Why go
Technique is a useful guide when names on a menu are unfamiliar. Terms such as yakimono, nimono, mushimono and agemono signal how a dish is cooked, while sashimi, soups, pickles and dressed vegetables show the range around a main course.
The full story
Japanese dishes are often described by the way they are prepared. Yakimono are grilled or pan-fried foods, nimono are simmered dishes, mushimono are steamed, and agemono are deep-fried. Sashimi presents sliced raw fish, while suimono and shirumono are clear and other soups. These categories are practical menu clues, not merely culinary vocabulary. Vegetable dishes have their own forms. O-hitashi uses cooked leafy greens steeped in dashi and seasoned with soy sauce. Sunomono are vinegar-based dishes, often made with vegetables or seaweed. Aemono are dressed foods that may combine vegetables, sesame, tofu or seafood. A meal can therefore balance different temperatures and textures: grilled fish beside a simmered vegetable, soup beside pickles, or a cool vinegar dish beside something fried. Notice the technique first when deciding whether a menu item suits the meal you want.