Basic Japanese Ingredients

I think a lot people have the idea that Japanese food is really complicated and hard to make. Well, it's not complicated at all! I'll list some items that you might want to get before trying some of the Japanese recipes here. I'll keep adding to the list.

ESSENTIALS:

1. SOY SAUCE 醤油

This is absolutely essential for Japanese cooking. You can get soy sauce at any grocery store now. Soy sauce comes in great variation. You can get regular, low-sodium, organic, and other fancy kinds that use different soy beans, fermentation process, etc. Three major tastes are Koikuchi (thick), Usukuchi (thin), Tamari (rich). Koikuchi dominates the majority of soy sauce production, so if you get "regular" this is what you are getting. Usukuchi has less color and taste, which makes it ideal for Japanese soup that accentuates the taste of Dashi (stock). Tamari has very rich color and taste, which makes it ideal for eating sashimi (raw fish). My recommendation is to buy a "regular" one that seems reasonable in price.

2. MIRIN　みりん

Mirin is Japanese sweet rice wine used exclusively for cooking (don't drink it). The combination of soy sauce and mirin creates the typical Japanese taste, which Americans are most familiar with in the form of teriyaki sauce. Mirin can be found in any Asian store and some gourmet grocery stores. One thing to be careful of is not to buy the fake version called Mirin-fuu みりん風. It is made of cheap alcohol and artificial flavor or syrup. I accidentally bought it before, and it's one of those things that you really can taste the difference between genuine mirin (sometimes called, Hon-mirin) and fake one. Genuine mirin is much more expensive, so that's one way to tell which one is which.

3. COOKING WINE　料理酒

When I say, "cooking wine" in my recipe, it refers to Japanese cooking rice wine, which is nothing more than just cheap sake. You can find it at any Asian store. You could substitute mirin with cooking wine and sugar if you don't want to invest too much in these ingredients to begin with.

4. MISO 味噌

Miso is another essential ingredient for Japanese cooking. It's used in a variety of ways. The most well-known is miso soup, but it can be used for salad dressing, marinade, stir-fry, and different kinds of sauces. Miso is made from either rice, wheat, beans, or a combination of those three, but most miso is made from rice. Miso can range from Shiro (white) to Aka (red). Shiro is sweet and Aka is salty. You should start with something in between, which you can usually tell by the color.

5. Dashi no moto だしの素

Dashi no moto is like equivalent of bouillon for Japanese food. It can be either fish-based, seaweed-based, or a combination of both. It usually comes in a box with smaller bags, and you can get it at any Asian store. Dashi is used in any soup or stew in Japanese cooking. While it is ideal to make your own dashi (stock), which is actually not so hard, I just use dashi no moto because it's so easy. Just make sure you buy one that doesn't have MSG in it. I think most of them don't, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.

6. RICE VINEGAR 米酢
This is the typical vinegar used in Japanese cooking. It's very mild and doesn't have a very strong taste like champagne vinegar or wine vinegar, which makes it ideal for Japanese cooking. You can find it at many grocery stores, but, if you can't, try an Asian store.


7. RICE 米

Well, rice is not an "ingredient" most of the times, but it's absolutely essential in Japanese cuisine. I like Japanese sticky rice because it catches all the sauce of food you're having with rice and doesn't get soggy. However, non-sticky rice works perfectly for fried rice because it doesn't stick to each other. I usually cook a mixture of brown rice and white rice (3:2 or 2:1). I think brown rice is so rich in flavor, and it's also healthy for you.

OTHERS:

8. SESAME OIL

Sesame oil is oil with wonderful sesame flavor and smell. It's used in a variety of foods from stir-fry, stew, to salad (dressing).

9. UMEBOSHI 梅干

Umeboshi is Japanese picked plums, which are very salty. It can be really really salty or not so salty (some of them have honey in them). Being a big fan of umeboshi, I've tasted many kinds of umeboshi and I can say that taste can really vary. Prices also vary. Some can be as expensive as a couple of dollars each (one plum) or more. If you're first time buyer, try one that has honey as an ingredient because it's milder in taste.

10. POTATO STARCH 片栗粉(arrowroot)

This is the thickening agent typically used in Japanese cooking. Although it is known to the Japanese and packaged as katakuriko (arrowroot), it is usually potato starch because arrowroot is expensive. Potato starch has more thickening power than cornstarch. You can get this at any Asian store.

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