Japanese food - suggestions needed

jgic2009

I'll be going to a large Japanese supermarket this weekend, which will be quite the upgrade compared to my usual measly half-aisle of "Asian" food at my regular grocery store.

I already have an idea of some treats I'll get for myself (MOCHI!! ), but I'm somehow drawing a blank when it comes to other items. I'm looking for suggestions and ideas for things to stock my pantry -- noodles, seasonings, sauces, etc. I might get some produce as well (depending on the prices).

Any recipes to go along with your suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Saiklor

buy some veggies and fruits that you don't recognize! it's always fun to try new things!

iLinduh

Miso soup!

hpsaucette

shirataki noodles - low carb and low cal, although you might be able to find other variations like yam noodles. Udon noodles are delicious!
Wonton pastry wrappers - use to make wontons (duh) or low cal/carb pasta ravioli style
Cheap vegs normally like, cabbages, chilis, onions, broccoli's
Get soy sauces (loads of different types), rice wine vinegar, green tea, sake for marinades etc

Have fun!

nickbernie

aloe vera juice, sounds weird but is delicious, mochi wrapped green tea ice cream is a great desert and is in small sizes so it's a good way to monitor how much youre eating. and of course fresh egg plant or root vegetables.

macx2mommy

Love my Asian market.

My favorites:
Roasted seaweed snacks
Shiritaki noodles
Miso soup
Different Asian mushrooms (oyster, enoki, ****aki, and some others)
Asisa sauces
Bean sprout
Gai Lan
Asian fruits - longans, lychees, apple pears, anything that looks different....

BruteSquad

The question is, are you a vegetarian. If so I have only a few things I can suggest.

Wasabi peas. They are dried, crunchy, and spicy. However, they have a lot of sodium. A personal favorite.

Most of the snacks are nut and rice cracker based with shrimp and/or soy sauce flavor. Thus a lot of sodium if you are concerned, but they are all tasty and come in very small portion sizes.

If you eat good fish, the selection of fish will be great in a real full blown store. The sushi grade tuna....yum. Even if you don't do it raw, you can grill it rare. Yummy.

Edit: I forgot to mention that most of the Green Tea ice cream (traditional) is around 100 calories per 1/2 cup. I think the red bean Ice cream runs a bit higher in calories.

auroranflash

My asian market has a HUGE selection of fish, which they will prepare any way you like... fillet, left whole, or anything in between.

Wasabi peas are awesome.

They should have tons of veggies and fruits you've never seen or heard of. Grab some, don't forget what they're called, google some recipes. My store had a ton of different mushrooms. Super yummy. Look for Brown Beech Mushrooms - little bundles. They go great in a gravy, really strong mushroomy flavor.

Grab some Baby Bok Choy and saute in olive oil and add to a stir fry. ILOVEBABYBOKCHOY. And Chinese Eggplant. I put it in my lasagna... yum.

I love their frozen dumplings/potstickers. Not the best, not the worst, but so good. I got pork & veggie last time...

Stay away from the dried squid unless you like really sweet intense fishy flavor :sick:

Their Citrus Soy sauce is really good with baked fish.... it's not as salty as usual and has distinct citrus flavor...

Love me some asian markets. Just don't buy TOO many fresh veggies if you're not going to be able to eat them all.. (oops)

**Edit: OH, and as stated earlier, get some green tea flavored mochi!

oranb

Dried shredded wakame (seaweed). Super nutritious and you dont' need that much as it expands when soaking. Toss the soak water out to get rid of excess salt and impurities and you can add to salads, soups, etc.

jgic2009

Great ideas -- thanks everyone!

FrauVogue

Buy strips of Nori and or seaweed which is high in fiber and stripsof sashimi, which is raw fish. Miso Soup isn't very nutritional, but is low in calories. Purchase, cabbage and vegetables.