Favorite Products

On this page you will find all of my favorite kitchen tools, tea products, cooking ingredients, beauty essentials, and more. This list is a mix of fun, durable, and useful items that have enhanced certain aspects of my life. I own and use all of them on a regular basis.

Dashi Powder
Kayanoya

Dashi Powder

A few years ago, my mother mailed me a care package from Japan that contained this dashi powder. I instantly fell in love with its pure taste - you would think it was freshly made that morning. And I have to admit that I was shocked when I saw it being sold on Amazon! That’s a good though since I use this dashi powder for soups, stir fries, sauces, and so much more.
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Spicy Chili Crisp
Lao Gan Ma

Spicy Chili Crisp

If you read my blog regularly you know I am obsessed with spicy chili crisp. There’s nothing else like it out there - it’s spicy, super pungent, nutty, salty, umami… And the list goes on. How do you use it? You open the jar, scoop up that fiery red sauce and dump it on everything! It’s one of those magical sauces that make everything better.
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Sesame Oil
Kadoya

Roasted Sesame Oil

Fun fact - all Japanese sesame oils are roasted which is why you don’t see it written on the bottle. Roasted sesame oil has a concentrated nutty taste and should be used at the very end of the cooking process since the smoke point is lower than regular sesame oil. If you cook on too high for too long, the flavor will become rancid. It’s also a wonderful addition to soups, salads, and sides - drizzle a little on top just before serving.
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Oyster Sauce
Lee Kum Kee

Oyster Sauce

The difference between good oyster sauce and bad oyster is like day and night. A good oyster sauce should be salty, sweet, pungent, and have so much depth of flavor that a little drizzle is all that’s needed. I have tried many different brands and Lee Kum Kee’s premium oyster sauce is far superior than all the other ones.
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Rice Vinegar
Mizkan

Rice Vinegar

My two favorite brands of rice vinegar are Nakano and Mizkan. This pure unpolished brown rice vinegar is absolutely delicious - it’s not as sharp as regular plain rice vinegar and contains fruity notes. It’s packed with subtle, yet, complex flavors.
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Cooking Sake
Kikkoman

Cooking Sake

Junmai sake is the recommended sake for cooking Japanese food as it has a pleasant flavor when served warm. If you cannot find it, you can try regular sake or Kikkoman Riyorishi Cooking Sake.
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Mirin
Kikkoman

Mirin

If you can find real mirin - called hon mirin - that’s the one you want to get. Real mirin is low in alcohol and is made from different varieties of rice. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to find real mirin in the US - your best bet is to visit a sake shop to find one. But if you don’t live near one, I recommend using Kikkoman’s Aji Mirin. It’s less sweet and has a little more depth of flavor than other food store mirin.
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Soy Sauce
Yamasa

Soy Sauce

I prefer using Japanese soy sauce in my cooking to other types because it’s milder and has a flavor that easily pairs well with any dish. Kikkoman is the most well known soy sauce but I prefer using Yamasa for its slightly less salty taste. Plus, it’s the brand that my mother has been using for years - and I trust her palate almost more than my own!
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