Seed oils in Japan
Of the 18 chains we track in Japan, none use real fats in the fryer and 14 use seed oils. That leaves 4 with something in between, no fryer or no answer. Below: what they fry in, how people cook there, how to read a label and what to say to ask about the oil.
What the chains fry in
These are the 18 chains we track in Japan, with what each one fries in according to our records. Open any chain for its full report card. See the full country index.
- Real fats: beef tallow, lard, butter, olive oil or coconut oil.
- In between: palm or peanut oil, a high-oleic grade, or a mix of real fat and seed oil.
- Seed oils: canola (rapeseed), soybean, sunflower or corn, or a "vegetable oil" blend.
- No fryer: the chain does not deep fry. It can still cook with oil elsewhere in the kitchen.
- Unknown: our records do not say what the chain fries in.
(estimated) means our note on that chain is hedged, so read the oil as a good guess rather than a confirmed fact. How we read these notes.
Cleanest picks
No chain we track in Japan fries in real fats alone. These come closest: they mix real fats with other oils, or fry in palm or peanut oil.
- McDonald's Beef tallow and palm oil (estimated)
- Mister Donut Palm oil (estimated)
All 18 chains
| Chain | Fryer oil |
|---|---|
| Burger King | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| CoCo Ichibanya | Rapeseed and soybean oil (estimated) |
| First Kitchen | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| Freshness Burger | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| KFC | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Komeda Coffee | Rapeseed and soybean oil (estimated) |
| Marugame Seimen | No fryer |
| Matsuya | Rapeseed and soybean oil (estimated) |
| McDonald's | Beef tallow and palm oil (estimated) |
| Mister Donut | Palm oil (estimated) |
| MOS Burger | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| Saizeriya | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Starbucks | No fryer |
| Sukiya | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| Sushiro | Rapeseed and soybean oil (estimated) |
| Tenya | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Yoshinoya | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| Zetteria | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
Same chain, different oil
A chain can fry in one oil at home and another abroad. We can compare 4 chains with the U.S., and all 4 show a different fryer oil in Japan. Rows where the color changes come first.
| Chain | In the U.S. | In Japan |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald's | Canola and soybean oil | Beef tallow and palm oil (estimated) |
| Burger King | Vegetable oil blend and soybean oil | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| KFC | Canola and soybean oil | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Yoshinoya | Soybean oil | Vegetable oil blend and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
The brands that state their fryer oil in many countries are compared in Same chain, different country.
How people cook in Japan
Japanese homes typically cook with canola (rapeseed) oil, soybean oil, 'salad oil' (サラダ油, a highly refined oil, often a canola and soybean blend) and rice bran oil (米油), with sesame oil for flavor.
The Japan Vegetable Oil Association says the oils in everyday use are refined oils and salad oils, that restaurants and prepared food shops mainly buy 16.5 kg cans, and that about 60% of edible oil demand is bulk supply to makers of margarine, mayonnaise, dressings and sweets (a figure that also counts some large restaurant and prepared food companies).
Tempura, tonkatsu and karaage shops often fry in vegetable oil blends (commonly soybean and canola, sometimes with palm, sesame or cottonseed oil), while some tonkatsu shops fry in lard (ラード) and some butcher shops and yoshoku (Western style) restaurants use beef tallow (牛脂 or ヘット); it varies by shop and by chain.
Bakeries and packaged snacks often rely on margarine, shortening or palm oil.
Reading labels
Bottled oils in Japan are named by oil (for example 食用なたね油 for rapeseed oil and 食用大豆油 for soybean oil), and blends list each oil from most to least. According to the Japan Vegetable Oil Association, the name サラダ油 (salad oil) may only be used for JAS graded oil.
On processed foods, ingredient lists very often use the group term 植物油脂 or 植物油 (vegetable oils and fats) without naming the plant.
Say it in Japanese
Read these out loud or show your phone to your server. The first two rows are the questions to ask. The rest are the oil names you will see on menus and labels.
| You want to say | Say it like this |
|---|---|
| Ask the kitchen | |
| What oil do you fry with? | 何の油で揚げていますか？ (Nani no abura de agete imasu ka?) |
| Can you cook it in butter or olive oil? | バターかオリーブオイルで調理してもらえますか？ (Batā ka orību oiru de chōri shite moraemasu ka?) |
| Seed oils to watch for | |
| Sunflower oil | ひまわり油 (himawari-yu) |
| Canola oil | なたね油 / キャノーラ油 (natane abura / kyanōra-yu) |
| Soybean oil | 大豆油 (daizu-yu) |
| Vegetable oil (often a seed oil blend) | 植物油 (shokubutsu-yu); on labels often 植物油脂 (shokubutsu yushi); salad oil: サラダ油 (sarada-yu) |
| Fats to ask for | |
| Olive oil | オリーブオイル (orību oiru) |
| Butter | バター (batā) |
| Lard | ラード (rādo) |
| Beef tallow | 牛脂 (gyūshi), also ヘット (hetto) |
| In between | |
| Palm oil | パーム油 (pāmu-yu) |
Tips for eating out in Japan
- Choose grilled or simmered food over fried food: yakitori, yakiniku, grilled fish (yakizakana), sashimi, sushi, shabu shabu and nimono, instead of tempura, karaage, tonkatsu and korokke (agemono).
- Ask '何の油で揚げていますか？' at tempura, tonkatsu and karaage shops; many use vegetable oil blends, and the answer varies by shop.
- On convenience store and supermarket labels, look for 植物油脂, 植物油, パーム油, 大豆油 and なたね油; labels often do not say which oil, so simple items like salt or salmon onigiri (not tuna mayo, which is made with oil), boiled eggs, yogurt and sashimi are lower risk, but still check the label.
- Bakeries and sweets often use margarine (マーガリン), shortening (ショートニング) or fat spread (ファットスプレッド); pick items whose ingredient list shows バター (butter) and none of those.
Use the app on your trip
Seed Oil Tracker has local menus for 18 chains in Japan. Switch your country in Settings before you go.
Download for iPhone Get it on Google Play
Free to download. Want the full tour first? See what the app does.
Sources
The cooking, label and tip sections come from these pages. The chain fryer oils come from our own records.
More countries
Menus, recipes and rules change, so treat this page as a starting point and check the label or ask in the moment. Need a refresher on what counts? See what seed oils are and the full list. Back home, the eating out playbook covers restaurants in the U.S.