Kushiage is a style of cooking where individual morsels of food (seafood, meats, vegetables) are placed on skewers, then dipped in batter and breading before being dunked in a deep-fryer. Depending on the restaurant, finished skewers may be served with salt, lemon, dipping sauces and other condiments, and basic ingredients may be stuffed with cheese or wrapped in bacon or shiso leaves. The fresh texture and flavor of the ingredients are perfectly preserved under the layer of breading, which adds a delicious flavor and crunchiness of its own.

Kushiage specialty restaurants are most popular in the Kansai area around Osaka, although they can be found throughout the country. These can be recognized by the word kushiage (串揚) on the sign. The Japanese character for kushi (串), which means skewer, is one of the easiest to remember, since it looks like two pieces of food arranged on a skewer. As kushiage is a popular side dish when drinking, kushiage restaurants are generally set up as izakaya-style pubs. Kushiage can also be found in certain general-purpose izakaya, and sometimes in restaurants serving tonkatsu, the preparation of which is similar.

Almost any kind of food can be cooked kushiage-style. The most common items include prawns, squid, scallops, and other seafood, as well as green peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and other vegetables, but many restaurants offer unusual selections on their menus. Some of the fun of eating kushiage is the surprise of finding out just what's hiding underneath the layer of breading.

There are several ways to order: either individual skewers, or more economical combination platters of anywhere from five to twenty or more skewers, depending on your appetite and your budget. (The larger combination plates are shared by everyone at the table, and are eaten while drinking beer.) Some restaurants also offer an omakase option - the chef will present you with skewer after skewer of his own selection until you tell him to stop. When you're ordering individual skewers, many shops will serve the items two skewers at a time. Kushiage restaurants provide a number of specially made sauces to dip your food in, along with wedges of lemon.

Then there are do-it-yourself, all-you-can-eat kushiage shops, where you pick your own skewers of raw ingredients from refrigerated cabinets and fry them yourself in deep-fryers that are built into each table. That's right, there's a vat of bubbling oil right in the center of your dining table - the danger is part of the fun! Usually all-you-can-eat shops have a two-hour time limit, and provide buffet-style salads, desserts and drinks as well as skewers.