Japanese Pantry Essentials

Every Japanese kitchen leans on the same core cupboard. Soy sauce, rice, noodles, miso, sesame, and dashi. These are the everyday Japanese staples that turn a pan of vegetables into something you want to eat. This is where to start. Chef-quality Japanese essentials, from producers we trust, and ready to earn their place beside your salt and pepper.

Clear all
Clear all
A bottle of 2 Year Aged Soy Sauce with a yellow label and illustrations, crafted using the traditional Japanese method, photographed against a plain white background.
2 Year Aged Soy Sauce
From £12.50
( / )
View options
A clear glass bottle of Organic Soy Sauce - 200ml with a black label and black cap is photographed on a white background.
Organic Soy Sauce - 200ml
From £7.50
( / )
View options
A 150ml bottle of Gluten Free Tamari Soy Sauce from Igeta Shoyu, with a beige cap and white label featuring Japanese text and gluten free descriptions.
Gluten Free Tamari Soy Sauce from Igeta Shoyu - 150ml
£9.95
( / )
A clear glass bottle of Shiro Shoyu Tsubaki, White Soy Sauce, essential in Japanese cuisine, with a gold cap and white label, is photographed on a plain white background.
Shiro Shoyu Tsubaki, White Soy Sauce
From £10.95
( / )
View options
On sale
Aosa Seaweed Soy Sauce comes in a glass bottle with a gold cap, dark liquid inside, and a green Japanese label with white text on the front, delivering rich umami flavors.
Aosa Seaweed Soy Sauce
From £9.75 £36.50
( / )
View options
A glass bottle of Champonzu Mixed Citrus Ponzu Sauce with a red cap and an orange label featuring Japanese text, set against a white background.
Champonzu, Mixed Citrus Ponzu Sauce
From £11.95
( / )
View options
Mikawa Hon Mirin comes in a clear glass bottle with a red cap, containing brown liquid and a Japanese label with traditional artwork, showcasing its premium quality crafted from natural ingredients.
Mikawa Hon Mirin
From £17.95
( / )
View options
On sale
A 300ml bottle of Sanbaizu stands upright with its black label, while a Great Taste 2026 award badge is featured in the top right corner.
Sanbaizu - 300ml
From £8.40 £10.80
( / )
View options
A bottle of Sudachi Kombu Ponzu Sauce with a green label, black cap, and white Japanese text features bold English "Sudachi Kombu Ponzu," showcasing the unique sudachi ponzu flavor and rich kombu umami.
Sudachi Kombu Ponzu Sauce
From £10.95
( / )
View options
A glass bottle of Tosazu, Dashi Vinegar—Japanese seasoned rice vinegar aged in cedar casks—with a beige cap and brown label featuring white Japanese text and product details.
Tosazu, Dashi Vinegar
From £13.50
( / )
View options
A clear bottle with a tan plastic cap holds Concentrated Dashi Stock (360ml), a brown liquid rich in umami, and features a white label with Japanese text and small decorative elements.
Concentrated Dashi Stock - 360ml
£19.95
( / )
A glass bottle of Concentrated Vegan Dashi with a gold cap and a white label featuring Japanese text and a brown-green teardrop design, ideal for Japanese dishes or enriching dashi broth.
Concentrated Vegan Dashi
From £9.50
( / )
View options
A 40g green and white bag of Wadakyu Katsuobushi Bonito Flakes (Katsuwonus pelamis), ideal for dashi stock, with Japanese and English text on the front.
Wadakyu Katsuobushi, Bonito Flakes
From £6.95
( / )
View options
Sushizu Sushi Vinegar comes in a clear glass bottle with a green cap and white label with Japanese text in purple and red. The light brown liquid is made from natural ingredients—perfect for seasoning sushi rice.
Sushizu, Sushi Vinegar
From £10.50
( / )
View options
White Miso - 500g: A Japanese miso paste in a clear-lidded container with Japanese text. Ideal for miso soup or recipes needing delicate umami flavor.
White Miso - 500g
£8.50
( / )
A square plastic container of Awase Barley Miso (500g), celebrated for its umami richness, with white labels featuring black calligraphy and Japanese text.
Awase Barley Miso - 500g
£8.50
( / )
A square plastic container of Red Miso - 500g with Japanese text on the black lid and front label, set against a white background.
Red Miso - 500g
£8.50
( / )
Out of stock
A clear plastic package of Wadaman Roasted Gold Sesame Seeds features Japanese text and a white front label.
Wadaman Roasted Gold Sesame Seeds
From £2.00 £2.95
( / )
Out of stock
A pink and white package labeled Futomaki - Roasted Nori - 10 Sheets displays three vertically arranged futomaki sushi roll illustrations on the front, emphasizing the use of roasted nori seaweed sheets.
Futomaki - Roasted Nori - 10 Sheets
£6.95
( / )
A sealed plastic package of Sanpuku Non-Roasted Nori - 10 Sheets from the Ariake sea, featuring a white label with Japanese text.
Sanpuku Non-Roasted Nori - 10 Sheets
£16.95
( / )
A clear plastic bag of Wadaman Roasted White Sesame Seeds from Osaka, with Japanese text and a small red logo on the label, displayed against a white background.
Wadaman Roasted White Sesame Seeds
From £2.50
( / )
View options
Superior Matsu Non Roasted Nori Seaweed—20 Half Sheets—comes in a clear plastic package with a white label featuring Japanese text and a red maple leaf, ideal for sushi and other Japanese dishes.
Superior Matsu Non Roasted Nori Seaweed- 20 Half Sheets
£9.95
( / )
A sealed plastic package of Superior Matsu Roasted Nori Seaweed containing 20 half sheets, featuring a Japanese label on the front.
Superior Matsu Roasted Nori Seaweed - 20 Half Sheets
£11.95
( / )
Ma Kombu 25g comes in a cylindrical container with Japanese text and an illustration of dark seaweed on a white label; it contains dried Hokkaido kombu, perfect for making dashi stock.
Ma Kombu 25g
£7.95
( / )

