in January 2019 a 278 kg (613 lb) bluefin sold for 333.6 million yen, about 3 million dollars.
The hot pot dish shabu-shabu takes its name from what?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
The swishing sound of meat in the broth
Shabu-shabu is named after the sound of a thin slice of beef being swished back and forth in simmering broth with chopsticks. The meat cooks in seconds and is dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce before eating.
The dish was named and popularised by the Osaka restaurant Suehiro in the 1950s, which registered shabu-shabu as a trademark.
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All Food and Drink quizzes →About the Japanese Food Quiz
Japanese cooking gave the world a fifth taste. In 1908 Tokyo chemist Kikunae Ikeda isolated glutamate from a bowl of kombu broth and named the savoury sensation umami. The same culture produced fugu chefs who train for years to serve a poisonous fish, a 1958 invention called instant ramen, and a cuisine, washoku, that UNESCO recognised as world heritage.
These 15 questions move from the basics of sushi rice, miso and soba to ramen broths, okonomiyaki rivalries and the Tsukiji to Toyosu market move, with a few deeper cuts on Kobe beef and the meaning of omakase. It suits sushi regulars, ramen obsessives and anyone planning a trip to Japan.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What topics does the Japanese Food Quiz include?
It includes sushi and sashimi basics, noodles such as soba and ramen, dashi and umami, regional dishes such as okonomiyaki, Kobe beef, fugu and some food history.
Do I need to know Japanese to take the quiz?
No. Every dish name is explained, and the questions are about ingredients, cities and stories rather than language.
How difficult is the Japanese Food Quiz?
It is rated Medium. The opening questions are easy for anyone who eats Japanese food, and the final few are aimed at real enthusiasts.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Which ingredient must be present for a dish to count as sushi?
Vinegared rice The word sushi refers to rice seasoned with vinegar, sugar and salt, not to raw fish. Sliced raw fish served on its own is sashimi, while sushi can be topped or filled with cooked seafood, egg, vegetables or pickles. Sushi began as narezushi, fish preserved for months in fermented rice that was thrown away before eating; the fast Tokyo style with fresh fish appeared in the 1800s. - Miso paste is made mainly from fermented what?
Soybeans Miso is made by fermenting cooked soybeans with salt and koji, a mould grown on rice, barley or soybeans. Longer fermentation gives darker, saltier red miso, while pale white miso is sweeter and milder. Miso soup is often made with dashi rather than plain water, and the paste is stirred in at the end so that boiling does not dull its flavour. - Soba noodles are made from which grain?
Buckwheat Soba are thin brownish noodles made from buckwheat flour, often with some wheat flour added for strength. They are served cold with a dipping sauce in summer or in hot broth in winter, and are eaten on New Year's Eve for long life. Udon, the thick white chewy noodles, are made from wheat flour, and ramen noodles are wheat noodles treated with alkaline water for their springy bite. - Tonkotsu ramen gets its rich, milky broth from boiling what for many hours?
Pork bones Tonkotsu means pork bone, and the broth is made by boiling pork bones hard for eight hours or more until the collagen and marrow emulsify into a creamy white soup. The style is most associated with Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu. Other classic ramen styles are shoyu, seasoned with soy sauce, shio, seasoned with salt, and miso ramen, which was developed in Sapporo. - Takoyaki, the battered balls sold at street stalls in Osaka, contain pieces of which seafood?
Octopus Takoyaki means grilled octopus, and each ball holds a chunk of boiled octopus plus pickled ginger and spring onion, cooked in a special pan of half-sphere moulds. They are brushed with sauce and topped with mayonnaise, seaweed and dancing bonito flakes. Takoyaki was invented in Osaka in 1935 by street vendor Tomekichi Endo, and the city still sees itself as Japan's street-food capital. - Katsuobushi, the smoked and dried flakes shaved into dashi stock, is made from which fish?
