The Pantry
What to stock before you cook.
The Japanese and Italian ingredients behind every recipe in the Borderless Kitchen series — what each one does and where to find it.
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Japanese Pantry
The eight ingredients that unlock both cuisines. Stock these and you can make any recipe in Tokyo Meets Tuscany.
White Miso (Shiro Miso)
Hikari Organic
The miso for Western cooking. Short fermentation, mild, sweet. Goes in pizza bianca, compound butter, pasta water. Do not confuse with red miso.
Used in: Miso White Pizza, Miso Aglio e Olio, compound butter
Katsuobushi (Bonito Flakes)
Marutomo
The inosinate source in dashi. When combined with kombu's glutamate, umami perception multiplies 6–8x. Also used as a finish on vegetables and tofu.
Used in: Dashi, Tonkotsu Cacio e Pepe, Dashi Risotto
Kombu (Dried Kelp)
Wel-Pac
Highest naturally-occurring source of glutamate — 2,240mg per 100g vs Parmigiano's 1,200mg. The umami foundation of Japanese cooking. Simmer in water or olive oil; discard before serving.
Used in: Dashi, kombu-infused olive oil, broths
Soy Sauce (Koikuchi Shoyu)
Kikkoman
The fermented glutamate carrier in Japanese cooking. 1,090mg glutamate per 100g — close to sun-dried tomato, far ahead of most Italian single ingredients. Use where you'd use anchovy-dissolved-in-oil for invisible depth.
Used in: All broths, marinades, ramen alla carbonara (optional)
Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine)
Kikkoman Hon Mirin
The Japanese equivalent of Marsala — sweet, alcoholic, fermented rice. Use to deglaze where the recipe calls for white wine when you want a sweeter, less tannic result. Essential in tiramisu matcha soak.
Used in: Matcha tiramisu, glazes, braises
Gochujang (Korean Chili Paste)
Haechandle
Fermented chili paste — heat plus umami plus sweetness. The Korean equivalent of Calabrian chili paste plus miso, combined. The ingredient behind both Korean-Mexican and Korean-Italian crossovers.
Used in: Gochujang Short Rib Taco, Gochujang Crema, Kimchi Quesadilla
Rice Wine Vinegar
Marukan
Softer than red wine vinegar. Lower in acetic acid, slightly sweet. Use where you want acid brightness without wine vinegar's sharpness — quick pickles, dressings, braising liquid finishes.
Used in: Pickled daikon, sesame-lime slaw, quick pickles
Toasted Sesame Oil
Kadoya
Not a cooking oil — a finishing oil. Strong flavor, low smoke point. Add at the end of cooking, exactly as you'd add good olive oil over finished pasta. The Japanese equivalent of the finishing drizzle.
Used in: Gochujang crema, sesame dressing, noodle finishes
Korean Pantry
The Korean ingredients for Seoul Meets Mexico City — Volume II. Stock these alongside the Japanese pantry to unlock the full Borderless Kitchen range.
Gochugaru (Korean Red Pepper Flakes)
Taekyung
The chili flakes that define kimchi and tteokbokki. Not interchangeable with regular chili flakes — gochugaru has a sweet, fruity heat (3/10 on most scales) and a vivid red color. Buy the 500g bag and freeze what you don't use within a month.
Used in: Kimchi, gochujang substitute, tteokbokki, Korean fried chicken
Doenjang (Korean Soybean Paste)
Haechandle
The Korean equivalent of aged Japanese miso — fermented soybean paste with a deeper, earthier funk than shiro miso. The fermentation is longer and less controlled, producing a more complex, almost blue-cheese intensity. Use where you'd use miso but want more edge.
Used in: Doenjang Carbonara, soups, dipping sauce, marinades
Fish Sauce (Vietnamese or Thai)
Red Boat
The invisible umami intensifier across Korean, Thai, and Mexican coastal cooking. Red Boat is the premium standard — 40°N barrels, two-ingredient product (fish + salt). Used in kimchi paste, Korean soups, and anywhere you want savory depth without fishiness.
Used in: Kimchi, doenjang jjigae, Korean braising liquid
Tteok — Cylinder Rice Cakes (refrigerated)
Choripdong
The Korean rice cake for tteokbokki. Dense, chewy, made from short-grain rice flour. Holds its shape in simmering sauce without dissolving. Functions as pasta substitute in Korean-Italian fusions — same structural role, different texture and flavor.
Used in: Tteokbokki Arrabbiata, tteok soup, stir-fries
Italian Pantry
The Italian ingredients that matter — and what makes each one worth sourcing correctly rather than substituting.
Pecorino Romano (DOP)
Fulvi
Not Parmigiano. Sharper, saltier, higher in glutamates relative to its age. The correct cheese for carbonara, cacio e pepe, and amatriciana. When combining with miso, reduce salt everywhere else.
Used in: Ramen alla Carbonara, Miso Cacio e Pepe
Guanciale (Cured Pork Jowl)
La Quercia (or local Italian market)
Not pancetta. Not bacon. Cured pork jowl with a higher fat-to-lean ratio and no smoke character. Renders cleaner and deeper than either substitute. The inosinate source in carbonara — cannot be functionally replaced without changing the dish.
Used in: Ramen alla Carbonara, all carbonara variants
Calabrian Chili in Oil (Nduja paste or whole)
Tutto Calabria
The Italian equivalent of gochujang in the chili function — fruity, oily, moderately hot. Does not have gochujang's fermented depth but has a better fat-delivery mechanism (already in oil). Use in pasta, pizza, marinades.
Used in: Pasta all'arrabbiata, chili oil lasagna, pizza
Imported Italian Pasta (Rigatoni / Spaghetti)
De Cecco
Bronze-die extruded pasta has a rough surface that holds sauce. Teflon-extruded (most cheap pasta) has a smooth surface that slides. The texture difference is significant in emulsified sauces like carbonara.
Used in: Any pasta recipe
Japanese Ingredient Subscriptions
The fastest way to build Japanese pantry fluency — curated monthly boxes with ingredients you will actually use.
Bokksu — Japanese Snack Subscription
Bokksu
Monthly Japanese snack and pantry box. The fastest way to start building familiarity with Japanese flavor profiles — mochi, dashi crackers, matcha sweets. Each box comes with a culture guide. $15 credit per referral.
Good for: Flavor exploration, pantry introduction, gift
Equipment
Three pieces of equipment that make a specific difference for specific recipes.
Baking Steel (for pizza)
Baking Steel Original
Mandatory for Miso White Pizza. Preheated for 45 minutes at maximum heat, it produces pizzeria-quality char on a home oven. The single most impactful pizza equipment upgrade available.
Used in: Miso White Pizza, any pizza
Heavy Dutch Oven (5.5 qt)
Lodge
Required for braising. Udon Bolognese and Gochujang Short Ribs need a heavy pot that holds even heat over a 2–3 hour braise. Lodge's enameled cast iron is the best price-to-performance option.
Used in: Udon Bolognese, Gochujang Short Rib, all braises
Fine Mesh Sieve (for matcha dusting)
Cuisinart
For dusting matcha tiramisu and for straining dashi. The fine mesh is essential — coarser sieves clump matcha powder into blobs.
Used in: Matcha Tiramisu, dashi straining
The recipes that use all of this are in the book.
Tokyo Meets Tuscany on Amazon →Paperback · Kindle · Hardcover