The first time I tried to write a recipe in Japanese, I thought it would be simple. I already knew how to cook it. I had made it so many times before that I didn’t even have to think about the steps. But when I sat down to write it, I realized something almost immediately—I didn’t know how to say what I was doing. Not in a natural way, at least. I knew the actions. I just didn’t know the words.
Fried chicken is one of those things that feels familiar to me. It reminds me of being in the kitchen growing up—watching, helping when I could, doing the small parts that didn’t feel small at the time. It wasn’t complicated. It was just something we did.
So when I tried to write that memory in Japanese, I thought I could just… translate it. But it doesn’t really work like that. There were small things I had never learned how to say—things that feel obvious in English. Like how to “coat” the chicken in flour. Or how to describe each step without overthinking it. That’s when I realized I wasn’t struggling with the recipe. I was struggling with expression.
So I started collecting the words I needed. Not from a textbook. Not in a perfect order. Just the words that let me say what I was trying to say.
Preparation（下準備）
- 切る（きる） — to cut
- 下味をつける（したあじをつける） — to season
Cooking Actions（調理）
- まぶす — to coat / cover
- 混ぜる（まぜる） — to mix
- 揚げる（あげる） — to deep fry
Example (例えば）
鶏肉に小麦粉をまぶす
Coat the chicken with flour
A Simple Version of the Recipe （シンプルのレシピ）
Japanese:
鶏肉を切って、卵につけます。
小麦粉をまぶして、油で揚げます。
English:
Cut the chicken and coat it in egg.
Cover it with flour and deep fry it.
It’s simple. Probably too simple. But that’s kind of the point. I think I used to believe that I needed to reach a certain level before I could start expressing things like this in Japanese. Like I had to wait until everything sounded natural and complete. But this felt more honest. Not perfect. Not detailed. Just enough to say what I meant.
When I wrote my first post, I said there are things I feel that I don’t have the words for yet. That’s still true. But now I have a few more than I did before. And I think that’s enough.
日本語でまとめる
日本語でレシピを書こうとしたとき、思ったより難しかった。料理の作り方は知っているのに、言いほうがわからなかった。何をするかはわかる。でも、それをどう言うかが難しい。特に、「まぶす」とか「揚げる」とか、料理でよく使う言葉を知らなかった。だから、少しずつ言葉を集めることにした。
完璧じゃなくてもいい。自分の言いたいことを、少しでも日本語で言えるようになりたい。
まだ足りない言葉も多いけど、前より少しできるようになったと思う。それでいいと思う。
