Japanese cooking uses a variety of ingredients. What ingredients are easy to find in Finland and what are not?
I’ ve compiled a list of Japanese ingredients that can be bought in Finland, according to the level of difficulty in getting them. Some are surprisingly easy to find, while others are quite difficult to find. If you have any information on what you have seen in Finland, please let me know.

Difficulty Level ★★★ @ Large Markets
This is a list of Japanese foodstuffs that you can surely find in large stores like K-Supermarket, K-Citymarket, and Prisma.
If you are lucky, you can also find them in smaller markets.
Blue Dragon Products

Main Japanese Foods
- Japanese rice
- Nori seaweed
- Rice vinegar
- Sushi vinegar
- Mirin-like seasoning
- Wasabi
- Gari
- Chinese noodles
- Vermicelli
Looking at this, you can see how many sushi-related products there are. As you can see from the number of sushi restaurants, sushi has become quite popular in Finland.




















Sesame Seeds = Sesaminsiemen
[Japanese] Goma
[Manufacturer] Salliselta and other Finnish manufacturers
[Section] Nuts section










Sesame Paste = Tahini, Seesamitahna
[Japanese] Neri-goma
[Manufacturer] Filos, etc.
[Section] Asian seasoning corner or Asian market
Pure sesame paste, tahini, is sold in many stores. Since it has no additives, it separates in the bottle. Mix well before use.
I use this manufacturer’s products because they do not become hard even in the refrigerator.

This product has salt added to it.




Matcha = Matcha vihreä tee
[Japanese] Matcha
[Manufacturer] varies
[Section] Tea section








Difficulty ★★☆@Asian Market
Even if you can’t get these products at regular markets, you can buy them at Asian markets.
However, there are many different types of Asian markets, for example, Chinese, Thai and so on. Here is a list of products you can buy at any type of Asian market.
Sesame oil
[Japanese] Goma-abura
You can buy sesame oil (Seesamiöljy) at regular markets. But I buy it at Asian markets because I feel that the one in normal market lacks a fragrant aroma, whether it is roasted too lightly or not.
Ajinomoto
You can buy it in large 100g bags, not in small bags like in Japan. Once you buy it, you will never have a shortage of ajinomoto.



Glutinous Rice Flour
Glutinous rice flour is the one labeled “糯米粉”. There are differences in the way it is made, but it can be used as a substitute for Shiratama flour. “水磨粘米” is normal rice flour same as you can buy normal market, Joshin-ko in Japanese.






Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
Dried shiitake mushrooms are surprisingly easy to find. If you don’t care about the place of origin, you can find quite a variety of ingredients.
Difficulty level ★★★



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