Where to start with Japanese food staples

If you're new to cooking Japanese food at home, the shopping list is shorter than you might think. A good soy sauce and a bag of short-grain rice will get you further than any single bottle of sauce ever could. Add mirin for its gentle sweetness, a jar of miso paste, and dashi or katsuobushi flakes for the backbone of umami running through nearly every Japanese meal. These are the Japanese staples that do the real work. And the ones you'll reorder as soon as you finish them.

Beyond that starting shelf, a few essential Japanese ingredients are worth considering. Toasted sesame oil brings a warm, nutty aroma the moment it hits a hot pan. Rice vinegar sharpens dressings and pickles without overpowering. And some nori, furikake and a bag of udon or soba noodles mean supper is twenty minutes away, not an hour.

Everything in this collection has been picked with everyday cooking in mind. No obscure single-use bottles, no seasonal one-offs. Just the Japanese food staples we'd keep in our own kitchens.

Building meals with your Japanese cooking essentials

Once the cupboard is stocked, cooking gets easier. A bowl of rice topped with grilled fish, a spoon of miso, a scatter of sesame seeds and a sheet of nori becomes a full meal in no time. That's the promise of a well-built Japanese pantry. Dinner without the drama, night after night.

For soups and simmered dishes, dashi is the starting point. A quick infusion of kombu and katsuobushi gives you a clean, gently smoky broth that carries miso, tofu, wilted greens and noodles beautifully. Ramen and udon reward the same base with heartier toppings, while soba wants little more than a chilled dipping sauce and a mound of grated ginger.

Seasonings pull it all together. Furikake over rice for breakfast. A pinch of shichimi togarashi on eggs. Toasted sesame stirred through spinach with a splash of soy. None of it is complicated. It's just what happens when good Japanese cooking ingredients are within arm's reach. Working through this collection is a straightforward way to build a Japanese grocery list from scratch: start with the Japanese staples above, then restock each one as you finish it. That's your pantry.

A black and white icon of a ribbon badge with a checkmark in the center, enclosed in a circle.

Award Winning

Great Taste Award Winners 5 Years Running
Outline of two hands cupping upward with a leaf above them, all enclosed in a circle.

Sustainable

We use 100% recylable packaging for all our orders
Black outline of two simple leaves inside a circle on a white background.

Growers

We grow our wasabi in Dorset & Hampshire in South-West England
Black and white line drawing of a delivery van with motion lines, enclosed in a circle, indicating fast or express shipping.

Free Delivery

On all UK orders over £75
    American Express Apple Pay Google Pay Maestro Mastercard PayPal Shop Pay Visa

Frequently asked questions

Japanese soy sauce (shoyu) is brewed with wheat and soybeans, giving it a lighter, sweeter, more rounded flavour. Chinese soy sauce tends to be darker and saltier, made mainly from soybeans with less wheat. For Japanese cooking, always reach for shoyu.

Most standard soy sauce contains wheat, but tamari is a wheat-free alternative brewed the same way. Rice, mirin, sesame, dashi and nori are usually gluten-free. Check the label on miso, and browse our gluten-free range if it's a priority.

Soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar keep six to twelve months in a cool, dark cupboard once opened. Miso stays good for around a year in the fridge. Dried noodles, nori and dashi flakes last months if sealed properly.

Absolutely. A splash of soy sauce deepens gravies and stews. Miso melts into butter for roast vegetables. Toasted sesame oil finishes salads beautifully. Once these Japanese cooking essentials are on the shelf, they earn their keep well beyond miso soup.

Get inspired with some recipes

Creamy Hojicha Ice Cream (Japanese Roasted Green Tea) Recipe

Creamy Hojicha Ice Cream (Japanese Roasted Green Tea) Recipe

This creamy, custard-based ice cream recipe by Yuto from Sudachi is flavoured with the toasty depth of roasted Japanese hojicha...

Mirin Glazed Salmon Recipe

Mirin Glazed Salmon Recipe

This must be the fastest way there is to create a culinary sensation. You do scarcely a thing — just...

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Traditionally used in Japan to glaze and flavour fish, teriyaki sauce is wonderfully versatile. Try this classic four-ingredient base recipe,...

Creamy Hojicha Ice Cream (Japanese Roasted Green Tea) Recipe

Creamy Hojicha Ice Cream (Japanese Roasted Green Tea) Recipe

This creamy, custard-based ice cream recipe by Yuto from Sudachi is flavoured with the toasty depth of roasted Japanese hojicha tea.

Mirin Glazed Salmon Recipe

Mirin Glazed Salmon Recipe

This must be the fastest way there is to create a culinary sensation. You do scarcely a thing — just dibble some salmon steaks in a dark glossy potion, most of which you get out of a jar — and what you make tastes as if you had been dedicating half your life to achieving the perfect combination of sweet, savoury, tender and crisp.

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Traditionally used in Japan to glaze and flavour fish, teriyaki sauce is wonderfully versatile. Try this classic four-ingredient base recipe, ready for you to put your own spin on. 

Show all