Just like any other world cuisine, there are certain basic ingredients which give Japanese food its unique appeal. While rice and soy products are basic foods to most Asian nations, it is the blending of special flavors, the use of certain condiments and of course presentation which distinguishes each country's cuisine.

Rice

In Japanese, there are two words for rice: okome which is uncooked rice and gohan which is cooked rice. In fact, rice is such an important part of the Japanese diet that the word gohan also means a meal. For example, asa-gohan means breakfast or literally, "morning meal", hiru-gohan means lunch or "noon meal" and yoru-gohan means dinner or "evening meal". Continue...

Soy Products

Soy products which are a dietary staple in Asia, have gained great popularity in the West in recent years and include such diverse products as soy sauce, tofu, miso, natto, tempeh, edamame and soy milk. Continue...

Condiments

• Otuskemono - pickles
• Umeboshi - pickled plums
• Wasabi - hot green mustard made from a root vegetable
• Ponzu - citrus vinegar
• Mirin - sweet rice cooking wine
• Shohga - ginger
• Togorashii- hot red pepper
• Sansho - white pepper
• Katsuo-boshi - dried bonito flakes
• Nori - dried seaweed of the sheet variety