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| From right to left: Ryorishu, Mirin, Shoyu, Dashi |
I do most of my regular shop at Kosco Asian Supermarket, the Homebase Shirley store in Christchurch seems to have the best selection of Japanese food and they have a Japanese staff member too.
Shoyu= Japanese Soy Sauce. It is really important that you use a Japanese soy sauce as there is quite a difference in flavour to Chinese soy sauce. Tamari is a richer heavier type of soy sauce, for my recipes I usually use just regular shoyu. You can also get salt reduced varieties if you are concerned about salt content.
Dashi= Soup Stock. This is the backbone of many Japanese dishes and gives a distinctive flavour. It is used in many dishes and when making miso soup. You can make your own dashi stock by boiling kombu kelp, bonito flakes, and dried sardines- but really who can be bothered! There are a few different brands of dashi, I like the one pictured above because it doesn't contain MSG and it comes in little sachets (it is less salty than MSG-containing varieties though, so you may need to add more to get a fuller flavour).
Other things that are good to have on hand:
Miso = Fermented Soybean Paste for making miso soup. You can get just straight miso or with dashi already added (dashi iri miso). I would advise asking a shop assistant for help when first buying. You can also get instant varieties which are quick and easy. I tend to use shiro miso which has a mild flavour, aka miso has a much more intense flavour and is darker in colour.
Wakame seaweed, is used in soups and salads, you buy it in dried form and soak to use. You can buy Korean or Japanese wakame, the flavour is the same.
Kewpie Mayonnaise, a must have item in our house- be careful it's addictive!
Shiitake mushrooms, you can buy these dried or frozen- I have rarely found fresh ones in Christchurch and when I have they cost a fortune! They have a really distinctive flavour and add oomph to your dish. You need to soak the dried ones before using, the soaking water makes a nice stock for soups. If you're pushed for time you can also get dried sliced shiitake that require less time to soak. I have recently seen these sold in Countdown stores in the produce section.
Sesame Oil (goma abura), this adds flavour and aroma to dishes. Make sure you have a good quality oil as the flavour is worlds apart from cheaper brands. Trust me it's worth spending a couple of extra dollars.
I don't want to overload you with too much info so I will continue to introduce ingredients with my recipes. If there is something you are curious about please feel free to ask and I will try to feature it in a future blogpost.
Happy cooking!
So what are the essentials?
Ryorishu= Japanese Cooking Wine. You could also use sake instead. As this has alcohol some Asian food markets might not sell it if they don't have a liquor licence.
Mirin= Sweet Cooking Rice Wine. This is heavily sweetened sake.Adds the sweet flavour in dishes such as teriyaki. You can add sugar to sake or ryorishu as a substitute.
Shoyu= Japanese Soy Sauce. It is really important that you use a Japanese soy sauce as there is quite a difference in flavour to Chinese soy sauce. Tamari is a richer heavier type of soy sauce, for my recipes I usually use just regular shoyu. You can also get salt reduced varieties if you are concerned about salt content.
Dashi= Soup Stock. This is the backbone of many Japanese dishes and gives a distinctive flavour. It is used in many dishes and when making miso soup. You can make your own dashi stock by boiling kombu kelp, bonito flakes, and dried sardines- but really who can be bothered! There are a few different brands of dashi, I like the one pictured above because it doesn't contain MSG and it comes in little sachets (it is less salty than MSG-containing varieties though, so you may need to add more to get a fuller flavour).
Other things that are good to have on hand:
Miso = Fermented Soybean Paste for making miso soup. You can get just straight miso or with dashi already added (dashi iri miso). I would advise asking a shop assistant for help when first buying. You can also get instant varieties which are quick and easy. I tend to use shiro miso which has a mild flavour, aka miso has a much more intense flavour and is darker in colour.
Wakame seaweed, is used in soups and salads, you buy it in dried form and soak to use. You can buy Korean or Japanese wakame, the flavour is the same.
Kewpie Mayonnaise, a must have item in our house- be careful it's addictive!
Shiitake mushrooms, you can buy these dried or frozen- I have rarely found fresh ones in Christchurch and when I have they cost a fortune! They have a really distinctive flavour and add oomph to your dish. You need to soak the dried ones before using, the soaking water makes a nice stock for soups. If you're pushed for time you can also get dried sliced shiitake that require less time to soak. I have recently seen these sold in Countdown stores in the produce section.
Sesame Oil (goma abura), this adds flavour and aroma to dishes. Make sure you have a good quality oil as the flavour is worlds apart from cheaper brands. Trust me it's worth spending a couple of extra dollars.
I don't want to overload you with too much info so I will continue to introduce ingredients with my recipes. If there is something you are curious about please feel free to ask and I will try to feature it in a future blogpost.
Happy cooking!
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