I live in Melbourne, where I am lucky to have access to Japanese grocery stores, so I usually buy my pantry items there. However, I use some ingredients very often, such as soy sauce, miso and rice, so I often run out and pick them up at local supermarkets like Coles, Woolworths and IGA or nearby fruit and vegetable shops.

This guide is based on what I can find in Melbourne, but many of these ingredients should also be available in other cities across Australia.

Supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths & IGA)

These days, it is quite easy to find basic Japanese ingredients at supermarkets like Coles, Woolworths and IGA stores.

Among these, I find that some IGA stores have the widest range of Japanese ingredients. In certain stores, you can find a good selection of Spiral brand products, including soy sauce, mirin, sake and miso. These are the ones I often use in my kitchen.

What you can buy at supermarkets in Australia

Coles and Woolworths usually carry Obento brand products, which also offer a good range of basic ingredients. Soy sauce can be a little confusing at first, as there are many different types available from various countries. Try to choose a Japanese soy sauce.

I often see Kikkoman tamari soy sauce in these supermarkets. Tamari is a type of Japanese soy sauce made mostly from soybeans, with little or no wheat. Because of this, it has a richer flavour and a deeper umami taste. It is usually great for sashimi or sushi, but it can also be used for cooking. Despite its rich flavour, tamari is often slightly lower in salt than regular soy sauce, and in many cases it can be used in the same amount.

Other things I often buy from Coles and Woolworths are udon and tofu. It is very handy to be able to find frozen udon at the supermarket. Whenever I go to Woolworths, I buy Macro brand tofu. It is great for everyday miso soup.

Japanese Grocery Stores

Japanese grocery stores are the best place to find a full range of Japanese ingredients. I usually buy things like miso, mirin, cooking sake, dashi packs, Japanese curry roux and Japanese rice there.

I usually go to a Japanese grocery store when I run out of ingredients that I can only find there, and when I go, I try to buy everything I need for Japanese cooking at the same time.

Japanese grocery stores I go to: My Top 3 Favourite Japanese Grocery Stores in Melbourne

If you live in a city like Melbourne, visiting a Japanese grocery store every now and then makes Japanese home cooking much easier.

Other Grocery Stores

I find that some local fruit and vegetable shops have a great selection of Japanese ingredients. It is worth checking when you visit your local shop.

Asian grocery stores are also very helpful if you want to cook Japanese food more often. They usually have fewer Japanese ingredients than Japanese grocery stores, but some stores have a good range of pantry items.

Online Stores

You can also buy many Japanese ingredients online. Buying online is very convenient, especially for pantry items you use often.

Here are some of the ingredients you can easily find online in Australia:

Basic seasonings

These are some of the ingredients I personally use and recommend for everyday Japanese cooking.

Soy sauce

• Spiral Foods Organic Soy Sauce (easy to find in Australia)
• Yamasa Soy Sauce (clean and well balanced flavour)
• Kishibori Shoyu (rich and traditional flavour)

Mirin

• Spiral Foods Mirin (easy to find in Australia)
• Spiral Foods Gluten Free Mirin
• Daiwa Mirin (good for regular use)

Sake

• Daiwa Cooking Sake (good everyday option)
• Carwari Organic Cooking Sake

Dashi packs

• Chaganju Dashi Stock (great for miso soup)

Miso

• Yamagen White Koji Miso (mild and slightly sweet)
• Carwari Organic White Miso
• Carwari Organic Red Miso

Japanese rice

• Niigata White Rice (Japanese short grain rice)

I also link to some of the ingredients I use throughout this site, focusing on ones I personally recommend.

The Basic Japanese Pantry (Start with These)

If you are new to Japanese cooking, I recommend starting with these basic ingredients:

• Soy sauce
• Mirin
• Sake
• Miso
• Dashi (dashi packs)

With just these basic seasonings, you can cook many popular Japanese home dishes.

These are some recipes you can try: Teriyaki Chicken Tofu & Wakame Miso Soup Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)

Japanese home cooking does not require many special ingredients. Once you have a few basic seasonings in your pantry, you can cook many different Japanese meals at home in Australia.