Recommended Online Stores
Japan Center
Japanese Kitchen
Tazaki Foods
Sushi Sushi
MySupermarket.co.uk is a very cool way to find which of your local supermarkets stock Japanese products.
Udon
You can get fresh Udon noodles and dried one which you have to cook like you do with dried pasta. This is only my opinion. Fresh Udon noodles you can get at the shops in UK or Europe suit for Yaki-Udon (fried noodles style) because it’s usually quite thick and tough and hasn’t got much taste on its own. So, it’s good with strong flavour sauce. On the other hand, dried Udon noodles usually have got nice delicate texture and taste with them. It’s nice to have them with soup.
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Noodles
I love instant noodles. It’s actually become a Japanese “national’ food!
There are so many varieties from cheap instant ramen noodles to posh ones. You might imagine those are like horrible European style instant noodles. But trust me that some are better than those ones at W$g$m$m$ or some other noodle bars. They usually come with soup and noodles. So, you better make some topping to make it better!
For example, these are quite common ones you can find at the shops. They are cheap & tasty.
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Soba
Soba is made from buckwheat(Soba) flour. It’s served either chilled with a dipping sauce or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Soba noodles you can get at the shops in the UK or Europe are usually dried ones. Unless you are in Japan, fresh soba noodles you get here are let’s say “cheap and cheerful”. There are so many Soba noodle choices at the shops. Even Japanese people get confused which ones are good and which ones are better than the others! The price usually tells the quality but some of the cheap ones are good too. Although, I have had some terrible soba noodles when I have bought cheap ones. Hope I don’t offend anyone but Soba noodles made outside Japan are not really up to Japanese standard. Sorry… it’s only my opinion.
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Curry Roux
Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1869–1913) by the British (Navy), at a time when India was under the administration of the British. The dish became popular and available for purchase in supermarkets and restaurants in the late 1960s. It has been adapted since its introduction to Japan, and is so widely consumed that it can be called a national dish. (Wikipedia)
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Instant Curry
Just warm it up in hot water and pour it on rice.
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Dashi (Click Here for Cooking Instructions)
Before you start to make soup, you better decide how you want to make the dashi soup stock because with the traditional way, you will need Konbu(dried kelp), Bonito fish flakes and dried fish etc. It tastes delicious but it’s quite hard to get all these ingredients and takes some time too.
There are some substitute instant soup stock products around like dashi powder (Hon-dashi, dashi-no-moto or etc). Some are natural ingredients but others contain artificial seasonings. I have to say though these products taste and smell pretty good.
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Tempura
Tempura Mix
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Breadcrumbs
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Tempura Sauce
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Pot Noodle
We called it “Cup Noodle” in Japan. We love it and there are so many choices. These are not like horrible British pot noodles!
These are the king & original cup noodles by “Nisshin”
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Some unusual and special ones
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And there are lots of them. Mainly these are Ramen noodle but also some Soba, Udon and Yakisoba (which supposed to be fried but more like steamed). Cheap Japanese pot noodles are already tasty enough but posh ones have got much nicer and better flavor noodles and soup. Some even has got fresh noodles!
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Sauce
Soy Sauce
In Europe, These “Kikkoman” and “Yamasa” are available at local supermarket and they are good standard soy sauce.
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Teriyaki sauce
As much as it’s so popular, there aren’t many Teriyaki sauce around. I guess that people create their own one themselves…
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Yakitori Sauce (Chicken Skewer)
Sweet and Creamy
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BBQ Unagi (Eel) Sauce
Sweet and Creamy. Similar to Yakitori sauce.
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Garlic BBQ Sauce
Garlic, Ginger, Sesame and etc… Great for meat
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Fried Noodle Sauce
Worcester style sauce
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Okonomiyaki Sauce
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Fish Sauce
These are Thai Fish Sauce but very good with Japanese food too.
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Soy sauce with soup stock
There are several different products. You better try them out yourself to find the one you like. My favorite Tsuyu is orange label one. For Vegetarian, try kelp soup stock Tsuyu.
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Dressing
Sesame
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Wasabi (Japanese Horseradish)
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Yuzu (Citrus)
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Wasabi
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Dipping Sauce
Ponzu (Soy Sauce and Citrus Based)
Very useful sauce. Good with meat, fish and vegetable.
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Sukiyaki Sauce
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Shabu Shabu Sesame Sauce
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Other Spices & Flavourings
Wasabi (Japanese Horseradish)
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Karashi Mustard
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Ichimi Chilli
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Shichimi Seven Spice Chilli
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La-Yu Chilli Oil
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Citrus+Wasabi
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Citrus+Pepper
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Other Citrus Products
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Japanese Pepper
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