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akami
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lean meat of the tuna taken from the sides of its body; the meat is red and firm |
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bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
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one of the key ingredients for dashi, the fish based soup stock; the strong-tasting fish flakes are extracted from dried, smoked and fermented bonito, a kind of tuna |
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dashi
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Fish-based soup stock used as a basis for most Japanese soups and many sauces; it is commonly made by boiling mainly bonito flakes and seaweed, and then straining the resulting liquid; it can however also be bought as instant powder to be dissolved in water |
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hijiki
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a kind of seaweed with a very dark brown, almost black, colour and the shape of long thin sticks; in Japanese cuisine it often appears in salads and it is said to be particularly rich in fibres and minerals; usually sold dried |
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kombu
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this kind of seaweed one of the key ingredient for dashi, the fish based soup stock; it is usually sold dried and before re-hydrating has a leathery look |
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mirin
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sweet rice wine excluselively used for cooking |
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miso
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miso paste is made of fermented soy beans and is used not only in miso soup, but also in various sauces, marinades, etc; it comes in different varieties, the most common ones beeing the lighter tasting shiromiso (white miso, which is actually yellowish), and the stronger tasting akamiso (red miso) |
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myoga
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small vegetable of about 7 or 8cm length; by aspect as well as texture it reminds of a somewhat long red onion, but is quite mild in taste and just very slightly reminds of ginger (which it is related to). |
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nori
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"sheets" of seaweed commonly used to wrap sushi |
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ponzu sauce
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commonly used sauce produced by boiling mirin, rice vinegar, bonito flakes and kombu seaweed, straining it though a sieve and adding the juice of Japanese citrus fruits; you mostly find it mixed with soy sauce |
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renkon
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or lotus root; a root vegetable with firm texture, delicate flavour and a beautiful flower-like shape when sliced |
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rice vinegar
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Japanese rice vinegar (which is very mild) is very different from e.g. the Chinese one (much more acid), so be careful which one you use; it is used to prepare sushi rice (in a mixture with salt and sugar), but also for seasoning other dishes, like salads |
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sake
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Japanese rice wine; just as for wine, there is of course a huge variety of drinking sake, but there is also cooking sake mostly sold in plastic bottles |
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shichimi
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Japanese spice mixture also known as "nanami", both meaning something like "seven spices"; features chili pepper, orange peel, black sesame, white sesame, ginger, Japanese pepper, and seaweed; it is very popular in Japan and also readily available at Japanese or Asian food shops outside Japan |
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shiso leaves
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a herb that is member of the mint family; its taste is hard to describe - it is kind of sweetish and to me has something "plummy" |
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soba
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Japanese thin noodles made of buckwheat flour; can be eaten hot or cold, in soup or with a dip |
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toro
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fatty meat of the tuna taken from the belly of its body; the meat is pink and extremely soft and tender |
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udon
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Japanese thick wheat-based noodles; often (but not only) eaten in soup |
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wakame
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the kind of seaweed that looks like thin, dark green tissue and that you most prominently find in miso soup; usually sold dried |
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wasabi
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Japanese horseradish; processed to a spicy, green paste it is commonly served to sushi or sashimi |
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yuzu
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East Asian citrus fruit; I would describe its taste as similar to the smell of a still somewhat green, fresh, soury tangerine |
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