Japanese Food

The Japanese Method for Balanced Meals • Simply One Cookbook

2025年10月23日
Takeru


Take a deep dive with me into ichiju sansai, the guiding ideas to create concord in conventional Japanese meals. I’ll stroll you thru the important thing parts and share sensible ideas for how one can construct balanced on a regular basis meals at residence, too.

A Japanese meal with salmon and vegetables baked in foil, miso soup, steamed rice, pickled cabbage, rolled omelette, and watermelon pieces, all served on a wooden tray with chopsticks and a dipping sauce.

Have you ever ever puzzled how I construct on a regular basis meals which can be balanced but easy? It’s all about ichiju sansai (一汁三菜), the guiding ideas for creating concord in conventional Japanese meals.

It’s straightforward to observe this straightforward and adaptable framework so as to add steadiness, selection, concord, and seasonality to your own home desk. I’ll present you ways!

A wooden tray with a Japanese meal: grilled salmon, miso soup, white rice, spinach with sesame, and simmered vegetables with meat, each in separate bowls on a wooden table. Chopsticks rest beside the tray.

What’s Ichiju Sansai?

Ichiju sansai (一汁三菜) actually means “one soup, three dishes” and is a set of guiding ideas for creating concord in a standard Japanese meal.

The three dishes embrace one fundamental dish and two sides, so the essential Japanese meal set consists of rice + soup + fundamental dish + two facet dishes.

Ichiju sansai dates again greater than 600 years. Nowadays, it’s thought-about a versatile framework for conventional and trendy Japanese delicacies, Asian and Western cuisines, and past.

Namiko Hirasawa Chen

4 Core Ideas of Ichiju Sansai

At its coronary heart, ichiju sansai values 4 parts:

  1. BALANCE – Preserve the parts and vitamins in test. Ask your self: Too many carbs? Are there sufficient veggies?
  2. VARIETY – Make meals enjoyable with varied meals, textures, and cooking strategies. Combine it up: When you serve rooster someday, use fish the subsequent. Bake at this time, stir-fry tomorrow!
  3. HARMONY – Purpose for a wedding of flavors, textures, and colours. My mother says, “Verify all the colours earlier than serving.” My trick: I maintain a tomato helpful so as to add a contact of pink.
  4. SEASONALITY – Prepare dinner native, in-season substances with peak taste. Get pleasure from peas in spring, tomatoes in summer season, kabocha in autumn, and daikon radish in winter.
A Japanese meal set on a wooden tray, featuring rice, miso soup, simmered fish, sweet potatoes, pickles, and a spinach salad, each in separate dishes with chopsticks and a small dish of soy sauce.

Rice: The Coronary heart of the Japanese Meal

Perfectly cooked Japanese short-grain rice being fluffed with a rice paddle.

In Japan, rice isn’t a facet dish—it’s the middle of the meal that brings consolation, nourishment, and a way of residence. In truth, the phrase gohan (ご飯) means each “rice” and “meal.”

The three dishes in ichiju sansai are referred to as okazu (おかず)—“meals that accompany rice”—and spotlight rice’s key function.

Rice is all the time current within the conventional food plan and is an emblem of Japanese tradition and id.

The right way to Prepare dinner Excellent Japanese Rice

Soup: A Bowlful of Soul

Japanese miso soup bowls containing tofu and wakame miso soup.

As rice’s humble but important companion, soup completes the meal and makes it really feel entire. A comforting bowl of soup promotes digestion, heat, and steadiness.

Soup is extra than simply meals—it’s a day by day ritual in Japan. Every family has its personal private type, and it’s mentioned you may acknowledge a household by their miso soup. It’s a real style of residence.

In Japan, we get pleasure from totally different dashi bases, seasonal greens, and proteins in hearty soups like Tonjiru or gentle and clear broths like Osuimono.

Newbie-Pleasant Soup Recipes

Predominant Dish: The Star of the Desk

Spooning the sauce over the chicken.

The principle dish (shusai, 主菜) is the star of the present that brings pleasure and retains steadiness and focus in your menu.

