Experiences – Life – Inspiration 🇨🇭🇯🇵

The title might seem odd, but it’s something my wife and I have noticed a lot since our move to Japan.

Japanese grocery stores lack certain spices that were readily available in many Dutch grocery stores, back when we were living in the Netherlands.

1. Cumin powder: Not a staple in Japanese cooking, cumin is vital for our curry, Mediterranean, and North African dishes. Unfortunately, it’s not found in every grocery store, but luckily, we did find it in small amounts in our nearby supermarket.

2. Turmeric powder: Common in Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines, turmeric is a key component of our curry dishes but isn’t a standard spice in Japanese cooking.

3. Coriander powder: Often associated with global cuisines, coriander and its seeds are not as prevalent in Japanese grocery stores. We miss using it in our Indian and Thai dishes.

4. Paprika powder: While not entirely absent, paprika isn’t a primary spice in traditional Japanese recipes. Though available, the tiny amounts in Japanese stores come at a high price. We use paprika to add spice to various dishes and for marinating meats.

5. Garam Masala: Common in Indian cuisine but not typical in Japanese cooking, we love mixing our own spice mix for curries. However, this spice blend is elusive in Japanese stores.

What was once a routine purchase in Dutch grocery stores now feels exotic in Japan, only found in Pakistani grocery stores in Nagoya. In our rural area around Gifu and even in Gifu city, Thai, Indian, or Pakistani grocery stores are yet to be discovered.

Fortunately, there’s Amazon, where a few mouse clicks allow us to order packages of these “exotic” spices. It appears there is one seller, branding himself as Spice Market, that sells exactly our ever so needed spices.

#SpicesInJapan #GlobalCuisine #JapaneseGroceryStores #CookingAdventures #ExoticSpices #SpiceMarketFinds