Flavorings & Seasonings
Shoyu, soy sauce, is the best-known seasoning ingredient. There are several different types: usukuchi is light in color and saltier than tamari, dark soy sauce, which is used as a dip for sashimi (sliced raw fish) and other dishes. Do not use Chinese soy sauce, which is much stronger. Sushi vinegar is a seasoned and sweetened vinegar product. Rice vinegar is pale in color and delicately flavored. Sake, rice wine, is available in many qualities. It is not necessary to buy expensive sake, for cooking. Mirin is a sweet wine used for cooking.
Miso is a fermented soya bean paste: white miso has a lighter flavor than red, and dark brown miso is strongly flavored. Tonkatsu sauce has a fruity flavor and is served with deep-fried pork and croquettes. Seven spice flavor or pepper, shichimi, is a chili based spice containing hemp, poppy, rape and sesame seeds, anise pepper leaves and tangerine peel. It is a popular ingredient in Japanese cooking.
The strongly flavored bonito, related to the tuna, is used to dry in thin flakes, known as Katsuo-Bushi, to flavor stock and season dishes. Wasabi is an extremely hot green horseradish. It is available as a paste or powder to which water is added. Gary is pale pink ginger pickles, served with sushi or sashimi to refresh the palate. Umeboshi are small, red pickled plums with a sharp and salty taste. They are used as filling for onigiri, rice triangles.
Tofu
Also known as bean curd, this soy product is high in protein and, while it has little flavor of its own, readily absorbs that of the other ingredients. It is available in various forms: soft, firm, silken, grilled (known as Yankee-tofu). Fried or dried.
Noodles & Grains
Various types of noodles are used. Somen are wheat noodles, while hiritaki noodles are made from the starch of the devil's tongue plant, which is a root vegetable. Canned or packed in water, they are good for sukiyaki. Katakuriko is potato starch or flour. Cornflour may be used instead.
Vegetables & Seaweed
Gobo, edible burdock, is a long, thin root vegetable. It may be soaked to remove the bitterness. The blue-green stems of Japanese spring onions, Negi, are long and thick. Mooli, or daikon, is a long white radish. Black or white konnyaku is a cake also made from flour produced from the devil's tongue plant. Tear it, rather than cut it, before cooking so that it absorbs more flavor. Shiitake mushrooms have a good flavor, especially dried. Use the soaking water for stock. Enoki have long, thin stems and tiny white caps. They are crisp with a delicate flavor and are eaten raw or cooked. Several varieties of dried seaweed are used. These include kombu, kelp (used to flavor stocks and served as a vegetable), and nori, dried and processed laver. This is sold in paper thin sheets, which are tested and used as a sushi wrapping. Ready-toasted and seasoned sheets, yaki-nori, are also available. Wakame is used for salads.
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