Wide variety! Healthy Japanese Set Meals

Have you ever eaten a set meal in Japan? I think people often eat single dishes such as Ramen, Yakiniku, Curry rice, and Katsudon. However, when you visit Japan, one thing you should definitely try is the “Japanese set meal.” Set meals include a staple food, main dish, and side dish on the same tray, so you can enjoy a nutritionally balanced and healthy meal.

In this article, we will introduce “Ootoya“, a popular Japanese restaurant chain in Japan.

What is “Ootoya”?

Ootoya is a restaurant chain that serves Japanese home-cooked meals, with approximately 300 stores in Japan and over 100 stores overseas such as Thailand, Taiwan, New York, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

Ootoya began as a popular restaurant in Ikebukuro in 1958, when Tokyo Tower was completed. “Ootoya Shokudo” was started with the desire to provide “Japanese home-cooked food” that is delicious, safe, and at a reasonable price.

Ootoya’s commitment

In-store cooking

At Ootoya, vegetables are washed and prepared at the shop. Shave the bonito flakes at the store and make the soup stock.
They are carefully pickled and prepared at the shop. Baked, stewed, or cooked at the store. They are particular about in-house cooking.

Charcoal grill

At Ootoya, they grill our fish and meat over charcoal, which has a high heating effect.
When grilling fish or meat over charcoal, the surface of the food heats up faster than when grilling with gas due to the far-infrared effect.
Therefore, the glutamic acid, which is said to be a “umami ingredient”, is retained and the flavor becomes deeper.
You can also enjoy the unique fragrant flavor of charcoal grilling, and the crispy texture that only comes from freshly grilled meat.

Bonito flakes

When bonito flakes are exposed to air, they oxidize and lose their flavor.
At Ootoya, they have developed our own small shaving machine and shave the dried bonito flakes in their store every day so that their customers can enjoy freshly shaved “鰹本枯節(Katsuo honkare bushi).”

Raw bread crumbs

Ootoya’s cutlet uses fresh bread crumbs.
After they receive your order, they carefully coat it with fresh breadcrumbs and deep-fry it at a low temperature.
Fresh breadcrumbs are moist and contain a lot of water, which protects the flavor of the ingredients when fried, and leaves just the right amount of moisture to make the food crispy and light.

Grated radish

Grated radish served with grilled fish menu.
At our store, they grate the daikon radish just before serving it. When grated, radish produces a pungent ingredient called isothiocyanate, which enhances the fat content of fish and makes it delicious.

However, this spiciness gradually weakens after about 7 or 8 minutes after grating the radish.
Therefore, they offer freshly grated radish so that you can enjoy the original taste of grated radish.

Multi-grain rice

At Ootoya, you can change from white rice to Multi-grain rice at no additional charge. Multi-grain rice, including barley (domestic sticky barley), corn, black rice, black sesame, and super barley (Barley Max), contains approximately 7 times more dietary fiber and vitamins than regular white rice. It is also rich in minerals.

Ootoya’s popular menu

Chicken and vegetables with black vinegar sauce set
975 kcal
Protein 28.6g
Carbohydrates 129.7g
Fat 36.1g

Chicken stew set
895 kcal
Protein 31.2g
Carbohydrates 113.0g
Fat 33.3g

Charcoal-grilled mackerel set
855 kcal
Protein 52.2g
Carbohydrates 71.3g
Fat 36.5g

Ootoya’s healthy menu

Japanese butter fish set
621 kcal
Protein 37.5g
Carbohydrates 74.7g
Fat 16.9g

Charcoal-grilled shimahokke set
641 kcal
Protein 48.3g
Carbohydrates 71.4g
Fat 15.5g

Bakudan don set
525 kcal
Protein 30.0g
Carbohydrates 75.4g
Fat 10.1g

This time, I ordered Ootoya’s popular healthy set meal “Japanese butter fish set.” Butter fish marinated in soy sauce and koji is grilled over charcoal for a fragrant and juicy dish.