List of Japanese condiments

This is a list of Japanese condiments by type.

Mirin is an essential condiment used in Japanese cuisine. It is a kind of rice wine similar to sake, but with a lower alcohol content—14% instead of 20%. There are three general types. The first is hon mirin (lit. true mirin), which contains alcohol. The second is shio mirin, which contains alcohol as well as 1.5% salt to avoid alcohol tax. The third is shin mirin (lit. new mirin), or mirin-fu chomiryo (lit. mirin-like seasoning), which contains less than 1% alcohol yet retains the same flavour.

Rice vinegar is a very mild and mellow vinegar and ranges in colour from colourless to pale yellow. There are two distinct types of Japanese vinegar: one is made from fermented rice and the other, known as awasezu or seasoned rice vinegar is made by adding sake, salt and sugar. Seasoned rice vinegar is used in sushi and in salad dressing varieties popular in the west, such as ginger or sesame dressing. Rice vinegar can be mixed with salt and sugar to make sushi vinegar, which is used to season the rice used in sushi.

Seasoned rice vinegar is a condiment made of sake, sugar and salt. Besides these three necessary ingredients, mirin is also sometimes used (but only rarely). It is used frequently in the Japanese cuisine, where it is used together with Japanese round rice to make kome (or the sticky, sushi rice). Although it can be made at home, prepared awasezu can also be readily bought at supermarkets.

Soy sauce, or shōyu, is a fermented sauce made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain, water and salt. It is traditionally divided into 5 main categories depending on differences in ingredients and method of production. Most Japanese soy sauces include wheat as a primary ingredient, which tends to give them a slightly sweeter taste than their Chinese counterparts. They also tend toward an alcoholic sherry-like flavor, due to the addition of alcohol in the product. Not all soy sauces are interchangeable.

...
Wikipedia