Learn how to cook Japanese-inspired recipes using delicious ingredients like miso, dashi and matcha. Don't feel like cooking? Try our new Japan Menyū range tonight.
CUPBOARD LOVE
Ready to start exploring Japanese cooking? Use this guide to store-cupboard essentials by Japanese American food writer and fermentation enthusiast Kenji Morimoto.
KIKKOMAN SOY SAUCE
Use it... for dipping sushi and dumplings, in marinades or dressings, or with rice and noodles.
CLEARSPRING ORGANIC TOFU
Use it... cold and simply dressed with soy sauce, sliced salad onion and sesame seeds – or serve it 'scrambled' for a high-protein vegan brunch.
COOKS’ INGREDIENTS SUSHI RICE
Use it... completely cooled and seasoned with rice vinegar and sugar for sushi, or as a side dish for curries and braises.
KENKO MAYONNAISE
Use it...with okonomiyaki (Japanese savoury pancakes) or spread on cheese toasties.
COOKS’ INGREDIENTS RICE VINEGAR
Use it...sprinkled over sushi rice or mixed into a dressing for crunchy salads.
MISO TASTY WHITE MISO PASTE
Use it...blended with butter and spread over baked or roasted sweet potatoes, or in a cheesecake – think salted caramel!
MISO TASTY RED MISO PASTE
Use it... a spoonful of red miso brings out the sweetness of tomatoes and takes cheese sauce up a notch.
COOKS’ INGREDIENTS SHICHIMI TOGARASHI
Use it...sprinkled over your favourite bowl of noodles, soup or stew, or to liven up a dip.
EASY WEEKDAY RECIPES
Try these speedy recipes made using shortcut ingredients and Japanese-inspired flavours.
Miso veggie traybake with edamame, radish & chilli-garlic drizzle
Take your taste buds on an adventure with this traybake of Japanese-style flavours. The quick-pickled pink radish adds crunch and contrast to sticky umami vegetables.
Teriyaki salmon steamed buns with beetroot salad
These soft steamed buns are filled with our flavourful Teriyaki-Glazed Salmon Fillets and topped with a speedy beetroot salad bursting with aromatics.
Chicken katsu burger with togarashi & okonomiyaki sauce fries
This panko-coated chicken katsu burger is served with fries laden with spicy-savoury togarashi seasoning and the umami sauce that usually tops okonomiyaki pancakes.
JAPANESE SCRATCH COOKING
Perfect for leisurely weekends, these recipes are influenced by Japanese home cooking.
Marmalade pork belly with soy & ginger
This is one of Yuki Gomi’s favourite pork recipes for easy dinner parties. The rich pork and sweet-sticky marmalade is balanced with a dash of English mustard.
Broccoli & walnuts with sesame sauce
Tahini is an excellent sesame substitute for ‘Nerigoma’, its Japanese counterpart. It adds a wonderfully nutty flavour to this quick and easy salad.
Broccoli & walnuts with sesame sauce
Tahini is an excellent sesame substitute for ‘Nerigoma’, its Japanese counterpart. It adds a wonderfully nutty flavour to this quick and easy salad.
Blackened cod with sticky rice & tempura greens
This famously good way to prepare cod has most of the work done for you thanks to our Japan Menyū Miso Glazed Cod Fillets and Cooks’ Ingredients Tempura Batter.
FINISH THE JAR...
Use up your Japanese-inspired Cooks’ Ingredients with these handy tips.
Discover more ways to use Cooks' Ingredients
EASY RAMEN PASTE
Rustle up a savoury broth packed with miso, sesame oil and ginger for risottos and soups. Use the paste – undiluted – to marinate fish fillets or mix into a dip with honey and mirin.
YUZU JUICE
Yuzu is an East Asian citrus fruit that can be added to fish marinades, sweet bakes, cocktail syrups and dipping sauces for tempura and dumplings.
WHITE MISO PASTE
This light and slightly sweet style of miso can be added to all manner of sauces, batters, soups and dressings to give them a mellow nuttiness.
ROOM FOR DESSERT?
These sweet treats get a twist from Japanese-inspired ingredients.
Yuzu lemon meringue pie
Yuzu is the secret ingredient to making the citrus filling mouth-puckeringly sharp, which is the perfect excuse for a mountain of sweet meringue to balance.
