Japanese Christmas Food Recipes

Christmas in Japan is different from the west like the US. The major religions in Japan are Buddhism and Shinto, so Christmas is more commercial event. The main celebration revolves around Christmas eve and not Christmas day.

Most Japanese families would have a Christmas tree and now it is becoming very common to have lights on the outside of houses as you would see in the USA. While Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan, more and more people are taking up traditions such as decorating their home, giving presents to friends and celebrating the event with a special meal.

The traditional Japanese Christmas food is the Christmas cake, tori no karaage, teriyaki chicken, chirashizushi and so on.

Japanese Christmas Strawberries Cake

Japanese will celebrate Christmas during the Christmas eve and the main food to eat is Christmas cake. It is usually made of sponge cake, strawberries and whipped cream.

Christmas Cake

For sponge cake:

- 1/3 cup all purpose flour

- 1/3 cup sugar

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 3 eggs

- 1 1/2 tbsp cup butter

For whipping cream:

- 2 cups heavy cream

- 4 tbsp sugar

- 12 pieces whole strawberry

Preparations: (makes 4 servings)

- Spread some batter inside of a round cake pan and place baking wax paper. (*8 inches round pan.)

- Put eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk very well.

- Place the bowl over hot water in another large bowl and whist further.

- When the egg mixture becomes light yellow, shift flour and baking powder together and add to the bowl.

- Add melted butter in the bowl and mix gently.

- Preheat the oven to 350F.

- Pour the batter in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 25-35 min.

- Remove the cake from the pan and cool it on a rack.

- Cut the cake in half horizontally.

- Mix heavy cream and sugar in a bowl.

- Whip the cream well.

- Slice 8 pieces of strawberries into thin pieces.

- Take the half of the whipped cream and mix the sliced strawberries.

- Place the cream on top of a round cake slice.

- Place another cake slice on top of the cream.

- Spread the rest of the whipped cream on top and around the cake.

- Decorate the cake with strawberries and other fruits (if desired).

Tori no Karaage

Karaage means deep-fried meat or seafood in Japanese-style. Japanese fried chicken is called tori no karaage. This crispy chicken dish is absolutely delicious. It is popular with children and adults alike.

Tori no karaage recipe

- 500g chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp sake

- 1 tbsp mirin

- 2 tsp ginger juice

- 5 tbsp potato starch or corn starch for coating

- Vegetables oil for deep-frying

- Lemon wedges

Preparations: (makes 4 servings)

- Pierce chicken thighs with a metal or bamboo skewer several times to enable meat to fully absorb seasoning. Place them in a large bowl.

- Add soy sauce, mirin, sake and ginger juice to chicken and mix well. Set aside for 15 minutes.

- Drain marinated chicken and pat dry thoroughly with kitchen paper.

- Coat with potato starch, shaking off any excess, then deep fry in a small batches in hot oil at 350F for 5 ~ 7 minutes until brown or crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

- Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.

Japanese Christmas food recipes