The principle dish is the meal’s major supply of protein to assist construct and energize the physique. It additionally units the tone for the menu, inspiring your alternative of soup and sides.

In an ichiju sansai meal, the rice and soup kind a easy basis whereas the primary dish provides focus and substance. Along with two sides, they create a harmonious, balanced meal the place no single dish dominates. 

4 Steps for Selecting a Predominant Dish

Choose your fundamental dish with 4 components in thoughts:

  1. PROTEIN – Concentrate on protein. Preserve meals thrilling: Rotate proteins all through the week—fish or seafood one evening, meat or rooster the subsequent.
  2. SEASONALITY – Help the protein with recent, native produce at peak harvest. Unsure what’s in season? See what’s considerable or on sale on the grocery retailer, or test your farmers’ market.
  3. COOKING METHOD – Differ the way you prepare dinner so it by no means feels repetitive. Swap it up: Bake someday and stir-fry the subsequent. Stability yesterday’s hearty stew with a light-weight steamed dish at this time.
  4. BALANCE – Don’t let the primary dish overpower the perimeters. Every dish serves an essential function in a balanced meal. Professional tip: Complement flavors, textures, and colours. Lighten a wealthy and heavy fundamental dish with crisp or tangy sides. If it’s delicate and delicate, pair it with a daring and hearty facet. 

Predominant Dish Recipes To Strive

Facet Dishes: The Colourful Sidekick

Steamed vegetables on donabe steamer along with dipping sauce.

The facet dishes (fukusai, 副菜) carry concord and pleasure to the Japanese desk and play a vital supporting function. 

Whereas the primary dish offers protein and substance, the facet dishes spherical out the meal with selection, diet, colour, and steadiness.

There’s no strict rule for the 2 sides; nonetheless, the steadiness works finest when one is hearty and cooked and the opposite is gentle and refreshing. 

7 Steps for Selecting Sides

I’ll stroll you thru how I choose my sides. It comes naturally when you get right into a rhythm!

  1. Choose the primary dish. Determine in your protein first.
Raw salmon fillet on a sheet of foil topped with a slice of lemon, a pat of butter, enoki and shimeji mushrooms, surrounded by sliced onions and julienned carrots, ready for cooking.
Two foil-wrapped packets sit on a baking sheet inside an oven, mid-baking. The oven racks and fan are visible in the background.
  1. Stability the flavors. Use sides to fluctuate seasonings and richness. Pair wealthy, heavy mains with gentle and refreshing sides, or delicate mains (simmered fish) with strong-flavored sides (kinpira gobo).
  1. Distinction the textures. Introduce sides with totally different textures from the primary. Stability tender mains with a crunchy facet; crispy mains (deep-fried dishes) want a young facet (potato salad). 
  1. Differ the colours. Add colourful accents for a extra energetic, interesting meal. Rice and protein are sometimes white or brown, so add inexperienced (cucumber, broccoli, lettuce), pink (tomato, carrot, kabocha), and yellow (egg, corn) within the sides. 
A triptych of Japanese dishes: spinach in broth, chopped cabbage salad with sesame, and neatly sliced tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette) on a rectangular plate with a leaf garnish.
  1. Complement diet. Sides present vitamins that the primary dish lacks. Superior: Verify for methods so as to add extra nutritional vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
  1. Coordinate with the soup. Use totally different substances within the soup vs. sides to extend selection and diet.
  1. Verify the portion measurement. Make the 2 sides collectively about half the quantity of the primary dish. For a 150 g (⅓ lb) fundamental dish, serve two sides which can be 75 g (2½ oz) mixed.
  • Don’t fear, I by no means measure it. Simply have a look at it and ensure it’s proportional.
A Japanese meal set with grilled salmon in foil with lemon and vegetables, rice, miso soup with tofu, pickled greens, tamagoyaki, cabbage, watermelon, tomato, and soy sauce, all served on a wooden tray.

Pickles: The Taste Reset

Sake lees pickles (Kasuzuke) in a Japanese bizen bowl.

