Introduction to Japanese Food

It is well known that the Japanese people are amongst the longest lived in the world, and most of us would be able to believe that at least some part of the reason for this lies in the diet. However, to most British people the words "Japanese food" probably brings raw fish to mind.......but Japanese cuisine is in fact extremely varied as well as extremely healthy, and in general is less challenging to the average British palate than, say, Thai food.

The first thing to know about Japanese food is that there is a great emphasis on seasonal produce. Inevitably, this means that there is a focus on freshness, and on delivering to the palate as much of the freshness and flavour of the food as possible - and this often means a minimalist approach to preparation, cooking methods and presentation. So Japanese cooking is well within the capability of even an inexperienced cook.

Next, there is a set of core ingredients - Soy sauce (shoyu in Japanese), Dashi (a flavoured stock), Sake (here cooking sake), mirin (a very sweet rice wine) and Miso (a fermented soybean paste). For this reason, we have bundled them together in one pack which means you only have to buy them once. They are also available singly from our full price list section.

Finally, the Japanese often prepare several dishes which are presented at the same time with rice and soup. Japanese rice is very different from other rices - even other short grained ones - and is very succulent and sticky. So a typical meal will comprise a main dish of fish or meat, an accompanying vegetable or salad dish, boiled rice, a soup and one or several accompanying side dishes such as hijiki (a type of seaweed).

Some of the recipes are fantastic for dinner parties or family gatherings, as they involve cooking at the table together - Sukiyaki, Shabu shabu, Okonomiyaki and Teppanyaki in particular.

In this section of the Momotaro Foods website, we have chosen about fifty recipes which we believe will enable anyone to prepare a Japanese meal. They are divided up into 'Easy' and 'A little effort' and there is also an 'Instant' section which includes some ready made meals.

To help you prepare the meals, each downloadable recipe page has listed each of the ingredients, and the Japanese ones have buttons next to them, which enable you to purchase them from us. Your choices go automatically to your shopping basket.

We hope you will enjoy and benefit from this most healthy of cuisines!