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8 Essential Japanese Pantry Staples for Beginners

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In this post, I’ll share the essential ingredients to kickstart your Japanese cooking journey.

I've carefully selected a few must-have pantry staples to avoid overwhelming you or your wallet—you can always add more as you explore new recipes.

The 'Nice-to-have Ingredients' section is for those who already have the basics and want to expand their pantry for more diverse Japanese meals.

Note: This list assumes you already have basic cooking ingredients such as salt, black pepper, and neutral oil.

💡Want a simple guide to start Japanese cooking? Check out our Step-by-Step Guide to Japanese Cooking Basics.

In This Post

🥇6 Must-Have Condiments

Japanese six must have condiments (dashi, miso, vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, and sake).

Miso

Miso is a fermented condiment made from simmered or steamed soybeans and koji, which is produced by growing Aspergillus oryzae on grains such as rice, wheat, or soybeans.

Miso has a rich umami flavor and adds saltiness, making it perfect for adding depth to your dishes.

There are many types of miso, but if you're just getting started, I suggest going with light-colored (tanshoku) miso—it's the most versatile option.

🛒Recommendations:

💡Learn more: Beginner's Guide to Miso

Sake

Sake means "alcohol" in Japanese, and there are two main types: cooking sake and regular, drinkable sake (seishu).

Cooking sake is cheaper because it’s made just for cooking.

Cooking sake has more salt and doesn’t have the refined flavor of drinking sake. While it won’t give you the same depth of flavor, it’s great for everyday use.

Sake is used for many reasons, but some of the main ones are:

  • Adding umami
  • Eliminating fishy and meaty odors
  • Infusing flavors into ingredients

🛒Recommendations:

💡Lean more: Beginner's Guide to Sake

Mirin

Mirin is similar to sake but has a sweet flavor.

There are multiple types of mirin: regular mirin (hon mirin), mirin-style seasoning, and mirin-type seasoning.

I recommend avoiding mirin-style and mirin-type seasonings because they lack the depth of flavor and umami found in regular mirin.

Mirin is mainly used for:

  • Add a shiny finish to dishes
  • Add sweetness and umami
  • Keep ingredients tender

🛒Recommendations:

💡Lean more: Everything About Mirin

Soy Sauce

Soy sauce is made by fermenting and aging grains such as soybeans, koji, and salt.

There are many types of soy sauce, but if you’re just getting started, I recommend koikuchi, as it’s the most versatile.

Once you become more familiar with Japanese cooking, try usukuchi next. It’s saltier than koikuchi but ideal for dishes where you want to preserve the ingredients’ colors.

🛒Recommendations:

💡Lean more: All About Japanese Soy Sauce

Rice Vinegar

Two types of vinegar are commonly used in Japan: rice vinegar and grain vinegar. However, I recommend starting with rice vinegar because it’s more accessible outside of Japan.

Rice vinegar has a slightly sweet taste, thanks to the rice, and a mild sour flavor.

Be careful not to choose seasoned rice vinegar or sushi vinegar, as these contain added sugar and differ from regular vinegar.

🛒Recommendations:

Dashi

Dashi is the foundation of Japanese cuisine, and it adds rich umami and depth of flavor to dishes.

If you want to make something taste distinctly Japanese, simply add dashi, and you’ll have a Japanese-inspired dish! 🙂

If you’re new to Japanese cooking or short on time, start with dashi powder for convenience.

When you’re ready to experiment, try making your own dashi from scratch using the traditional ingredients listed below.

Types of Dashi

Dashi Powder
  • Perfect for beginners or those short on time
  • Tip: Choose high-quality dashi powder made with natural ingredients.
  • 🛒Recommendations: Kayanoya Dashi
Dashi Liquid
  • A convenient option with a ready-to-use format
  • It's useful when you want to whip up some dishes quickly
  • 🛒Recommendations: Shiro Dashi
Homemade Dashi

💡Learn more: Comprehensive Guide to Dashi

🗄️Pantry Staples

must have dry ingredients for japanese cooking (rice and dashi powder).

Japanese Rice

Rice is just as important as dashi in Japanese cooking.

There are multiple types of Japanese rice, but for daily use, you’ll want to choose short-grain or medium-grain rice.

While medium-grain rice isn’t technically Japanese rice, it’s quite similar and tends to be more affordable than short-grain rice in the States.

You can usually find it at your local Asian grocery store or on Amazon.

Note: Glutinous rice (sweet rice, sticky rice, mochigome) is entirely different from ordinary rice (short-grain or medium-grain). Its stickier texture makes it ideal for dishes like mochi or okowa, but Japanese people don’t use it for daily meals.

🛒Recommendations:

💡Learn more: Complete Guide to Japanese Rice

Dashi Powder (Kayanoya Dashi)

This overlaps with the dashi section above, but I highly recommend getting dashi powder, whether you make your own dashi or not.

It’s incredibly useful when you want to add umami flavors to any dish.

If you choose Kayanoya Dashi—my favorite—you can tear the dashi packet and add it directly to your dish for an instant flavor boost or use it to make traditional dashi.

I can’t recommend Kayanoya Dashi enough—get it right now! You won’t regret it.

🛒Recommendations: Kayanoya Dashi

🥈Nice-to-Have Ingredients (optional)

Versatile Seasonings

Mentsuyu

Mentsuyu is a liquid seasoning made by mixing "kaeshi," which is a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and/or sugar, with dashi.

