HomeSan FranciscoOaklandPhoto EssayFoodHumorTravelPoliticsSure, you may have had your fair share of experiments with instant ramen, green-tea Kit Kats, and Hi-Chew candies, but there is an entire world in each Japanese supermarket filled with the potential to completely change your meal and snack game. Here I highlight 10 offerings from Nijiya Market in San Francisco’s Japantown with the hopes of shedding light on some foods, snacks, condiments, and drinks you haven’t tried before. I’ve included preparing instructions to ensure that you’re enjoying these foods in the best way possible. Now go forth and take delight in the vast diversity of Japanese foods!OchazukeOchazuke is sort of like the Japanese version of any American comfort food but better. Sometimes described as rice soup, a traditional ochazuke dish is made of rice with salty ochazuke seasoning and hot green tea poured over it. If you want the real deal, Japanese restaurants that serve ochazuke make everything from scratch.

Nagatanien makes one of the most popular premade ochazuke seasonings, and they come in salmon (pictured), umeboshi (Japanese plum), and nori (dried seaweed).Instructions: Pour the seasoning out of the little bag into a bowl of cooked rice and pour hot water, instead of hot green tea, over the rice juuuuust until the rice is covered. If you want a more traditional version, you can include some more salty toppings, such as salmon flakes, umeboshi, pickled vegetables, thinly cut nori, toasted sesame seeds, and/or lightly smashed crunchy rice crackers.Kewpie MayonnaiseOnce you try Kewpie mayo, you won’t want to go back to American mayo. Compared to the type you might be used to in the States, it’s smoother, creamier, and less sweet. Major differences are that it’s made of rice vinegar instead of distilled vinegar and egg yolks instead of whole eggs. It’s a staple in most Japanese households.Instructions: People usually put Kewpie on crunchy vegetables or ham, or use it as a salad dressing.

But really, you can pretty much put it on whatever you like.Fun fact #1: For whatever reason, Kewpie gets its namesake from the German-made bisque doll Kewpie.Fun fact #2: Some people are so obsessed with Kewpie mayo that they have their own nickname — “mayora” (almost literally, a mayo person).where to get eel sauceNattōSome say that nattō is one of the secrets to why Japanese people live so long. where can i find eel sauceIt’s been eaten in Japan for more than 1,000 years and helps maintain a healthy heart and beautiful skin. food delivery london mayfairIt’s also said to fight cancer and build stronger bones! jiro dreams sushi online

But of course, above all, nattō is known as stinky, slimy, stringy fermented beans. Once you get used to the smell, nattō can become a healthy alternative to your breakfast cereal. how to make sushi rice cooking with dogThere are more than 30 different kinds and brands at Nijiya you can choose from. buy sushi rice australiaEach manufacturer has its own specialty beans, flavors, and processes.where to get a sushi rollerInstructions: Nattō usually comes in packs of three to four. Pour one of the packs into a small bowl and mix it quickly until it gets — sorry about this — slimy and very stringy. You can eat it as is, but most people mix it with other ingredients, such as soy sauce and raw egg yolk (believe me, it’s good), karashi spice, and/or chopped negi (green onion).

Once it’s mixed well, you can enjoy it over rice.Fun fact: It’s said that Madonna includes nattō in her diet to help keep her body in shape.ManjūManjū is one of the most popular traditional Japanese delicacies. Usually enjoyed along with a cup of tea, manjū comes in an unbelievable variety of flavors, shapes, and colors, some being shaped like leaves or rabbits. Most are made from flour, rice powder, and buckwheat (resulting in a spectrum of textures: from sticky and mochi-like to a more dense, bread-like texture) and filled with anko, a slightly sweet and smooth red-bean mixture.Instructions: Unwrap it and start eating. It’s best enjoyed in a relaxed state with a cup of hot green tea.BentoBento is a really great representation of how Japanese people approach meals — a combination of smaller dishes enjoyed with rice. Instead of centering the meal on one main dish, the Japanese tend to eat several small portions. Japanese parents often spend a long time making meticulous and cute bento for their children, spouses, and themselves to take to school or work.