Whereas not one of many “three dishes,” pickles (tsukemono, 漬物) are an important participant on the Japanese desk and generally served with a meal.

Japanese pickles are greens preserved in salt, rice bran, miso, sake lees, koji, vinegar, or soy sauce. Every methodology brings distinctive flavors, aromas, and textures, and Japan has a whole lot of sorts, from grocery store staples to regional specialties.

Pickles primarily refresh the palate after wealthy or heavy dishes, cleaning the mouth so it’s prepared for the subsequent chew. Pickles additionally:

  • add colour
  • carry texture and pleasure
  • provide gut-friendly advantages of lactic acid micro organism in long-fermentation pickles
  • protect seasonal greens for year-round enjoyment

Fast Pickles for House Cooks

In style pickles like umeboshi (pickled plums), takuan (daikon radish), and nukazuke (rice bran pickles) require lengthy fermentation, so it’s handy to buy them ready-made.

At residence, Japanese residence cooks typically make gentle pickles for the night’s meal. Known as asazuke (浅漬け), they’re quick, straightforward, and don’t require particular tools. 

A small white bowl filled with vibrant Japanese pickles, including slices of radish, napa cabbage, and carrots, served on a wooden tray.

Asazuke takes simply 1–3 hours! I typically put together them with on a regular basis veggies like cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, eggplant, and daikon radish.

How To Apply Ichiju Sansai in Actual Life

A Japanese meal set on a wooden tray includes a bowl of rice with meat and scallions, miso soup with tofu, sliced strawberries, sweet potato slices, pickles, chopsticks, and a small yellow condiment container.

You may marvel, “How do I weave ichiju sansai into my day by day life?”

The way you apply it’s actually as much as you! Listed here are some methods to begin: 

  1. Create a routine. Get pleasure from a daily “Ichiju Sansai Day” as soon as every week. 
  1. Adapt to your individual type. Strive it along with your favourite delicacies—e.g., minestrone soup, herb grilled rooster, roasted root veggies, and sautéed mushrooms with garlic. 
  1. Begin small. Go along with “one soup, two dishes” as an alternative of three. You might additionally serve a easy reduce fruit for a simple “facet.”
  1. Batch prepare dinner forward. Refrigerate or freeze soup, rice, mains, and sides for fast meals on busy days. Simply prepare dinner one or two recent dishes, and dinner is served!
  1. Combine store-bought with home made. It’s tremendous to go to the deli counter for ready meals to pair along with your home-cooked dishes. Convey all of it along with a lovely presentation. 
A Japanese meal on a wooden tray featuring a bowl of rice with vegetables and egg, miso soup, edamame, sweet potato slices, plums, and a green vegetable side dish, with chopsticks and a small sauce dish.
A Japanese meal set on a wooden tray with grilled chicken wings, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, steamed white rice, natto, miso soup with tofu and green onions, and simmered kabocha squash.
A wooden tray holds a Japanese meal with rice, miso soup with tofu, grilled fish, sautéed greens, pickled vegetables with cherry tomatoes, and a slice of peach, each in separate dishes, with chopsticks on the side.
A Japanese meal on a wooden tray featuring glazed chicken, white rice with sesame seeds, miso soup with tofu, a fresh salad, simmered root vegetables, and a small dish of pickles.

Keep in mind, ichiju sansai is a information, not a strict rule. Make it work to your life-style and benefit from the course of!

A traditional Japanese meal set on a wooden tray, featuring grilled fish, rice, miso soup, leafy greens, pickles, seaweed, and fresh vegetables in small bowls. Chopsticks and a spoon are placed at the front.

To get your artistic juices flowing, think about these menus.

I typically swap up the soup and sides with what’s on the market and in my fridge. Add your alternative of rice and pickles, and also you’re set!

