29 Side Dishes for Japanese Curry

Looking for authentic Japanese side dishes for Japanese Curry? These healthy sides range from vegetables such as cucumber salad to miso soup and gyoza dumplings- they're easy to make at home and work well for ramen noodles too!

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Most Japanese meals come with a few small side dishes, such as pickles, vegetables, or more. Scroll down for some easy sides ideas to recreate the Japanese restaurant experience at home! (If you don't have a good Japanese Golden curry recipe, click here for one!)

With the right sauce, this is 1 of my favorite Japanese sides. Serve it with a tangy sauce in spring and summer or a more hearty sesame sauce in fall or winter.r

This is actually a Korean not Japanese potato salad BUT the 2 have similar flavors- I just prefer the Korean version because it has these tantalising hints of sweetness thanks to the apples added (and lack of mustard.)

These green beans are an easy side dish for sushi. In addition, they're super simple to grow at home and are 1 of the most popular accompaniments to sushi, especially for less adventurous guests.

If you don't have a green thumb, you can buy them frozen and simply bring them to the boil then serve. Sprinkle of salt optional.

Click here for more Asian edible garden recipes.

This delicious salad has mango, cucumber, sometimes corn, crabsticks and Kewpie Mayonnaise, a delicious combination! You can add sriracha to the Japanese style mayo to give the kani salad a kick or mix it with ponzu and soy sauce instead. It's a great side dish for a family dinner on a hot summer day.

Tip: if you only have regular mayo, add some chicken stock powder and sugar to mimic the Kewpie flavour.

Cucumber Sesame Salad

Also known as sunomono, you only need cucumbers, rice vinegar, sugar, salt and soy to make the basic version of this light and refreshing veggie dish.

Add some crabsticks to make crab cucumber kani salad.

Tip: Don't forget to sprinkle some toasted white sesame seeds over your Japanese cucumber salad!

Wakame Salad

This bright green Japanese seaweed salad is sold seasoned with sugar and sesame oil, so it's quite sweet and doesn't have a briny flavour at all. You can buy it ready to eat, or frozen.

Some frozen versions will be too salty and will need washing before eating, whilst others are ready to serve after defrosting. It's a great side dish for sushi when you're entertaining as it doesn't require any prep work!

Note: If you are using dried seaweed and making your own seaweed salad, you'll need to rehydrate it and dress it with seasoning.

Grilled Veg

Or grill some asparagus or mushrooms then serve with a scrumptious sesame dressing (goma dare.)

Chicken skewers are the perfect appetizer for a sushi party!

For some non-Japanese sides, click here for more Asian-inspired chicken wing recipes.

These crispy fried chicken bits are a popular dish at Japanese restaurants.

Fun fact: whilst we're most familiar with chicken, some karaage dishes use other proteins such as blowfish!

A traditional Japanese soup that is part of a typical Japanese meal- there are instant packet versions of this Japanese staple. However, homemade miso soup is a simple side dish that is actually very easy to make. 

If you have dashi stock (or bonito flakes), miso paste and some green onions- maybe some silken tofu and king oyster or shiitake mushrooms- you're more or less set!

Or go off the beaten track with this delicious and popular Japanese seafood clear soup, usually served in a teapot (dobin)!

You usually get some matsutake mushrooms, some shrimp, some chicken and maybe some imitation crab meat in it.

Tip: don't forget the lime- it's very important for the acidity it adds to the soup!

When you order Japanese food, it often comes with preserved vegetables (tsukumono) such as baby ginger. Sushi ginger, or gari, has a bright pink hue because this pickled ginger is made from young ginger.

Other pickles include the bright yellow radish (which is found in some sushi rolls), cucumber or the fuchsia gherkins (shiba zuke.)

Agedashi Tofu

This traditional Japanese dish is light and delicious- the tofu is coated with potato starch to create a crispy coating but it's so light it pretty much melts in your mouth.

Tip: If you find it too challenging to make, you can do something simpler, like pan fry tofu and serve with a ponzu dipping sauce.

This may sound intimidating to prepare, but you can buy the jellyfish pre-cooked (either ready to eat or frozen) so all you have to do is plate them! You can also mix them with some cubed cucumbers to add some fibre to your meal. (Jellyfish is typically eaten cold.)

I love jellyfish for its crunchy texture but the slippery feel may be a bit much for less-adventurous eaters!

Marinated Octopus

As with the jellyfish, these tiny marinated octopi are sold ready to eat at many Japanese and even Asian supermarkets.

They're tiny- about the size of a thumb- and you're meant to eat everything, including the head!

Like the jellyfish, these are usually served cold but unlike the jellyfish, which has more of a sweet flavor, the octopus have more of a savory flavor.

For those who prefer their side dishes hot, why not a side of tempura? Serve a variety- fried prawns, white fish, kabocha, kinoko mushrooms, shiso leaves and sweet potato- and don't forget the all important dipping sauce!

The batter is typically made from egg, flour and cold water, but you can also find tempura pre-mixes in Asian supermarkets.

Fun fact: did you know that the Japanese adapted tempura from a Portuguese dish in the 1600s in Nagasaki?

If you're adventurous enough to try raw fish, I highly recommend a side of sashimi to go with your sushi.

These are available in pre-sliced most Japanese supermarkets (the way the raw fish is cut affects the flavor of the sashimi) and are 1 of the best sides to go with that California Roll or Nigiri Sushi.

These Japanese dumplings can be made in advance and frozen for whenever you want to eat them, making them 1 of the best side dishes.

Sprinkle some spring onion and sesame seeds on top to wow guests with your presentation- and don't forget the easy 3 ingredient Japanese dumpling sauce!

Onigiri

Like sushi, onigiri is quite a filling dish as they're basically rice balls- sometimes filled, sometimes plain.

If you've not made sushi before, making onigiri is actually a good introduction as it helps you get used to the stickiness of the rice but you don't have to fiddle about with the bamboo roll!

Note: if you need an easy to find substitute for sushi rice, click here.

Tamagoyaki

This golden rolled Japanese omelette is really easy to cook- simply beat your egg, and mix in some dashi stock, mirin and light soy then cook and roll.

Tastes great both hot and cold.

What are your favourite authentic Japanese Side Dishes? Let me know if I've missed something important out in this list of best sides for Japanese curry!