Have a good time hanami with straightforward, crowd-pleasing recipes made for spring gatherings. From picnic bites to Japanese sweets—all the pieces you want for cherry blossom season.
Fast Highlights
Sakura season is among the most cherished occasions of yr in Japan. For a quick and delightful second every spring, cherry blossom bushes burst into bloom. Households, buddies, and coworkers collect for hanami (花見), the custom of cherry blossom viewing.
Rising up in Japan, I bear in mind spreading out a picnic mat, sharing selfmade bento, and having fun with seasonal sweets as petals float by the air. Meals is on the coronary heart of this celebration, and plenty of dishes are loved particularly throughout this fleeting season.
On this roundup, I’m sharing common and conventional hanami meals so you’ll be able to convey slightly Japanese springtime to your personal desk.
Nami’s Suggestions for Celebrating Sakura Season
- Pack a bento. Collect household and buddies and head to an area park for a picnic with traditional spring dishes.
- Have a good time wherever you might be. Even with out cherry bushes close by, you’ll be able to host a hanami occasion at dwelling with a easy spring-inspired unfold.
- Embrace spring colours. Pink, inexperienced, and white mirror the fantastic thing about the season and make your desk really feel festive.
- Add sakura motifs. Easy cherry blossom tableware—like chopstick rests and small plates—provides a delicate seasonal contact to your setting.
Pack a Bento for Cherry Blossom Viewing
After I pack a hanami bento, I hold it easy:
- Assume selection. Embrace protein, greens, and each savory and candy dishes.
- Prep forward. Select objects you may make prematurely to maintain picnic day relaxed.
- Serve at room temperature. Choose meals that journey nicely and style scrumptious with out reheating.
Right here’s a straightforward technique to construct your bento field:
- Foremost – Rice balls, sushi rolls, chirashi sushi, sandwiches, onigirazu (rice sandwich)
- Appetizer – Tamagoyaki, karaage, spring rolls, ramen eggs, edamame
- Seasonal greens – Gomaae, potato salad, harusame salad, kabocha salad
- Sweets – Hanami dango, sakura mochi, cherry blossom cookies
- Fruits – Strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, kiwis
I hope these recipes encourage you to welcome spring with a Japanese contact—wherever you might be on the planet. 🌸
Chirashi Sushi
Inari Sushi
I like to recommend inari sushi if you would like a enjoyable and simple sushi to pack to your hanami picnic bento. It’s filling, satisfying, and simply as scrumptious at room temperature.
Sushi Rolls (Maki Sushi – Hosomaki)
Maki Sushi (sushi rolls) are a preferred selection for hanami viewing. My recipe consists of each conventional and fashionable fillings, so you’ll be able to simply customise them with no matter components you’ve gotten available.
Futomaki (Maki Sushi / Ehomaki)
With its brilliant, colourful look, Futomaki is a beloved sushi roll for festive occasions, holidays, potlucks, or bento bins. I’ll present you find out how to make a thick roll filled with vibrant, flavorful components.
Tuna Mayo Onigiri
These Tuna Mayo Onigiri are scrumptious, moveable, and completely kid-friendly. I am going to present you two straightforward methods to make these Japanese rice balls to your bento lunch, snack, or picnic.
Teriyaki Salmon Onigirazu
Flip your leftover teriyaki salmon and grilled asparagus right into a particular rice sandwich known as onigirazu! Pack it in your bento and head outdoors to benefit from the cherry blossoms.
Kimbap
Kimbap is a traditional Korean seaweed rice roll full of seasoned beef, colourful greens, omelette strips, and pickled daikon. It‘s so common in Japan to pack for lunch, picnics, and a meal on the go! Be taught to make beautiful seaweed rolls with my step-by-step information.
Honey Soy Hen
My easy and scrumptious Honey Soy Hen is a failproof recipe that works each time. This savory and candy dish requires minimal prep and just some pantry components for a straightforward weeknight dinner.
Karaage (Japanese Fried Hen)
These ultra-crispy, bite-sized Karaage (Japanese fried hen) are irresistible and nice for sharing. I really like making them forward of time since they retailer nicely within the fridge or freezer. When it’s picnic time, a fast warm-up and so they’re able to pack into your hanami bento!
Recent Spring Rolls with Yakiniku
These Recent Spring Rolls with Yakiniku are bursting with savory and refreshing components. It is enjoyable to wrap Japanese BBQ beef and crunchy greens in rice paper and seal within the deliciousness. Serve it with selfmade yakiniku sauce for dipping.
Shrimp Egg Rolls
Deep-fried to golden brown deliciousness, these crispy Shrimp Egg Rolls are an amazing appetizer to begin your meal or occasion. Dip them in Japanese leek and miso sauce (Negi Miso) to take pleasure in!
