Umami
Umami is a basic taste elicited chiefly by glutamate and enhanced by nucleotides such as inosinate and guanylate in many foods and stocks.
Food Foundations
Mirin
Mirin is a sweet alcoholic Japanese seasoning whose main form, hon mirin, is made from glutinous rice, rice kōji, and shōchū or alcohol.
Katsuobushi
Katsuobushi is preserved skipjack tuna prepared by cooking, smoking, drying, and sometimes repeated mold-assisted maturation before shaving for food and dashi.
Kombu
Kombu is edible kelp processed for dashi, simmered dishes, festive foods, and regional products, especially from the cold waters around Hokkaido.