{"id":788,"date":"2026-09-16T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/halalgourmet.jp\/blog\/?p=788"},"modified":"2026-09-14T11:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T02:16:29","slug":"japanese-food-what-to-check-before-you-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/halalgourmet.jp\/blog\/en\/2026\/09\/16\/japanese-food-what-to-check-before-you-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Sushi, Ramen and Tempura: What to Check Before You Order"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: kawanet \/ CC BY 2.0 (Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

It comes down to the seasonings and the stock<\/h2>

Two seasonings are worth knowing by name: mirin and cooking sake.<\/p>

Under Japan’s Liquor Tax Act, mirin is counted as an alcoholic beverage. It sits in the compound liquor category and is defined as having an alcohol content under 15% by volume (Article 3, item 11). It lives on the seasoning shelf, but the law files it with the drinks.<\/p>

Stock varies by dish. Some is drawn from dried bonito and kelp, some is simmered from chicken or pork. The name on the menu will not tell you which.<\/p>

Each dish turns on something different<\/h2>

Sushi<\/h3>

Fresh fish is only part of it. Vinegar is mixed into the rice, soy sauce goes on each piece, and gari \u2014 ginger pickled in sweet vinegar \u2014 clears the palate in between. Every one of those is a seasoning.<\/p>

Some listed restaurants use certified halal vinegar, soy sauce and miso. One describes every ingredient \u2014 soy sauce, vinegar, rice, ginger and meat \u2014 as halal.<\/p>

Ramen<\/h3>

This is the dish with the most moving parts. The broth alone ranges across soy sauce, miso, salt, chicken, seafood and beef bone, and the noodles, tare sauce, flavored oil and toppings each reflect the cook’s own choices.<\/p>

Tonkotsu ramen, which you will see all over Japan, is built on a broth simmered from pork bones. Pork can also turn up in the tare sauce or the chashu topping even when the name says nothing about it. Check whether the listing page shows Pork Free<\/strong> under Conditions.<\/p>

Two bowls with the same broth can still differ in the tare sauce or the flavored oil. It pays to ask about the bowl in front of you rather than about ramen in general.<\/p>

Tempura<\/h3>

The dipping sauce traditionally contains mirin, and the batter and frying oil matter too. Whether the frying oil is kept separate from other dishes is something only the restaurant can tell you.<\/p>

Other Japanese dishes<\/h3>

Japanese cooking covers a lot of ground: kaiseki courses and kappo cooking, soba and udon, sukiyaki, seafood bowls, tofu and Buddhist vegetarian dishes. One listed sukiyaki specialist explains that its warishita sauce is made without mirin or cooking sake.<\/p>

Read the Conditions on the listing page<\/h2>

Every listing page carries a Conditions<\/strong> section showing which of the following apply to that restaurant.<\/p>