Foods That May Be Popular in Japan in 2024

Paris Rice Ball

The popular dish in Paris today is the Japanese rice ball. A number of rice ball specialty stores have opened in Paris, and the Japanese restaurant chain “Omusubi Gonbei” has also opened a branch in Paris. The Parisian wind is blowing into the onigiri world. Reimporting the French boom, rice balls are characterized by being arranged with “Parisian” ingredients such as cream cheese and tomatoes.

Rice ball a unique Parisian idea not found in Japan, may be reimported to Japan and become a fad.

Corn

Corn is a vegetable that In Korea, where the food boom originated, corn is more common than in Japan, and fashionable corn cakes, latkes, and shaved ice are popular. It is likely that the day will soon come when corn sweets, which are unimaginable from the conventional image, will become popular in Japan. has been familiar to the Japanese people since ancient times. In recent years, corn has been undergoing changes. Varieties with higher sugar content and a wider variety of colors, not only yellow but also white and red, have been developed through breeding.

An example of an old-fashioned vegetable that has exploded into a boom due to the diversification of varieties is the sweet potato. Varieties with different textures and sweetness, such as “soft” and “sticky,” have appeared one after another, and recently a chart of eating quality and sweetness has become available at vegetable counters. Sweet potatoes are also attracting attention as an ingredient for sweets, and many sweets from convenience stores and drinks from coffee chains are now made from sweet potatoes.

Sweeter varieties have been developed that are sold for their high sugar content, and this is in the same vein as the sweet potato, which enjoyed a huge boom with the development of sweet and sticky varieties. In Korea, where the food boom originated, corn is more common than in Japan, and fashionable corn cakes, latkes, and shaved ice are popular. It is likely that the day will soon come when corn sweets, which are unimaginable from the conventional image, will become popular in Japan.

Monochrome Sweets

Monochrome sweets originated in Korea, but opportunities to see monochrome sweets are gradually increasing in Japan as well. Fresh in my memories, the major coffee chain Starbucks became a hot topic during the Halloween season when it sold beverages with black caramel sauce, whipped cream, and black chocolate cake. Fujiya also launched “Pitch-black Macarons,” “Pitch-black Milky Rolls,” and “Pitch-black Mont Blanc” for a limited time.

Monochrome sweets made with black cocoa, bamboo charcoal powder, and black sesame seeds may appear for Valentine’s Day 2024.

Craft Tea

Have you ever heard of the terms “craft beer” or “craft cola”? The word “craft” means “handmade,” and refers to a unique beverage that differs in ingredients and production process from the commonly distributed colas and beers. The taste varies finely depending on the producer and region, and local craft beers and craft colas have also been created. The next trend in craft beverages may be Japanese black tea or “craft black tea” made from tea leaves produced in China.

Many foreign teas are enjoyed as milk tea with sugar and milk, and many of them have a strong aroma and taste. They go well with spicy curry, but they are difficult to match with Japanese food. Japanese black tea, on the other hand, has a complex flavor that is sweet yet astringent, bitter yet delicious and goes well with Japanese food. The techniques and sensitivities of the producers of Japanese tea have been passed down to black tea.

Japanese black tea began to attract attention about 20 years ago. Like locally brewed sake and beer, it was initially called “local black tea”. With an aroma unique to the region and a sweet taste with little bitterness or astringency, domestically produced black tea became popular, especially among people who had previously thought black tea was not their cup of tea.

In 2022, Asahi Soft Drinks released Japanese black tea in PET bottles. In 2023, Kagoshima Horiguchi Seicha’s Kakuhori Black Tea Benifuki won the Gold Award in the Japanese black tea category at THE LEAFIES 2023, a world tea fair hosted by the UK Tea Academy in the UK. Japanese black tea is attracting attention in Japan and abroad, with Japanese tea gardens winning the highest awards and many other prizes.

In the future, we will probably start to enjoy “craft tea” like beer and cola, where the regions of origin are subdivided and the flavors of each region can be enjoyed like local gourmet foods.

Asian Rice Porridge

One of the rice dishes that has long been popular in Japan is porridge. Looking around at neighboring countries in Asia, such as China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, each region has its regional characteristics, and recently it has become a frequent sight on restaurant menus in Japan as well.

Japanese porridge is usually simple, made by cooking rice in water. Looking at the lineup of retort porridge sold on the market, most of the ingredients are single items such as plums and eggs. It is an easy-to-digest dish, and many people may have the image of it as a convalescent food for colds, stomachaches, and other illnesses.

On the other hand, Chinese porridge, which was born in China and is now available at an increasing number of specialty stores, is based on chicken soup with meat and seafood added. With a large number of ingredients and a satisfyingly robust flavor, it gives the impression of a menu that differs from the image of Japanese porridge. Recently, other porridge restaurants from Taiwan, Korea, and other countries have also appeared on the market.

In Japan, Ajinomoto began selling a cup of porridge called “粥粥好日” in August 2023. Unlike the Japanese porridge of the past, this porridge is well arranged and well seasoned.

Today, when people try to have a quick meal when they are short on time, they often get fast food or instant food, and their nutrition tends to be biased toward fat and sugar. Asian rice porridge may become widely popular among the younger generation as a healthy way to fill up on food even during busy times.

Thank you for reading.