Maintaining a healthy diet doesn't take that much time. I swear by 5 Japanese ingredients when creating culinary magic in my 20-minute meals.

• Kaki Okumura is a Japanese wellness writer who grew up in the US and Japan.

• She says her five Japanese staple ingredients are soy sauce, dashi, sake, mirin, and miso.

• Recipes for miso soup, teriyaki sauce, and hot pot broth all use some or all of the Japanese staple ingredients.

Japanese cooking can come across as difficult or complicated to those who've never tried. There are unfamiliar names and unknown ingredients to navigate, and without guidance, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

But you may be surprised to discover that many Japanese dishes only require a handful of ingredients, are accessible to beginner cooks, and can be prepared in under 20 minutes.

The key to creating savory, delicious meals stems from five Japanese staple ingredients: soy sauce, dashi, sake, mirin, and miso.

Look up any classic Japanese dish, and it will probably use one, if not several of the staple ingredients. It's used in everything from sushi and tempura to ramen and soba.

Why are these ingredients used so often? Because each can easily elevate the flavor of food through umami.

Umami is the key taste in Japanese cuisine, and it's the final addition to the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. It is chemically the flavor produced when glutamic acid is broken down to amino acid glutamate, but it's often simply described as "savoriness." This flavor is most commonly produced through fermentation, but it can also be drawn out through cooking, and several foods are naturally rich in umami.

Keep reading for a quick guide through five staple Japanese ingredients, and three simple recipes that use them.

1. Soy sauce

Soy sauce is made by steaming and roasting soybeans and wheat together, and then fermenting the mixture with koji, a strain of fermentation culture. The enzymes from koji break down the starches and proteins, and the umami flavor is developed.

2. Miso paste

The second staple, miso paste, is made from a similar process of fermenting soybeans, koji, and salt together over several days to years. Daily intake of miso soup is said to lower gastroesophageal reflux disease — or GERD — symptoms, including heartburn.

3. Dashi

The third staple is dashi. It's an overarching term used to describe broth, but traditionally, it's made with kombu kelp — a naturally umami-rich sea vegetable — and katsuobushi, which is bonito that is fermented, dried, and then shaved into thin flakes. Most Asian supermarkets sell dashi stock powder.

4. Sake

Umami is not just found in savory ingredients. It can also be found in sweeter ingredients, including the fourth and fifth staples on my list, sake and mirin.

Sake is often found in Japanese bars or listed on a restaurant's drinks menu. It’s made with koji, yeast, and steamed polished rice. The koji converts the rice into sugars, and yeast converts the sugars into alcohol, resulting in the traditional Japanese spirit.

5. Mirin

Mirin is a type of sweet sake that often includes shochu, the spirit that is typically distilled from sugar-rich carbohydrates like barley, sweet potatoes, or buckwheat.

By adding one of these five key Japanese ingredients to my meals, I am able to effortlessly deepen the savoriness of my dishes and add complex flavors to my meals without too much effort. Whether you're a busy professional trying to elevate your dishes at home, or simply eager to explore new flavors, these Japanese pantry staples are the perfect foundation for your next meal.

Here are three Japanese recipes in which you can put them to use.

Miso ramen noodle soup base

To make two servings of miso ramen soup, you'll need the following ingredients:

• 600ml of water + 1 tbsp of dehydrated chicken stock, or  600ml of chicken stock

• 4 tbsp of red miso paste

• 1 clove of garlic, minced

• Chili oil to taste

Suggested use: In a pot, combine and heat the soup ingredients. Serve with ramen noodles that can be bought at most Asian supermarkets, and top with diced green onion, bok choy, and a poached egg.

Teriyaki sauce

To make two servings of teriyaki sauce, you'll need the following ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of soy sauce

• 1 tbsp of sake

• 1 tbsp of mirin

• 1 tsp of sugar (optional)

Suggested use: In a pan, saute chicken, fish, or tofu, and then add in the teriyaki ingredients. Simmer for 1-2 minutes and serve with rice and steamed vegetables.

Classic Japanese hot pot broth

To make two servings of classic Japanese hot pot broth, you'll need the following ingredients:

• 400ml water

• 2 tbsp of sake

• 1 tbsp of mirin

• 2 tbsp of soy sauce

• 1 tsp of dashi powder

Suggested use: Heat the water until boiling in a pot, then add the rest of the broth ingredients. Add your favorite ingredients for hot pot, such as napa cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, tofu, and fish or thinly sliced pork.

Kaki Okumura is the author of "Wa - The Art of Balance: Live Healthier, Happier and Longer the Japanese Way." To sign up for her weekly newsletter Kakikata, go to: kakikata.ck.page.

Correction: September 5, 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated how sake is made. It's made with koji, yeast, and steamed polished rice. The koji converts the rice into sugars, and yeast converts the sugars into alcohol.

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