Rice
Japanese rice
An essential part of Japanese meals, and the first pantry staple I would buy for everyday home cooking.
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Japanese Pantry & Kitchen Picks
My Japanese Pantry & Kitchen Picks
A small collection of Japanese pantry ingredients and kitchen tools I use or recommend for cooking Japanese food at home in Australia.
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Pantry Basics
These are the ingredients I would start with for simple Japanese home cooking.
Soy sauce
Yamasa soy sauce
A good everyday Japanese soy sauce for sauces, simmered dishes, marinades and simple home cooking.
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Soy sauce
Kishibori shoyu
A richly flavoured soy sauce that is lovely for dipping, finishing dishes or enjoying with sashimi and sushi.
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Mirin
Spiral Foods brewed cooking mirin
I often use this when I run out of hon-mirin. It works well for teriyaki sauce, simmered dishes and adding gentle sweetness.
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Sake
Cooking sake
Essential for cooking with meat and fish, adding gentle umami and aroma to everyday Japanese dishes.
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Miso
Shiro miso
A lighter, gentler miso with a mild sweetness. Lovely for everyday miso soup, sauces and dressings.
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Miso
Aka miso
A darker miso with a deeper, stronger flavour. Good when you want a richer miso soup or sauce.
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Dashi
Dashi packs
An easy way to make Japanese stock for miso soup, oyakodon, noodle soup and simmered dishes.
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Nice to Add Later
Small pantry items that are handy once you start cooking more Japanese recipes.
Sesame
Sesame oil
A small amount adds aroma to dressings, stir-fries, soups and simple side dishes.
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Vinegar
Japanese rice vinegar
Good for sushi rice, dressings and adding gentle acidity to everyday Japanese meals.
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Karaage
Potato starch
Useful for karaage, teriyaki chicken and giving meat or tofu a light coating before cooking.
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Miso soup
Dried wakame
Easy to keep in the pantry and perfect for miso soup, simple salads and small side dishes.
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Nori
Roasted nori sheets
Useful for sushi rolls, onigiri and as a topping for rice bowls. You can often find nori at supermarkets too, but this is a nice Japanese option if you want to order online.
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Sesame
Hulled white sesame seeds
Lovely for sesame dressing, rice, vegetables and small Japanese side dishes.
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Sesame
Ground roasted sesame seeds
Helpful if you want to skip grinding sesame seeds yourself for dressings and side dishes.
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Matcha
Matcha powder
Good for making simple matcha salt, matcha lattes, tea or homemade matcha sweets.
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Kitchen Tools
A few useful tools for rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki and simple Japanese cooking at home.
Rice
Standing rice paddle
Helpful for serving rice without leaving the paddle on a plate or kitchen bench.
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Miso soup
Miso strainer
Useful for dissolving miso smoothly into soup without leaving large lumps behind.
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Rice
Japanese rice storage container
Useful for keeping rice neatly in the fridge, especially if you buy 5 kg bags of Japanese rice.
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Tamagoyaki
Tamagoyaki pan
Helpful for shaping tamagoyaki into a neat rectangle.
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Frying
Japanese frying tray
A handy tray for resting fried foods like karaage, tempura or katsu after cooking.
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Rice
Donabe
A rice cooker is easy, but rice cooked in a donabe can feel extra fluffy and glossy. It is simpler than it looks.
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Prefer shopping in person?
If you would rather visit a local shop, I also keep a Melbourne ingredient finder with Japanese grocery stores, Asian grocers and local places worth checking.
Find Japanese ingredients in Melbourne ->