List of Japanese Dishes - Japanese Flavorings

Japanese Flavorings

Many Japanese foods are prepared using one or more of the following:

• Kombu (kelp), katsuobushi (flakes of cured skipjack tuna, sometimes referred to as bonito) and niboshi (dried baby sardines) are often used to make dashi stock.
• Negi (Welsh onion), onions, garlic, nira (Chinese chives), rakkyō (a type of scallion).
• Sesame seeds, sesame oil, sesame salt (gomashio), furikake, walnuts or peanuts to dress.
• Shōyu (soy sauce), dashi, mirin, sugar, rice vinegar, miso, sake.
• Wasabi (and imitation wasabi from horseradish), karashi (hot mustard), red pepper, ginger, shiso (perilla or beefsteak plant) leaves, sansho, citrus peel, and honeywort (called mitsuba).
• A citrus fruit called yuzu is also a frequent condiment, mashed up into a relish, sold as yuzukoshō and is blended with pepper/chili and salt. Yuzukoshō is eaten with many dishes, adding a flavorful kick to broth/soup items such as oden, nikujaga, tonjiru, udon, etc... Yuzu is also seen to flavor teas, jams or zeri (jelly), and any number of sweets from yuzu-an (a type of Anpan) to yuzu-hachimitsu (yuzu-honey).

Less traditional, but widely used ingredients include:

• Monosodium glutamate, which is often used by chefs and food companies as a cheap flavor enhancer. It may be used as a substitute for kombu, which is a traditional source of free glutamate
• Japanese-style Worcestershire sauce, often known as simply "sauce", thicker and fruitier than the original, is commonly used as a table condiment for okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), tonkatsu (トンカツ), croquette ("korokke", コロッケ) and the like.
• Japanese mayonnaise is used with salads, okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), yaki soba (焼きそば) and sometimes mixed with wasabi or soy sauce.