Adds flavor to your favorite Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine is very popular in the world, especially in Indonesia, and we can easily find restaurants that serve various Japanese foods there. The enthusiasm for the taste of Japanese food is due to it's easily accepted taste by many people.

However, the delicious taste of Japanese cuisine we usually encounter would never be like this without the various special seasonings and ingredients they use. So, here are some of the most popular and common Japanese seasonings.

Miso

One of the most widely used and recognized seasonings for Japanese cuisine is miso. Miso is usually made from fermented soybeans, salt and koji. Koji itself was made by fermenting rice, but it is common for koji to be replaced by barley or other grains in the miso-making process.

Miso mainly could be found in ramen broth, udon, soup, and as an ingredient for marinating meat.

Ponzu Sauce

Ponzu is basically a sauce and a citrus-based condiment. This condiment is made from a mixture of rice vinegar, soy sauce (shoyu), mirin, katsuobushi and konbu with the addition of lemon, lime and chili. Its watery texture makes Ponzu suitable as a dipping sauce for shabu-shabu and sushi. It has various tastes ranging from salty, sour and savory, making ponzu perfect for various types of meat and fish.

Rice Vinegar (Su)

Su is the result of the rice fermentation process. Even though it has a sour taste, rice vinegar can help to strengthen the fresh taste of food. Usually rice vinegar is added as a flavoring for rice used for sushi and onigiri. In Japanese cuisine, there are two types of vinegar commonly used based on their ingredients, namely rice vinegar (kome-su) and wheat vinegar (kokumotsu-su). Apart from rice vinegar, mirin is another Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice. But some people can’t consume mirin because it contains alcohol and is usually replaced by agave syrup or even honey.

Curry Roux

Japanese curry is arguably one of the most popular dishes from the land of the rising sun. And it's comfort food for many people because of how easy it is to prepare the dish at home, just by adding water without the need for additional seasonings. What makes it so popular is that you can cook and mix curry into various foods, from condiments, main dishes that are dry or gravy and soupy, to light meals and snacks. Because of its popularity, House Foods developed the world's first instant curry powder in 1926 until it was made in a block called the roux form as we see it today. House Kari ala Jepang which is also produced by House Foods is a halal curry roux that you can buy if you want to try to make your own Japanese curry at home.

Shoyu

Soy sauce is the most widely used dipping sauce and seasoning mix in Japanese cuisine which is called shoyu. In fact, shoyu is one of the most basic additional seasonings in enjoying various Japanese foods. Shoyu is made by fermenting a mixture of soybeans, wheat, salt and water. Shoyu results in an extra savory dish and you can also use shoyu soy sauce on almost any Japanese food you eat.

You can make various delicious dishes with the Japanese seasonings mentioned above. Don't be afraid to try cooking your favorite Japanese food at home. Moreover, you can easily find those mentioned seasonings in many supermarkets and convenience stores around you, especially the House Kari ala Jepang!