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 a word in Japanese means that’s where it’s cooked.

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 involves simmering bite-sized bits of meat or vegetables in a dark, sweet sauce in a pot over low heat. The ideal flavor emerges after about an hour, enough time for all the juice to infuse the food. And be sure to keep watching your pot.

Serve tsukudani with hot rice or sake, or use it as filling for rice balls.

A simple recipe for tsukudani, an everyday Japanese side dish to eat with hot rice | iNFOnews.ca — 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. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)

Easy tsukudani, from AP’s Yuri Kageyama

Start to finish: One hour

Servings: 5

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of clams, tuna, seaweed, shrimp, meat or other food item to make into tsukudani

¼ cup sliced ginger

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon mirin, or sweet rice wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sake, or rice wine

2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Chop the clams, tuna, seaweed, shrimp or meat into small pieces about the size of a pea. Slice the ginger into thin pieces. Pour the ingredients into a large pot and cook over low heat for about an hour until the juice disappears. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.