Asking "What are you cooking?" in Japanese

Question

Is my translation of "What are you cooking?" in Japanese below correct?

何を炊いている？

Any inputs or feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

The most common phrase among the native speakers would definitely be:

「何{なに}を作{つく}ってるの？」 informally

「何を作っているんですか？」 less informally

These can be used regardless of the cooking method -- boiling, stir-frying, deep-frying, baking, etc.

Your sentence:

「何を炊{た}いている（の）？」

is a little bit tricky, making your question a very good one. Why so?

That is because in many parts of Japan, including Tokyo, the only thing one can 炊く is rice. In other words, the verb 「炊く」 is almost reserved for cooking rice. So, that sentence could sound strange to many.

For that reason, I thought of Kansai (region around Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) when I first read your sentence as 「炊く」 is used for boiling almost anything in Kansai.

Even in Kansai, however, you could not say 「何を炊いてるの？」 to a person who is cooking something using an oven or frying something using a frying pan.

Thus, all in all, the safest verb choice would be 「作る」.