Skip to main content You are hereHomeHandbooksJapanese grocery store list Japanese grocery store list Looking for a shopping list to start your Japanese cooking adventures? Bento fans should also check Where and how to buy bento boxes and equipment on our sister site, Just Bento. A frequently heard lament: Help! I can't find [insert Japanese ingredient] at an Asian store! A general Asian grocery store/supermarket is not the same as a Japanese grocery store. Most large general Asian stores are Chinese-focused (e.g. Paristore in France), or Korean-focused (e.g. H-Mart in the U.S.). This means that they only have limited shelf space for Japanese food. Yes, there is a difference between the cuisines! For the best selection of Japanese groceries, go to the stores that are specified as being Japanese. (Two chains with supermarket-level stores are Mitsuwa and Marukai in the U.S. Seattle-area mini-chain Uwajimaya also has supermarket-sized stores.) Your second choice is Korean stores, who usually stock a large selection of Japanese foods.

Chinese focused groceries generally only carry a small selection of Japanese food, and may even carry pretending-to-be-Japanese-but-really not food (such as snacks with odd Japanese on them). See this article about where to get Japanese foodstuffs for more. This is a rapidly growing set of lists of Japanese grocery stores around the world. Ambitious yes, but with the help of Just Hungry readers, we hope to put together a definitive collection of lists. This is definitely a work in progress - please bookmark it and check back often. Note that Korean and Chinese groceries are also noted sometimes, since they often carry a lot of Japanese ingredients. This is a list put together by you, the reader We need your help! Tell us about your local Japanese grocery stores! Please include the following information if possible - and please add the comment to the appropriate geographical region. The basic information needed is: General comments about the size of store, selection, etc.

I've added an additional category for stores in Japan that visitors shouldn't miss - for selection, uniqueness, etc. Additional comments, corrections etc. for already listed stores are always welcome. japanese ingredients shopping equipment and suppliesJumbo Scallops, sweet flavor and perfect texture.  Approximately 5-7 per pound, dry packed with no preservatives added.  Cuisine Noir Newsletter - Stay in the Know! Be the first to know about the latest online and print issues of Cuisine Noir, industry updates, events and promotions as part of our cultural culinary movement. This Week’s Pairing - 2009 Señorio del Tallar Tinto Ribera del Duero Greg B. C. Shaw Join Cuisine Noir’s wine editor, Greg B.C. Shaw, each Wednesday for a pairing of the week that is recommended to complement and enhance the ultimate culinary experience. From wines, to cognacs, great cocktails and liqueurs, we’re discussing it all in The Pairing Weekly. Have a question or need a recommendation? 

Be sure to post it below. You can also follow Greg on Twitter at @GBCShaw. This Week's Pairing - 2009 Señorio del Tallar Tinto Ribera del Duero, $17sushi mushi game online Tonight for me is sushi night, something that we try to do once every couple of weeks. sushi to go celayaThere are several great sushi restaurants in Sacramento and California has access to top quality sushi-grade fish of all types. jiro dreams of sushi on netflixAs many of you probably know, sushi is always a tough one for wine and people typically go for a crisp white that is still or sparkling. jiro dreams of sushi english srt

Those work and there's nothing wrong with a Riesling by Indigene ($13) or sparkling Chandon rosé ($22) with your favorite nigiri.yo sushi takeaway newcastle I, however, like to also enjoy sushi with a glass of red wine. sushi tei bandung pvjThis is a challenge because the characteristics of red wine can be significantly harder to pair with sushi's widely varying and aggressive flavors. youda sushi chef day 1Two basic sushi condiments, wasabi and soy sauce, are difficult enough on their own with wasabi being hot and soy sauce being very salty. Excessive salt is almost always an enemy of red wines and can completely kill the flavors, making the wine seem bitter. But sushi is about more than soy and wasabi, it is also about different fish in small bites.

Nigiri style sushi is usually raw and we typically order a wide range of fish from salmon to yellowtail to octopus. The flavors, colors and textures are all distinct and a red wine that manages to work with salmon (one of the easier red wine pairs), often has a harder time with octopus or salmon roe (gluten free, like the soy sauce, for me, thanks). So I experiment often with different red wines and sushi. I love Spanish wines and tend to think that they are more versatile than often given credit for. At a recent tasting featuring Ribera del Duero wines, I tried the Señorio del Tallar Tinto. Ribera del Duero is a wine region in Spain southwest of Rioja, the country's most famous wine region. Located on the Duero River, the region grows several grapes, including tempranillo. The wine we tried tonight is, in fact, 100% tempranillo and the taste actually works with more than half of the sushi we've ordered which is not bad considering we even added a couple of pieces of lightly pickled saba (mackerel).

The Señorio del Tallar expresses some interesting characteristics for a tempranillo in that there are noticeable blueberry notes that sit almost as strongly as the characteristic red fruit, especially when the wine is first opened. I'm not sure if that's regional or just with this particular vintage as I haven't tried enough of it, but it caught my attention right away. As the wine airs, the red fruit, especially cherry, comes out, and in sipping the wine without taking a bit of fish, the wine's tobacco flavor comes through with generous tannins and light acidity. It's a good wine for the price and while I don't think I've found the perfect red wine pair for sushi with this one, I am pleased that the rather flavorful and oily hamachi toro (yellowtail belly) worked nicely. A good piece of hamachi toro is a pleasure matched by few earthly experiences, and to ruin that with a bad wine would be a shame. In comparing this to white wine with sushi, I like this better with sushi than a viognier or sauvignon blanc, but not as much as a riesling or chenin blanc.