Matcha cheesecake
Vibrant matcha adds vivid colour and delicate flavour to this classic no-bake cheesecake.
Soufflé pancakes with miso caramel
Folding whipped meringue into the batter and steaming these pancakes gives them their characteristic tenderness and wobble.
OODLES OF NOODLES
Udon, egg or soba? Former MasterChef winner and Japanese-cuisine expert Tim Anderson shares a slurp-worthy bowlful of expertise.
SOBA NOODLES
Thin soba are made from buckwheat, and have a firm, snappy texture and nutty aroma. Enjoy hot or cold, bathed in warm dashi or floating in chilled tsuyu broth. Because of their brittle nature, soba noodles are unsuitable for stir frying. Try them in Classic kamo nanban soba, named after an antiquated Japanese word that’s now used for foods with a European connection – duck, in this case.
EGG NOODLES
Almost always based on wheat flour, egg noodles are yellow and flexible. This category of noodles doesn’t really exist in Japan, but there is a similar style called chūka men, or ‘Chinese noodles’, used in stir fries, or sometimes in soup-based dishes such as ramen. This scallop & onion noodle stir fry is inspired by a particular kind of yakisoba from Kitami, Hokkaido, which was developed as part of a campaign to promote the region’s produce.
EGG NOODLES
Almost always based on wheat flour, egg noodles are yellow and flexible. This category of noodles doesn’t really exist in Japan, but there is a similar style called chūka men, or ‘Chinese noodles’, used in stir fries, or sometimes in soup-based dishes such as ramen. This scallop & onion noodle stir fry is inspired by a particular kind of yakisoba from Kitami, Hokkaido, which was developed as part of a campaign to promote the region’s produce.
UDON NOODLES
Udon are one of Japan’s oldest styles of noodle, with ‘proto-udon’ dating back to the eighth century. Udon are thick-cut and doughy, with a firm, chewy texture, but also absorbent, meaning they work well in hot broths. They’re also delicious with a rich sauce in stir fries, curry dishes or chilled noodle salads. Try them in this recipe for microwave vegetarian tan tan curry udon, a hybrid of two Japanese comfort food staples.
WHOLEWHEAT NOODLES
Some ramen shops in Japan make their noodles with a proportion of wholegrain wheat flour for an enhanced aroma and slightly grainy texture. Their taste is stronger than ordinary ramen noodles, so they should be paired with punchier flavours and seasonings – they work especially well with pork and chilli. This 'breakfast bap' mazemen recipe is a brothless offshoot of ramen packed with sausage, bacon and egg that can be enjoyed morning or evening.
WHOLEWHEAT NOODLES
Some ramen shops in Japan make their noodles with a proportion of wholegrain wheat flour for an enhanced aroma and slightly grainy texture. Their taste is stronger than ordinary ramen noodles, so they should be paired with punchier flavours and seasonings – they work especially well with pork and chilli. This 'breakfast bap' mazemen recipe is a brothless offshoot of ramen packed with sausage, bacon and egg that can be enjoyed morning or evening.
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO CHOOSING SUSHI
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO CHOOSING SUSHI
SASHIMI
Slices of deliciously fresh, succulent raw fish with no rice.
INSIDE-OUT ROLL
Sushi rice rolls coated in sesame seed.
MAKI
Seaweed (nori) rice rolls with your favourite filling.
VERDE
Your favourite fillings wrapped in lettuce and sheet of rice.
CRUNCH ROLL
Sushi rice rolls topped with sweet, crispy fried onion.
NIGIRI SUSHI
Slices of fresh succulent raw fish on seasoned rice.
JAPANESE DRINKS
CLEARSPRING MATCHA SHOT SACHETS
Use these naturally concentrated shots of finely ground Japanese green tea in homemade matcha lattes or green smoothies.
ASAHI SUPER DRY LAGER
Japan’s no.1 beer is brewed to an authentic Japanese recipe for a distinctive taste known as karakuchi: dry and crisp with a clean finish.
ROKU JAPANESE GIN
Roku means ‘six’ in Japanese – the number of botanicals present in this crisp gin. Enjoy the subtle notes of cherry blossom and green tea over ice, tonic and matchstick ginger slices.
