{"id":25898,"date":"2021-10-16T07:45:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-16T11:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thatorganicmom.com\/?p=25898"},"modified":"2022-06-29T10:27:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T14:27:06","slug":"japanese-pantry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thatorganicmom.com\/japanese-pantry\/","title":{"rendered":"Stocking your Japanese Pantry for Delicious Home Cooked Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So you want to stock a Japanese pantry and make some delicious and nutritious Japanese food? Traditional Japanese cuisine was officially recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013, with good reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you love exploring Japanese cuisine as much I do, you probably have more than a few dishes you enjoy when you're at a Japanese restaurant. Maybe you prefer eating at home, but sometimes that craving for Japanese food strikes. You might already even have a few Japanese cookbooks on the shelf?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you plan to prepare any of those recipes you're going to want to make sure you have the ingredients on hand that you'd find in any pantry in Japan. But how to navigate the variety of condiments and other ingredients when you're not that familiar with them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don't worry, I've got you covered. First, you might want to do a quick web search to see if you have a Japanese supermarket nearby that you could explore. If not, you'll likely still find most of what you need at the average grocery store. Most of them now stock common items in the “international aisle.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Japanese cuisine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You may be a bit intimidated by Japanese cuisine because of the over-the-top dishes you've seen at popular restaurants. However, with a properly stocked pantry, you can make unbelievably delicious dishes and truly memorable meals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get ready to go beyond miso soup and sushi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japanese home cooks prepare an array of side dishes that include pickled veggies, seafood, and other types of meat along with many seasonal ingredients. It's no wonder it's considered one of the healthier cuisines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elements of Japanese Food<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The four elements of Japanese foods are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Ingredients<\/strong> – The island of Japan has a high population, so the inhabitants must make the most of their natural resources. We see this in the unique approach to skillful use of food.<\/li>
  2. Culinary Approach<\/strong> – Presentation is key and basics are important as is avoiding wastefulness. (Learn to make Dashi!)<\/li>
  3. Nutritional Content<\/strong> – Very balanced with less emphasis on meat and more on vegetables.<\/li>
  4. Hospitality<\/strong> – “Japanese food is arguably the most important part of Japanese culture.”<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The basic composition of the typical Japanese meal, rice with ichij\u016b sansai<\/em> (\u201cone soup and three side dishes\u201d), is said to have ideal nutritional balance. Nippon.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    In the book Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window<\/a>, these four elements are described simply by the school's headmaster when he instructs the parents on sending lunch to school for their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    this headmaster asked parents to include in their children\u2019s lunch boxes \u201csomething from the ocean and something from the hills<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d \u201cSomething from the ocean meant seafood – things such as fish and tsukuda-ni (tiny crustaceans and the like boiled in soy sauce and sweet sake), while “something from the hills\u201d meant food from the land – like vegetables, beef, pork, and chicken. Mother was very impressed by this and thought that few headmasters were capable of expressing such an important rule so simply. Oddly enough, just having to choose from two categories made preparing lunch seem simpler. And besides, the headmaster pointed out that one did not have to think hard or be extravagant to fulfill the two requirements.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    I read this book to my children years ago and that phrase has stuck with me. “Something from the ocean and something from the hills” when I think about Japanese food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Traditional Japanese Dishes <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Umami basically translates to “deliciousness” and is achieved with foods like kombu or dashi.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n