JAPANESE COOKING:  3-Japanese Pantry Essentials

Here are the ultimate best 3 products of “Soy Sauce, Miso, and Dashi“, we recommend as the essential Japanese food ingredients. Some people think Japanese cooking is so difficult and never been easy. It’s easier than you think.  First, you will need to learn about the basic ingredients.

“ Matsuai Sauce” (Natural brewed Soy Sauce)

Soy sauce is the most important condiment and seasoning in Japanese cooking. Matsuai Sauce’s main ingredient, soybeans, are grown on a contract farm in Aso, Kumamoto without the use of herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. It uses only whole soybeans, wheat grown in Kumamoto, and mineral-rich sun-dried salt, with no additives. The soybeans are used whole and not processed, so the oil and fat components of the soybeans are broken down during the brewing process, resulting in a mellow, deep umami flavor. Enjoy the mellow aroma and plump umami created by fermentation and maturation over one year.   $9.00/150ml

“Inoue Miso Gozen Nesashi “ (Barrel Aged Miso)

One of the most important staples of Japanese cooking, miso is a seasoning paste made by salting and fermenting soybeans with rice and/or barley. Inoue Miso & Soy Sauce Co., Ltd. has been making miso using traditional methods in Naruto, Tokushima for 147 years and is introducing “Gozen Nesashi” from among its four types of miso. This rice miso, naturally brewed for more than five years in wooden barrels that have been used since the company’s founding. Domestically produced rice, soybeans, and salt are used as ingredients, and a deep flavor is achieved through hand-made Kouji (malt) and the natural brewing process in wooden barrels.  $26.00/300g   

Hayashi Kyuemon  Awase Dashi Seafood Seasoning (Powdered Soup Stock)

Dashi is stock traditionally made with bonito flakes and kombu (though other varieties, including vegetarian dashi, are common). Hayashi Kyuemon Awase Dashi is made from dried bonito flakes from Kagoshima, dried sardines from Nagasaki, Japanese shiitake mushrooms, and kelp from Hokkaido, with no artificial seasonings, preservatives, added flavor, or salt. The fish used are crushed and packaged in a bag with both nutrition and taste intact. As soon as you open the bag, the soft and rich aroma of the ingredient’s spreads. You can also use the contents of the pack as is for furikake (sprinkled on rice) or stir-fry.  $12.00/150g (10g × 15packs)