Japanese food and Japanese cuisine are known to the world, especially in Ireland, primarily through the Sushi dishes. Additionally, the traditional alcoholic beverage called Sake also represents Japanese (sometimes even Asian) culinary art to the world as well as Irish population. Moreover, some of the Japanese indigenous food names like Miso, Tempura, and Sashimi are also familiar in Europe and in Ireland.

Surprisingly, the above listed are just a fraction of the large world of Japanese food. There are even more dishes which are equally tasty and admirable. Below mentioned are some of the remarkable Japanese food products available in Ireland's top Asian supermarket, Asia Market, Dublin. Alternatively our website's dedicated section features an extensive stock of Japanese food too. Japanese Dinner table with food items

Noodles

Noodles is a staple diet in the Asian world. In Japan, noodles are known by various names based on their appearance and the components by which they are made. For example, a type of noodles which is made from buckwheat is called Soba. Japanese instant noodles brand Nissin has a collection of soba cup noodles. A different type of wheat based noodles is known as Ramen. What distinguishes a ramen from other noodles is its thinness. Hakubaku brand is a leader of ramen noodles production. Their organic ramen are prepared in the most traditional manner . The pork bone based Tonkotsu noodle is a ramen variety originated in a Japanese island. Nissin Tonkotsu noodles is a globally recognized one.

Another Japanese food classified as noodles is Udon. Contrary to a ramen, Japanese udons are very thick. An example of this product is the Hakubaku organic udon noodles. Like ramen noodles, the wheat-based Somen noodles are also thin. But they are usually served cold. Get the Hakubaku organic somen noodles from our store and try by yourself. There are a few more Japanese noodles variants, namely, Shirataki, which are clear noodles made from the corms of Konnyaku plant, and Harusame, a type made from potato starch. The later is commonly known as glass noodles or cellophane noodles, or sometimes saifun outside Japan.

Miso Soup

Miso is a soybean based Japanese food seasoning with salt, rice, barley, and Koji (a type of fungus) as the main ingredients. Miso acts as the base component of the celebrated Miso soup. To prepare this, Miso and the soup base called Dashi are combined with other ingredients including mushrooms and tofu. An easy Miso soup recipe can be found in our recipe blog. Here is a well-packed Miso paste produced by the Japanese brand Hanamaruki.

Teriyaki

Japanese food cooking method Teriyaki is much appreciated because of its clever usage of soy sauce, sugar and mirin in the grilling process of meat dishes. The term Teriyaki can be roughly translated as ‘shiny cooking’. The sugar ingredient used in the teriyaki method gives an appearance of glaze to the dishes, and this could be the reason why this method is called teriyaki. Japanese food brand Kikkoman has a Teriyaki glaze and teriyaki marinade, those are available in Asia Market’s online store. Moreover, Nissin brand has a Soba noodle with Teriyaki flavor.

Tempura

Japanese tempura dishes are well-known all around the world. The tempura method involves the usage of a wheat flour based batter over slices of vegetables or seafood, and deep-frying of them in hot oil. Seafood varieties like prawns, shrimps, squids, haddocks, and vegetables like bamboo shoots, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes are some of the items renowned for their tempura versions. Japanese food brand Showa's Tempura flour is one of the best selling one, which you may purchase from our website.

Sushi

Sushi is synonymous with Japanese food and japanese cuisine. This dish is based on cooked vinegar rice and other ingredients including seafood, sugar, salt, vegetables and fruits. The sushi is served with ginger pickle, soy sauce, and wasabi paste. Medium grain white rice is often used for cooking sushi rice. Shinode Japanese rice which is available in Asia market is perhaps the best rice variety for cooking sushi meals. You can also find Japanese brand Obento’s Sushi kit and Sushi bamboo mat in our online store. Also, find Kikkoman’s sushi soy sauce for enjoying your sushi meal.

Alcoholic Beverages

Sakes are rice wines of Japanese origin. They are made by fermenting rice in a traditional Japanese method. The Japanese beverage company Hakutsuru has several classic sake preparations. Most of the Hakutsuru sakes are available in our online store. A different beverage from Hakutsuru, which is not sake, is the Plum wine. This is prepared by fermenting real plum juice, and it comes with a sweet and tangy flavor.

Apart from the alcoholic beverages, a few non-alcoholic beverages also are there, which deserve special mention because of their huge popularity, especially the Kimuna Ramune Soda original flavour and Kimuna Ramune Strawberry Flavor.

Mirin

Mirin is something which falls within the category of sakes, but is not exactly a sake. Mirin is also a rice wine just like sakes. But, they come with comparatively less alcohol content, and higher sugar content. Mirin is an irreplaceable condiment in Japanese food preparation and Japanese cuisine. It is commonly added to fish grills to attribute a glaze and to get rid of the fish smell. Dishes which require soy sauce or sugar can make use of mirin as an alternative. Mirin is applied in sushi dishes and in teriyaki sauces as well. Obento’s Mirin seasoning is the one in our store for our customers to try. We also have a Morita's mirin-type sweet sake seasoning with a little addition of salt in our store.

Tofu

Tofu is a cheese alternative without milk content, which is very commonly used in Japanese cuisine and Japanese food art. It is curd from soy bean in fact, which is prepared by coagulating soy milk. Apart from using in sweet and savory dishes, tofu also finds its role in marinated dishes. The Japanese-US brand Morinaga’s firm Silken Tofu is available in Asia Market, apart from its soft and extra firm variants. 

This is not the end of the list. There are even more. So, why hesitate? Jump into the world of Japan food and experience the exotic flavor they bring to your taste buds.