"SA SHI SU SE SO": The Secret to Good Japanese Cooking

Japan has many traditional dishes besides sushi that you might not be familiar with. For example:

• Nabe is a hot pot dish with many veggies and fish/meat.
• Okonomiyaki is a kind of pancake with veggies and meat/seafood inside.
• Sashimi is sliced fresh fish.
• Tempura is fried veggies/seafood.

• Shogayaki is pan-fried pork in ginger sauce.
• Oyakodon is a bowl of rice with chicken, eggs, and veggies. It’s called “oyako (parent and child)” as the chicken are the parents and the eggs are their babies….
• Sukiyaki is a hot pot with beef and veggies in a sweet soup served with raw eggs.

There are many, many more dishes that Japanese people love and are proud of.

The secret

Now, here is a secret word in Japan, and it’s what you need for Japanese food:

Sa Shi Su Se So (さ　し　す　せ　そ)

• Sa: Satou (さとう) Sugar
• Shi: Shio (しお) Salt
• Su: Su (す) Vinegar (commonly made from rice or grain)
• Se: Seuyu =Shouyu (せうゆ＝しょうゆ) Soy sauce
• So: Miso (みそ) Miso paste (fermented soybeans, rice, etc)

There are also other must-have items for Japanese food.

• Mirin (みりん): Sweet sake
• Sake (さけ): Cooking sake
• Dashi (だし): soup stock powders (common flavors are bonito, kelp, consomme, chicken, etc.)
• Mentsuyu (めんつゆ): sweet sauce (often used for soups, sauces). You can make this with soy sauce, mirin, and dashi too.

***These days, Japanese people don’t use too much salt or sugar for their health; instead they use mirin, soy sauce, sake, and miso. If you look up  Japanese recipes, you will see these seasonings a lot.