  1. Miso Sea Bass (above)
A collage of Japanese dishes: grilled salmon with tamagoyaki and greens, spinach with sesame sauce, simmered beef with vegetables, and a bowl of miso soup garnished with green onions.
  1. Japanese Salted Salmon (non-obligatory one-plate type)
A collage of four Japanese dishes: grilled chicken with salad, lotus root salad, hijiki seaweed with vegetables, and a bowl of miso soup with mushrooms and greens.
  1. Teriyaki Hen (non-obligatory one-plate type)
A collage of four dishes: a hamburger steak with vegetables and fries, seasoned potato wedges with ketchup, creamy pasta with ham in a blue bowl, and a bowl of creamy soup garnished with herbs and oil.
  1. Japanese Hamburger Steak (Hambagu) (non-obligatory one-plate type)
A collage of four Japanese dishes: breaded pork cutlet with shredded cabbage, salad with dressing being poured, potato salad with vegetables, and a bowl of clam soup.
  1. Tonkatsu
A collage of four Japanese dishes: stir-fried vegetables with egg, sautéed greens, tofu topped with scallions in sauce, and miso soup with daikon radish and greens, all served in various bowls and plates.
  1. Stir-fried Mushrooms and Eggs
Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Nami’s Closing Ideas

Concentrate on steadiness and concord, and the remaining will fall into place! At all times keep in mind:

  • Begin small;
  • Preserve it easy;
  • Make it your individual;
  • Add colour with tableware; and
  • Have enjoyable!

As you benefit from the ichiju sansai meal, take a second to recognize the wonder, care, and thoughtfulness that went into planning and creating this harmonious eating expertise.

Earlier than you start, keep in mind to say “Itadakimasu” (いただきます) to specific your gratitude for the meal, and say “Gochisosama deshita” (ごちそうさまでした) to thank the one that ready it and the meals itself.

Ichiju Sansai Creations by You

Check out the great ichiju sansai meals created by our superb group!

A Japanese meal with rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, potato salad, fruit, and fish with lemon and vegetables in foil. Chopsticks are placed in front on a green tablecloth.
Yusa T
A wooden table set with a meal: baked fish with lemon, carrots, mushrooms, and herbs on parchment paper, a bowl of white rice, a rolled omelet, soup, and decorated with red flowers and chopsticks.
The Bookish Prepare dinner
A Japanese meal with rice, sweet potatoes, pickled cucumbers, tamagoyaki, salad, foil-baked fish topped with lemon and carrots, and cabbage, served on a floral-patterned tablecloth with a glass of wine.
Kenji-T. Nishino
A Japanese meal with rice, miso soup, grilled salmon with lemon and vegetables in foil, sautéed mushrooms, potato salad, kimchi, and a small bowl of fruit, arranged neatly on a table with chopsticks.
Karen T
A Korean meal set on a wooden table with miso soup, seasoned spinach, rice with scallions, a metal lid, pickled radish, grilled fish with vegetables, chopsticks, and a spoon on a patterned placemat.
Helen Mathews
A Japanese meal on a wooden table with clam soup, rice, cucumber salad, kimchi, mushroom salad, and a foil-wrapped steamed fish dish. Black chopsticks rest near the plates.
Donna
A Japanese meal with rice, miso soup, cucumber salad, tomato salad, and a main dish of fish, mushrooms, carrots, and lemon on parchment paper, all served on a floral tablecloth with chopsticks and a drink.
Brigitta
A meal with baked fish and vegetables in foil, a bowl of soup with a spoon, a dish of white rice topped with seaweed, a small bowl of ground meat with green pepper, and a dipping sauce on a countertop.
Amanda O
A Japanese meal set on a table, featuring white rice, salad with boiled egg, miso soup, grilled fish with lemon in foil, seasoned vegetables, and a small dish of potato salad.
Miya T
A Japanese meal set on a brown placemat, featuring rice, miso soup, cooked fish with vegetables, pickled cucumbers, cherry tomato salad, kimchi, fresh strawberries, soy sauce, and wooden chopsticks.
Maryann N

I’d love to listen to how your Ichiju Sansai meal seems! 💛 Ship us your picture alongside along with your title (or nickname) so we can provide you credit score.

Editor’s Word: This submit was initially printed on February 25, 2018, and was republished on October 14, 2025, with extra useful and in-depth content material as a part of our publication collection.

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