New to some of the ingredients and foods on my blog? Have no fear – I’ve created this food glossary explaining some of the foods you may come across in my recipes. Scroll down to see links to where you can buy these ingredients if you don’t have an Asian market near you!
Bao
Chinese steamed bread bun that’s stuffed with some sort of filling, often meat.
Daifuku
A traditional Japanese sweet treat consisting of a ball of mochi with some sort of sweet filling on the inside – fruit or red bean paste or both.
Dango
A dumpling, usually made from a variety of rice flours.
Halaya
A jam-like spread from the Philippines. Most notably, ube halaya is ube jam used in many of my recipes.
Joshinko
A rice flour made from Japanese short grain rice. Joshinko results in a less sticky texture than mochi rice flours.
Katakuriko
Japanese name for potato starch. Used for dusting to keep mochi from sticking and also as a coating on meats or thickener in soups.
Kinako
Flour made from roasted soybeans. It has a nutty flavor, somewhere in between peanuts and sesame.
Kirimochi
Shelf stable mochi that’s cut into rectangles. Learn more in my Ultimate Guide to Kirimochi post.
Lychee
A tropical fruit from a tree native to southern areas of China. It has red skin, juicy white flesh, and a pit, and is about the size of a ping pong ball. You can buy them fresh or already peeled in cans.
Mantou
Chinese steamed white bread. It is mildly sweet. Mantou can be eaten by itself as a snack or as a side.
Matcha
Green tea powder. The flavor is much stronger than what you get from green tea leaves and adds a vibrant green color to baked goods. Read my Ultimate Guide to Matcha for more information.
Mirin
A sweetened rice wine used for cooking.
Miso
A seasoning paste made from fermented soybeans.
Mochi
Japanese rice cake traditionally made by pounding glutinous rice into a dense mass with a giant mallet. Although it is still made this way, there are also electronic machines that will do the pounding for you. Mochi foods can also be made from mochiko flour. Mochi is used in both savory and sweet recipes. Despite the misleading name of “glutinous rice,” mochi is actually naturally gluten free. See my ultimate guide to mochi post for more information!
Mochiko
Flour made from the same rice that makes mochi. You can use this flour to make mochi desserts. It is often sold in a box in either the international aisle of your grocery store or an Asian market.
Onigirazu
Like an onigiri (see below) but in a sandwich form.
Onigiri
Japanese rice ball. They can be wrapped in seaweed or plain, with seasoning or without, or with or without various fillings.
Sake
Japanese rice wine. There is sake that you drink and cheaper cooking sake.
Shiratamako
A rice flour made from mochikome (mochi rice). It is similar to mochiko, which is made from the same rice. However, shiratamako is milled while wet and then dehydrated. It’s more expensive than mochiko but results in a softer texture.
Ube
A purple root vegetable from the Philippines similar to yams or sweet potatoes.
Where to Buy Asian Groceries
If you don’t live near an Asian market, you can still find many Asian groceries online. Check out my Asian Grocery list on my Amazon storefront to see some of my most used items from my recipes.
Another place you might be able to find Asian groceries is through the delivery service Say Weee! I’ve used them several times. Their prices are comparable to what I find in store and they’ve been very reliable. The variety is maybe not as big as what I can get in person, but it has all the basics. You can use my referral link to get $10 each of your first two orders.