Teba Shio (Salted Hen Wings)
Juicy and crispy Salted Hen Wings (Teba Shio) are a preferred dish at Japanese izakaya eating places. With my unbelievably straightforward recipe and some components, you’ll be able to oven-broil these scrumptious wings at dwelling to your subsequent occasion, game-day unfold, or lazy Sunday dinner.
Carrot Beef Rolls
These savory Carrot Beef Rolls are pan-seared and glazed with a fast selfmade teriyaki sauce. This easy Japanese home-cooked dish is scrumptious over rice or as a aspect dish to your weeknight dinner. Make further to your bento lunchbox the subsequent day!
Baked Hen Katsu
Need scrumptious Japanese breaded hen cutlets with out deep-frying? Strive my crispy and juicy Baked Hen Katsu with savory tonkatsu sauce. This lighter and more healthy oven-baked recipe is so easy and simple, you‘ll wish to make it tonight!
3-Ingredient Easy Tamagoyaki
For protein, you’ll be able to’t go fallacious with this 3-Ingredient Tamagoyaki. This Japanese rolled omelette pairs completely with sushi or onigiri and provides a brilliant, cheerful contact to your bento.
Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago)
Japanese Sandwich (Blended Sando)
Sandwiches are one other go-to for household picnics! For hanami viewing, I like to recommend making three common fillings: tuna salad, tamago (egg salad), and ham and cheese with crisp lettuce.
Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando)
With egg salad tucked between slices of white bread, Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando) is a timeless snack you could find in each comfort retailer in Japan. The creamy filling is bursting with a wealthy egg-yolk taste and the shokupan slices are smooth and pillowy. Some declare it‘s the very best egg salad sandwich they‘ve ever tasted!
Wanpaku Sandwich
Meet the most recent and hottest model of sandwich from Japan – Wanpaku Sandwich or Wanpaku Sando for brief. Full of colourful greens and layering components, these stable Japanese sandwiches current countless potentialities!
Japanese Fruit Sandwich
Brighten your day with Japanese Fruit Sandwich! These enjoyable and colourful Fruit Sando have contemporary whipped cream with strawberries, oranges, and kiwis tucked between slices of pillowy Japanese milk bread. Bursting with juicy contemporary fruit, they’re an ideal breakfast or snack.
Katsu Sando
With a crispy and juicy pork cutlet sandwiched between smooth and pillowy Japanese milk bread, this Katsu Sando is downright satisfying! I‘ll present you find out how to bake the tonkatsu for a scrumptious various to deep-fried. Elevate your sandwich with this new favourite recipe.
Japanese Potato Salad
A traditional, home-cooked aspect dish for greater than 100 years, Japanese Potato Salad is distinct for its colourful addition of contemporary greens, creamy texture, and rounded taste. It‘s the final word crowd-pleaser!
Spicy Edamame
Spicy Edamame is my favourite technique to flip a easy bag of frozen soybean pods into an irresistible snack. I toss them in a easy and savory sauce with garlic, chili paste, and miso. Daring and punchy, it is a straightforward appetizer with huge taste that comes collectively in minutes.
Carrot and Tuna Salad
This Carrot and Tuna Salad combines pantry staples with just a few contemporary components for a light-weight, satisfying, and protein-packed dish! Serve this scrumptious recipe as a aspect dish, sandwich filling, bento aspect, or low-carb foremost course. {Vegan/Vegetarian Adaptable}
Kabocha Salad
Candy and golden Japanese squash shines brightly on this creamy Kabocha Salad recipe with crunchy crimson onion and savory strips of ham. This stunning chilled aspect dish is bound to turn out to be a brand new traditional on your loved ones dinner desk.
Hanami Dango
Chewy skewered dumplings in three springtime colours, Hanami Dango, are made out of rice flour and glutinous rice flour. Frivolously candy and delightfully festive, these conventional Japanese treats are a favourite snack for having fun with below the cherry blossoms.
Cherry Blossom Cookies
Sakura Mochi
One other iconic dessert for cherry blossom viewing is Sakura Mochi. Chewy mochi full of candy crimson bean paste is just delectable. You’ll want to soak the salted sakura leaves and flowers first to take away extra salt earlier than utilizing. The aroma of cherry blossom leaves takes the spring expertise to the subsequent stage.
Cherry Blossom Madeleines
These pleasant cookies are buttery, barely candy, and salty, with a touch of cherry blossom’s perfume. Invite your mates over and luxuriate in these beautiful madeleines with inexperienced tea.
Strawberry Mochi (Ichigo Daifuku)
Warabi Mochi is a relaxing, chewy, jelly-like deal with made out of bracken starch. Dusted with nutty roasted soybean flour and drizzled with kuromitsu syrup, this Japanese confection makes a ravishing and refreshing snack or dessert to take pleasure in with matcha.
Have a good time Sakura Season in Japan
Uncover the finest cherry blossom spots in Tokyo and past.