Skipjack tuna Katsuobushi is skipjack tuna, also called bonito, that has been simmered, smoked repeatedly and in the finest grades fermented with mould until it becomes a wood-hard block. Shavings steeped briefly in kombu broth make classic dashi. Properly dried katsuobushi is among the hardest foods in the world and was traditionally shaved at home with a plane set into a wooden box. - Fugu, which Japanese chefs need a special licence to prepare, is what kind of fish?
Pufferfish Fugu is pufferfish, whose liver, ovaries and skin contain tetrodotoxin, a nerve poison with no antidote. Since 1958 chefs have needed a licence to serve it, earned through years of apprenticeship and an exam that many candidates fail. Fugu is traditionally sliced so thinly that the pattern on the plate shows through, and the city of Shimonoseki handles most of Japan's catch. - Chemist Kikunae Ikeda identified the taste of umami in 1908 after studying a broth made from which ingredient?
Kombu seaweed Ikeda, a professor at Tokyo Imperial University, isolated glutamate from kombu kelp broth and named its savoury taste umami, meaning deliciousness. Scientists later confirmed that the tongue has specific receptors for glutamate. In 1909 Ikeda and businessman Saburōsuke Suzuki founded Ajinomoto to sell monosodium glutamate as the first umami seasoning. - Genuine Kobe beef must come from cattle raised in which Japanese prefecture?
Hyōgo Kobe beef is a protected brand for meat from Tajima-strain Japanese Black cattle born, raised and slaughtered in Hyōgo Prefecture, whose capital is the city of Kobe. The beef must also pass strict grading for marbling and quality. Stories about Kobe cattle being massaged and fed beer are mostly myth, and only a few thousand head qualify as Kobe beef each year. - Okonomiyaki, the savoury Japanese pancake, has two famous rival styles from Osaka and which other city?
Hiroshima Osaka-style okonomiyaki mixes cabbage and other ingredients into the batter before frying, while Hiroshima-style layers the batter, a mountain of cabbage, pork and fried noodles on the griddle, then tops it with a fried egg. The name comes from okonomi, meaning as you like it, and yaki, meaning grilled, so the toppings are entirely up to the diner. - When a diner orders omakase at a sushi counter, what does the word literally mean?
I leave it up to you Omakase comes from the verb makaseru, to entrust, so the diner is telling the chef to choose every course. It lets the itamae serve whatever is best that day and build the meal in a deliberate order from lighter to richer fish. The phrase diners say before eating, itadakimasu, means I humbly receive and is a thank you to everyone and everything that produced the meal. - Momofuku Ando launched the world's first instant noodles, Chikin Ramen, in 1958 as the founder of which company?
Nissin Ando, working in a shed behind his house in Osaka, developed a way to flash-fry pre-cooked noodles so they could be revived with hot water. His company Nissin sold the first packets on August 25, 1958, and followed with Cup Noodles in 1971. Ando was born in Japanese-ruled Taiwan in 1910, and a 2000 poll in Japan named instant noodles the country's greatest invention of the 20th century. - In which year did UNESCO add washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine, to its intangible cultural heritage list?
2013 UNESCO inscribed washoku on December 4, 2013, recognising it as a social practice built around seasonal ingredients, respect for nature and New Year celebrations rather than any single dish. Japan's entry followed French gastronomy, traditional Mexican cuisine and the Mediterranean diet, which were all added to the list in 2010. - Toyosu Market, which opened in Tokyo in 2018, replaced which famous fish market?
Tsukiji Tokyo's wholesale fish trade moved from the ageing Tsukiji market to a purpose-built complex at Toyosu on October 11, 2018. Tsukiji's outer market of shops and sushi stalls stayed open and remains a popular tourist spot. Toyosu's New Year tuna auction regularly makes headlines: in January 2019 a 278 kg (613 lb) bluefin sold for 333.6 million yen, about 3 million dollars. - The hot pot dish shabu-shabu takes its name from what?
The swishing sound of meat in the broth Shabu-shabu is named after the sound of a thin slice of beef being swished back and forth in simmering broth with chopsticks. The meat cooks in seconds and is dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce before eating. The dish was named and popularised by the Osaka restaurant Suehiro in the 1950s, which registered shabu-shabu as a trademark.
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