My Favorite Japanese Condiments

I have always enjoyed cooking, especially in the winter. It warmed up the apartment on cold Chicago (or even colder Minnesota) days. With my dog at my feet, ingredients on the table, and a lineup of podcasts ready to play, it was one of my greatest pleasures. Even after kids, when the pressure increased to churn out balanced meals one after another, I still liked it - maybe not all the time, but most of the time, yes. 

This changed when we moved to Japan. It was mostly because of the different ingredients available. Technically, you can find anything in a city like Tokyo. However, some things became hard to find and others more expensive. A box of Morton's Kosher salt, for example, cost $8 USD here compared to $3 in the U.S. And I have to go to a specialty store some distance away from my apartment. Beans (garbanzo, kidney, canellini, black), lentils, grains, and cheese were all major components of our diet that became similarly inaccessible. And since groceries generally cost more in Japan, I was spending more and buying less. After the novelty wore off, the food shopping started feeling like a chore. Is this expensive? Is it organic? Is it a grapefruit? It was all a bit disorienting. 

These days, I feel like I am starting to get back into the groove of cooking again. I have accepted that the grocery bill will be double to what it was before and that there will be very few organic options. I have also learned how to better cook with more accessible Japanese ingredients. So here are five condiments/sauces that have made cooking in Japan easier and more delicious. 

1. Mentsuyu

Mentsuyu is a pre-combined mixture of soy sauce, sake, mirin, dashi broth, and bonito. It is a little sweet, a little tangy, salty, and very umami. It is most commonly used as dipping sauce for soba, somen, and other types of noodles. Mentsuyu is my most used condiment because the flavors are already so well-balanced and therefore versatile. You can use it in a stir fry, as a broth, or for a marinade. I love using Mentsuyu with pan fried Japanese vegetables like eggplant, Shishito pepper, Manganji pepper, and lotus root. I simply soak the pan fried vegetable in a shallow bowl of mentsuyu and chill it in the refrigerator. Sometimes I add a dash of rice wine vinegar. 

2. Shichimi Togarashi

Shichimi Togarashi translates into "seven spice pepper." It is made of sansho pepper (an aromatic, mild, peppercorny pepper native to Japan), red pepper, ginger, seaweed, and sesame seeds. This is a ubiquitous condiment used on ramen, udon, soba, and rice. It is a great topping for a boring dish. We eat a lot of cauliflower, usually just sautéed with salt and sugar. Sometimes, I sprinkle shichimi togarashi on the finished product to liven it up. Despite its red color, it is mild enough that my four year old won't mind a little bit. 

3. Youki Chicken Stock Granules

Youki is the brand name for these chicken stock granules. They are akin to chicken bouillon. Their dried granule form makes them convenient to use, and I use them most frequently in sauces, soups, and stews. It adds an underlying umami flavor and enhances the existing flavors. 

4. Ponzu 

Ponzu is soy sauce infused with citrus flavors, primarily yuzu. The citrus gives the sauce a distinctively acidic taste. Ponzu is great with tofu and seafood. An easy side dish is good quality tofu, chilled and plated with thinly sliced scallions, bonito flakes, and ponzu. Ponzu is also great as an ingredient for marinades and dressings. 

5. Furikake

Furikake is a generic term for a dried seasoning mixture that is sprinkled on rice. There are different flavors of furikake, from wasabi to salmon to egg. The most popular variety is probably noritama, which is nori (seaweed) and tamago (egg) flavored. Kids love this stuff. My kids are not picky eaters, but when there is any hesitation, furikake is like magic dust. Just a little sprinkle makes everything go down. It is also used in making onigiri, rice balls. Although I think furikake is usually used with rice, I use it on vegetables to add a little more color and flavor. 

Kid-themed variety packs. The different colors represent different flavors. For instance, the green is vegetable furikake. 

All five of these condiments are available in the U.S. but did not make it into my kitchen as staples until we moved to Japan. If you are curious about trying any of these, Japanese Cooking 101 and Just One Cookbook. 

Itemized Grocery Prices & New Japanese Travel Restrictions for U.S. Travelers

I talk a lot of about grocery prices. It's because I spend a lot of time buying groceries. I also find price differences interesting. Why would Japanese-produced sake cost more in Japan than in the U.S.? It likely has to do with trade and taxes. I don't have a real answer, but this is true of a number of Japanese-produced items, like soy sauce and mirin. 

I have outlined below my receipt from a small grocery trip. This amount of groceries is what I usually bring home on foot or on a bicycle. 100 yen = 0.91 USD at the moment, but I'm converting using a rough estimate. 

• Peas: $1.90
• Green beans that tastes garlicky: $0.90
• Globe grapes: $3.75
• Honeydew melon: $3.75 
• This is by far the cheapest price I have seen in Tokyo for any type of melon. Melons are common fruit gifts and can easily run past $50 per melon. 
• Bananas: $0.90
• Cooked vacuum sealed chicken breast: $2.75/breast
• Package of naan: $2.75
• Pre-made shumai (package of 6, not pictured): $1.90
• This is very inexpensive for shumai. Turns out, it is also not very good shumai. Ready-to-eat shumai and nikuman (steamed buns) are common both on super market shelves and restaurant take-away stands. 
• Tofu: $1.00
• It is easy to find good quality tofu that is also inexpensive. 
• Organic yogurt: $1.75
• Yogurt: $1.70
• 750g Muesli: $5.25
• Oats are generally expensive in Japan. This is one of the cheapest bags of muesli I have found.
• Cold coffee: $0.90
• Cold brew coffee abounds in Japan! There is a wide range. This Boss brand is my favorite so far and is moderately priced. 
• Dried organic apricots: $3.75
• Dried organic prunes: $3.75

Note: Individual wrapping/packaging is very prevalent in Japan. Bananas are packaged. Sometimes individual lemons are packaged. It is because customers care a lot of about quality here, and while appearances do not always correlate with quality, it is the most obvious indicator. I wish things were different, and I do think things are changing. 

Now, on an unrelated note, we just found out that Japan has implemented new quarantine requirements for travelers arriving from the U.S. Upon arrival, travelers must quarantine at a government-approved hotel for 72 hours. Once at the hotel, they must stay in the room. The hotel provides three meals a day and other basic necessities, such as towels, toilet paper, etc.. However, nothing leaves the hotel room until you leave. Any luggage must accompany you and stay in the room with you during the quarantine period. If you are cleared with a negative covid test after the requisite 72 hours, you return to the airport and go through the regular customs and immigration procedure as you usually would. I think the government pays for hotel fees, though I'm not certain. 

Previously, travelers from the U.S. needed only to self-quarantine at home or any other self-arranged accommodation site. As far as I know, the new requirements came into force just a few days ago. One of my classmates from Japanese class returned to the U.S. for three days to receive the covid vaccine. She found out about the mandatory 72-hour quarantine the day before departure back to Japan. I am so, so glad that nothing like this was implemented when we arrived in February. I can't imagine staying in a room for 72 hours with a four year old and one year old. 

I mentioned in an earlier blog that my brother-in-law's family would be arriving this week from the U.S. They kids are ages 12, 10, 7, and 4. Rumor has it that the room size is determined by the number of adults, which is one. But I can't imagine that they would place all of them in a single occupancy room. But it seems a too much for a twelve and ten year old to quarantine alone together. If your family is divided, you won't see them during the 72 hours since you can't leave the room. 

They have already arrived, but we have not yet been in touch. I will write a bit more on how their quarantine is going in my next blog.