Gifts for Japanese Food Lovers, From Yuzu to Sencha
Someone who loves Japanese food usually has the basics already: soy sauce, rice, maybe a bag of nori. A gift does more when it adds something they would not buy on a weekly shop, like a jar of yuzu kosho, a bag of katsuobushi or a canister of green tea.
The gifts below are grouped into four sets by how the person cooks and eats: seasonings, green tea, matcha and sweets. Each item has a note from its listing or its maker, with the listed price and a table at the end.
For the cook: yuzu and katsuobushi
Yuzu kosho is a paste of yuzu zest, chiles and salt. The Yakami Orchard listing describes its green yuzu kosho as fresh yuzu zest with fresh chilies, sea salt and kombu, and suggests it as a rub on meat and poultry, with sushi, or in marinades, dressings, soups and eggs (shop Yakami Orchard Yuzu Kosho, $11.00, 2 oz). For more ways to use it, see the yuzu kosho guide.
Pair it with yuzu juice. Yakami Orchard's Marugoto Shibori is, per the listing, a first press using the whole fruit, for cocktails, vinaigrettes, sashimi and ceviche (shop Yakami Orchard Yuzu Juice, $18.50, 180 ml).
Katsuobushi is dried, smoked skipjack tuna, shaved into flakes for dashi or as a topping. The listing for Matoba Suisan's karebushi says the fish is poached, smoked and then taken through repeated cycles of fermentation and sun drying, which takes at least six months (shop Matoba Suisan Karebushi Katsuobushi, $25.00, 70 g).
For the tea drinker: sencha and genmaicha
Mariage Frères, founded in Paris in 1854, sells two Japanese green teas blended with matcha. Its Sencha Matcha Émeraude pairs whole sencha leaves with matcha; the maker's brewing guide is 2.5 g of tea for 20 cl of water at 80 °C, steeped for 3 minutes (shop Sencha Matcha Émeraude, $45.00, 100 g).
Its Genmaïcha Matcha Émeraude is a green tea from an organic garden, mixed with toasted rice and matcha, according to the maker. Brew 2.5 g for 20 cl of water at 70 °C for 2 minutes (shop Genmaïcha Matcha Émeraude, $45.00, 100 g). For how the two teas differ, see sencha vs genmaicha.
For the matcha drinker
Mariage Frères Matcha Midori is a powdered green tea from Miyazaki, according to the listing. Matcha is whisked into water rather than steeped and strained, and the directions are printed on the tin (shop Matcha Midori, $39.00, 40 g).
Add a bar and a box of cookies made with tea. The Ocelot listing describes its Matcha Crunch as its Virunga 70% dark chocolate with organic Matcha Iri Genmaicha, a blend of sencha, matcha and roasted brown rice (shop Ocelot Matcha Crunch, $10.99, 70 g). Makabi & Sons' Uji cookies are shortbread butter cookies with matcha and toasted black sesame seeds, six to a 3.6-ounce box, according to the listing (shop Makabi & Sons Uji cookies, $8.00).
For the sweet tooth: yuzu marmalade and sake kasu chocolate
Yakami Orchard's Yuzu Marmalade is made from yuzu fruit, cane sugar and honey, per the listing, for toast, tea or a cheese board (shop Yakami Orchard Yuzu Marmalade, $16.00, 300 g).
Sake kasu is the lees left after sake is pressed. Fossa Chocolate in Singapore makes a bar with sake kasu from two breweries: white kasu from Akishika Shuzo, which grows its own organic rice, and red kasu from Mukai Shuzo's Inemankai, made with a red rice from Ine in rural Kyoto. The cacao comes from Kelantan, Malaysia. Fossa lists the bar as vegan, dairy-free and gluten free, and notes that its facility also processes nuts and milk (shop Fossa Sake Kasu, $14.99, 50 g).
Gifts for Japanese food lovers, by set
| Set | What goes in | Total at listed prices |
|---|---|---|
| Sweets | Yuzu Marmalade, Fossa Sake Kasu, Makabi & Sons Uji cookies | $38.99 |
| Cook | Yuzu Kosho, Yuzu Juice, Matoba Suisan Katsuobushi | $54.50 |
| Matcha | Matcha Midori, Ocelot Matcha Crunch, Makabi & Sons Uji cookies | $57.99 |
| Tea drinker | Sencha Matcha Émeraude, Genmaïcha Matcha Émeraude | $90.00 |
Prices follow the listed price on each product page. Products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com.
Short answers
What is a good gift for someone who loves Japanese food? A pantry item they would not buy every week, such as yuzu kosho, yuzu juice, katsuobushi or a canister of Japanese green tea.
What temperature should sencha be brewed at? Mariage Frères gives 80 °C for 3 minutes for its Sencha Matcha Émeraude, and 70 °C for 2 minutes for its Genmaïcha Matcha Émeraude.
What is sake kasu? The lees left after sake is pressed. Fossa uses kasu from two Japanese breweries in a dark chocolate bar.
The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver.