You can get bento in almost every Japanese grocery and convenience store. There are endless varieties of bento, but the typical bento has rice with umeboshi (pickled plum) on top, cooked fish or meat, karaage (fried chicken), tempura, korokke (Japanese croquettes), tsukemono (pickled vegetables), and some kind of salad.Instructions: You can enjoy it warm or cold. If it comes cold and you want to warm it up, microwaving it isn’t frowned upon, so go ahead and pop it in there. Instead of finishing it portion by portion, eat small bits of each portion with rice. Drink it with water or tea to enjoy it with a clean palette.Japanese CurrySurprisingly enough,curry is considered a Japanese soul food and is one of the most popular and widely consumed meals in Japan. It’s different in taste than, say, Indian or Thai curry because of its sweeter taste and thicker consistency.One of the most common ways of making Japanese curry at home is to start with cubes of curry roux, which are available at any Japanese supermarket.

In Nijiya alone, there is a crazy amount of curry roux to pick from. They come in mild, medium hot, and extra hot, but Japanese food doesn’t tend to be too hot, so don’t fear the spicier ones.Instructions: All the cooking instructions are usually on the back of the packaging. One of the most fun parts of making Japanese curry is that you can include foods or ingredients that you think might go well with it. Typically, people will add bite-size bits of beef or chicken, onions, carrots, and/or potatoes, but you can also add pork, chicken katsu, or fukujinzuke (a pickled vegetable mixture). The more time that passes, the more flavorful the curry becomes. When it’s done, pour it over Japanese rice and enjoy it with a large spoon.Fun fact: Curry was actually introduced to Japan by the British and is thus considered a Western dish.TakuanTakuan, pickled daikon radish, is a type of tsukemono (“pickled things”) that’s popular as a side dish in Japanese meals. You might see a little bit of it included in your bento or along with a meal at a Japanese restaurant.

It’s best described in adjectives that might seem to contradict each other: crunchy, moist, sweet, and sometimes slightly sour. In short, it’s delicious.Instructions: Store it in a refrigerator and enjoy it cold. Eat it along with rice and whatever other Japanese foods suits your desires. You can buy it pre-sliced like this or buy the entire pickled daikon radish and slice it up yourself.SenbeiIf you’re not sold on Japanese foods yet, go to Nijiya and straight to the snack aisle. The options are impressive. Senbei is a type of rice cracker that is usually baked or fried. It comes in HUNDREDS of varieties, flavors, and sizes. Most of them are savory, but some are spicy or coated in sugar, so it’s not hard for people to find a senbei that fits their taste buds. Try as many types as you can to find your favorite one. You’ll be immensely surprised at how the flavors can vary between them.Instructions: The Japanese usually enjoy senbei with tea or just eat it alone as a snack.MisoContrary to popular belief, miso itself isn’t the miso soup.

It’s a paste that can be cooked into a variety of dishes, but its most common form is in miso soup, which is usually eaten as part of breakfast in Japan and has roots dating back to more than 2,500 years ago. Similar to the process of making nattō, the process of making miso includes fermenting beans and other ingredients such as salt and koji (a mold starter). Although it’s usually eaten on its own in the US, the Japanese almost always have it along with a bowl of rice. Miso soup and rice are like BFFs that are never apart.Instructions: Warm up some dashi (fish stock) in a pot with the stove on medium high and add ingredients such as tofu, wakame (dried seaweed), enoki mushrooms, onions, and/or potatoes. Reduce the heat to low and dissolve it in the miso. Once the miso is dissolved, add some chopped negi (green onion) on top, and you’re done!DrinkJapan is known for having an endless variety of beverages. Like the snack aisle in Nijiya, the drink aisle is also something you don’t want to miss.