Mentsuyu is usually used as a dipping sauce by mixing it with water or as a seasoning.

Because the main ingredients are dashi, soy sauce, and mirin—basic seasonings in most Japanese dishes—you can use mentsuyu by itself to season a dish as well.

Hon Tsuyu vs. Mentsuyu: These are the same things! Kikkoman named their mentsuyu product "hontsuyu."

🛒Recommendations:

💡Make your own: How to Make Mentsuyu at Home

Ponzu

Ponzu is a citrus-based sauce that adds a citrusy flavor, tanginess, and saltiness.

Like mentsuyu, you can use ponzu to season dishes, and it’s suitable for dishes that use vinegar and soy sauce.

You can also pour it over boiled vegetables such as spinach to make a quick side dish, or use it as a dressing.

🛒Recommendations:

💡Make your own: How to Make Ponzu at Home

Yakiniku no Tare (Japanese BBQ Sauce)

This is another useful condiment made by mixing ingredients such as ginger, garlic, sake, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce.

“Yakiniku” means Japanese barbecue, and “tare” means sauce, so “yakiniku no tare” means Japanese barbecue sauce.

As the name suggests, this is usually used as a dipping sauce for Japanese barbecue, but it’s incredibly versatile and suitable for any meat dish.

You can use this seasoning for Chinese or Korean-inspired dishes such as mapo tofu, or simply toss it with fried meat and vegetables to make a quick main dish.

🛒Recommendations:

💡Make your own: How to Make Yakiniku no Tare at Home

Dried Ingredients

Dried Bonito Flakes

Dried bonito flakes are used to make dashi, but you can also use them to make quick dishes by:

  • Mixing them with other ingredients,
  • Mixing them with rice to make mezegohan (mixed rice) or onigiri (rice balls)
  • Simply as a topping.

🛒Recommendations: Kaneso Hanakatsuo

Dried Seaweed (cut wakame, cut kombu, hijiki)

These dried seaweeds are great for quickly preparing dishes with seaweed.

As I explain in this All About Ichiju-Sansai post, including seaweed in your meals as often as possible is recommended for health benefits.

I typically add cut dried wakame to miso soup, use cut kombu for tsukemono (pickled vegetables), or make simmered hijiki to incorporate seaweed into my meals.

🛒Recommendations:

Kiriboshi Daikon (dried daikon radish stripes)

Kiriboshi daikon is made by sun-drying daikon radish into thin strips, which are rich in nutrients and umami flavor thanks to the drying process.

It's especially useful when you want to add vegetables to a dish but don’t have anything fresh in the fridge.

You can use kiriboshi daikon to make a variety of dishes, from basic simmered kiriboshi daikon to salads and stir-fries.

🛒Recommendations: Eden Daikon Radish

Umami Boosters

Bouillon Paste or Consomme

While this isn’t a Japanese-specific ingredient, I use it often, so I added it to the list.

I use bouillon paste similarly to dashi, but to add Western umami flavors to dishes.

Consommé is widely used in Japan, but after moving to the U.S., I started using Better Than Bouillon paste because it’s more affordable and accessible. I also like to use Kayanoya Vegetable Stock Powder as an alternative consomme.

🛒Recommendations:

Oyster Sauce

This is a liquid condiment made primarily from oysters and originated in China.

It has a rich umami taste and a unique oyster flavor, making it perfect for Chinese-inspired dishes.

You can quickly whip up a dish by stir-frying a protein source, such as meat, with vegetables and seasoning it with oyster sauce.

🛒Recommendations: Panda Oyster Sauce

Shio Kombu (salted kelp stripes)

Another useful seasoning is shio kombu, which is salted, cut kelp.

Shio kombu is packed with umami flavor thanks to the kombu, making it perfect for creating quick dishes without needing many additional seasonings.

You can use it for side dishes like quick tsukemono (pickled vegetables), maze gohan (mixed rice), or simply as a topping for tofu or salad.

🛒Recommendations:

Others

Sesame Oil

You will need sesame oil when making Chinese or Korean-inspired dishes such as mapo tofu because olive oil isn’t ideal for Asian dishes.

🛒Recommendations: Kadoya Sesame Oil

🛒Shopping List

I created a shopping list to help you stock your pantry. 

The items listed are examples, but you can choose any brand you prefer.

However, make sure to read the explanations in this post and understand the type of condiment or ingredient you need, as some products with similar names can be completely different.

You’ll typically find these ingredients at Asian grocery stores or online, but some may also be available at your regular supermarket.

💡Read more: Where to Buy Japanese Ingredients Online

💡Can't find some ingredients? Check out our Japanese Ingredient Alternatives post

Must-Have Condiments

Pantry Staples

🍳What's Next?

Now that your pantry is stocked with the essentials, try cooking your first dish!

You can start simple with Authentic Japanese Gyudon or Simple Oyakodon, which uses a lot of pantry staples.

Don’t worry about getting everything perfect—Japanese cooking is about balance and learning as you go.

Have questions or recipe requests? Feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email—I’d love to hear from you! 👍

💡Need Japanese cooking tools? Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Cooking Tools

💡Want to see a complete step-by-step guide to start your Japanese cooking journey? Check out our Beginner's Guide to Japanese Cooking

💡Curious about my weekly grocery shopping? Read our Japanese Grocery Shopping Tips

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