TOKYO (AP) — Tsukudani, a sweet, Japanese side dish often served with hot rice, originated in the samurai era in a tiny neighborhood called Tsukuda in the old part of Tokyo. Adding “ni” at the end of ...

Tsukudani is a prime example of how Japan, despite its high-tech modernity and an economy driven by global corporates like Toyota and Sony, maintains traditions passed down over generations, much ...

TOKYO (AP) — Tsukudani, a sweet, Japanese side dish often served with hot rice, originated in the samurai era in a tiny neighborhood called Tsukuda in the old part of Tokyo.

Ingredients: ½ cup of clams, tuna, seaweed, shrimp, meat or other food item to make into tsukudani ¼ cup sliced ginger 2 tablespoons sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon mirin, or sweet rice wine ...

Ingredients for tsukudani, a Japanese preserved food, made with tuna, soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and salt, are displayed in the Tsukuda neighborhood of Tokyo on Monday, June 30, 2025.

Professional tsukudani is sold packaged at some Asian food stores and, of course, in modern-day Tsukuda. A Tokyo correspondent for The Associated Press is sharing her basic tsukudani recipe.

Tsukudani originated in the samurai era in a tiny neighborhood called Tsukuda in the old part of Tokyo. Adding “ni” at the end of a word in Japanese means that’s where it’s cooked.

A plate of tuna tsukudani, served with hot rice, appears in the Tsukuda neighborhood of Tokyo, Monday, June 30, 2025.