夏の野菜 – Japanese Summer Vegetables
Japanese summer vegetables include soybeans, pumpkin, cucumbers, and others. If you want to know when they are in season in Japan and some recipes for them continue reading below.
INDEX
Edamame, July and August
Edamame is in season from July to August in Japan. They are soybeans still in their pods. You can boil or steam them and they usually salted. The word comes from ‘eda‘ meaning ‘branch’ and ‘mame‘ meaning ‘bean’. You can see some recipes people made at cookpad.com.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/Kabocha (Japanese Pumpkin), May to September
Kabocha or Japanese pumpkins are in season from May to September. They are not the same as the big orange pumpkins in the United States. They are smaller and green. The word kabocha comes originally from Portuguese. Here are some recipes again from CookPad.
Kyuuri (Cucumber), June to August
Kyuuri is the word for ‘cucumber’ In Japanese. They are in season from June to August. Japanese cucumber or kyuuri are smaller than the ones in the United States. Here is a link to some recipes at rakuten.com.
Goya, July to August
Goya is in season from July to August in Japan. It is not something you would normally have in the United States. It can be called bitter melon or bitter gourd in English. The word Goya is originally from the Okinawan Dialect. Goya can also be called ‘nigauri‘ which translated to ‘bitter gourd’. If you get the change, here are some recipes.
Sayaingen (Green beans), June to September
Sayaingen or ‘green beans’ in English are in season from June to September. Here is another link to some recipes at Kikkoman.co.jp.
Shiso (Perilla), June to August
Shiso, or perilla in English are in season from June to August. Here are some ideas on how to use them here.
Toumorokoshi (Corn), June to August
Toumorokoshi means corn in Japanese. It is in season from June To August. Check out more recipes at Cookpad.
Nasu or Nasubi (Eggplant), July to September
Eggplant, known as Nasu or Nasubi in Japanese is in season from July to September. Japanese Eggplant is usually smaller than the variety in America. If you want some recipe ideas, take a look at the link from Kirin Beer here.
Piiman (Japanese Bell Peppers), June to August
One of the most popular Japanese summer vegetables are Japanese bell peppers or Piiman. they are in season from June to August. They are smaller than the American variety and more bitter. They also are usually darker and have more of a crunch to them. The American variety is usually juicier. You can find some recipes for them here.
Nira (chives), March to September
Chives in Japanese are known as Nira. They are in season from March to September and you can find some recipes at Ajinomoto.co.jp.
Tomato, June to September
Tomato is spelled the same in Japanese as it is in English, tomato. Their season is from June to September and is popular in Japan just like the United States. You can see more Tomato recipes on Ajinomoto Recipes.
If you want to learn more Japanese check out some of my other articles on Japanese vocabulary here.
Vocabulary
枝豆 (edamame) – soybean pods
かぼちゃ (kabocha) – Japanese pumpkins
きゅうり (kyuuri) – cucumber
ゴーヤ (gooya) – bitter melon
苦瓜 (nigauri) – bitter melon
さやいんげん (sayaingen) – string beans
紫蘇 (shiso) – perilla
トウモロコシ (toumorokoshi) – corn
ピーマン (piiman) – Japanese bell pepers
トマト (tomato) – tomato
なす・なすび(nasu, nasubi) – eggplant
にら(nira) – chives
