Guides
The site's reference layer for terms, ingredients, methods, distinctions, and the practical questions that sit between subject depth and actual cooking.
This is not a glossary dump or a flat article directory. Guides is where the site explains what something is, why the distinction matters, and how to read it more clearly.
In brief: Guides is where mai-rice.com does its clarification work.
Use it for ingredient explanations, process questions, terminology, safety, troubleshooting, and other reference needs before moving back into the hubs or into Recipes.
Editorial role
What Guides means on this site
Guides is the site's reference layer: precise where it needs to be, practical where it helps, and always in service of clearer reading and cooking.
On mai-rice.com, Rice and Fermentation do the deeper subject work. Recipes show what that knowledge looks like in the kitchen. Journal keeps the smaller editorial notes and cross-topic observations.
Guides serves a different role. It is where the reader goes when a page raises a term, ingredient, method, distinction, or practical question that needs cleaner explanation before the next step can make sense. That is why the section matters: it steadies the reader between subject depth, archive context, and kitchen use.
The section currently covers three broad kinds of reference work. Ingredient guides explain what something is, what it does in a dish, and why the naming matters — the difference between shoyu and soy sauce, for example, or why shiro miso and aka miso behave so differently despite starting from the same three ingredients. Substitution guides give exact ratios and ranked alternatives for when a pantry ingredient is missing. And process guides cover temperature, timing, fermentation pace, mold identification, and the practical judgment calls that determine whether a batch succeeds or gets discarded.
Every guide page aims for the same standard: specific enough to act on, narrow enough to answer one question well, and linked clearly enough that the reader always knows where to go next. If a guide raises a subject that goes deeper than reference — the full science of koji fermentation, say, or the regional history of a rice variety — it routes to the relevant hub rather than trying to carry that weight itself.
Featured paths
Featured reference paths
Start here when the question is clear enough to name, but not yet resolved enough to carry you back into a hub or a recipe.
These are the strongest entry routes when the reader needs a clean definition, a calmer process judgment, or better setup context.
Ingredient Clarity
Start with koji and the fermentation vocabulary around it
Use this when the question is really about what koji is, what it does, and why it sits at the center of so much of the site's fermentation language.
Pantry Reference
Clarify pantry ingredients before they reach the stove
Use this when the reader needs a cleaner grasp of shoyu, amazake, natto, or another pantry ingredient before a recipe or subject page can fully make sense.
Process Questions
Read a batch more calmly and more precisely
Use this when the real problem is pace, temperature, timing, or batch behavior rather than a missing ingredient definition.
Safety and Judgment
Separate expected change from something you should stop using
Use this when a ferment raises a safety or spoilage question and the reader needs a sharper practical distinction before proceeding.
Setup and Tools
Use equipment context where it genuinely improves judgment
Use this when the question is about rice cookers, tools, setup, or kitchen equipment that affects the result before the cooking even begins.
Browse by type
Browse by guide type
The section is compact, but it already organizes itself around a few clear kinds of reference work.
Ingredient guides are the largest group — they cover everything from koji and miso through to lesser-known pantry items like hondashi and sake kasu. Process guides are fewer but tend to be the ones readers return to most: fermentation temperature, mold safety, and the kind of timing questions that come up mid-batch. Comparison and terminology guides fill in the gaps between, clarifying distinctions that recipe pages assume the reader already understands.
Ingredient Guides
Ingredient guides and pantry explainers
Pages that define what an ingredient is, what it does, how it behaves, and where it belongs in the kitchen before the cooking starts.
Process Guides
Process and technique clarification
Pages for timing, pace, texture change, environment, and the practical distinctions that help a reader judge a process more calmly.
Comparison Guides
Comparison, setup, and equipment context
Pages that compare tools, explain setup, and show when a piece of equipment changes the result enough to matter.
Safety Guides
Safety and troubleshooting guides
Pages for mold, spoilage, warning signs, and the practical judgments that matter when something no longer looks straightforward.
Terminology Guides
Pantry and terminology reference
Pages that sharpen naming, distinctions, and kitchen-reference questions so the reader does not have to guess what a term is doing on the page.
Browse by subject
Browse by subject connection
Guides is not a separate silo. It sharpens the rest of the site by answering the smaller questions those larger sections naturally create.
Use these routes when you know which part of the site you are in, but still need the reference page that makes the next step clearer.
Rice
Rice hubs go deep; Guides answer the sharper reference question
Use Rice when the need is broader grain knowledge. Use Guides when the question turns into a term, a tool, a distinction, or a point of practical clarity.
Fermentation
Fermentation hubs carry the subject; Guides steady the reader inside it
Use Fermentation for the larger subject map. Use Guides when the reader needs help with pace, mold, terminology, setup, or ingredient behavior inside that subject.
Recipes
Recipes apply the knowledge once the reference work is done
Use Recipes when the next step is cooking. Guides is what you use first when a method or ingredient still needs cleaner definition.
No-Waste Cooking
No-waste logic gets better when the pantry is understood properly
Use No-Waste Cooking for reuse patterns and ingredient economy. Use Guides when storage, tools, ingredient behavior, or pantry distinctions need explaining first.
About
Archive context clarifies why some reference pages matter here
Use About when you need the wider frame for how the live site, the archive, and the reference layer relate to one another.
Core guides
Core guides
The archive is still focused, so the best way to read this section is by the kind of reference job a page is doing.
Start with ingredient and pantry clarification
Use these when the missing piece is naming, distinction, or a better sense of what an ingredient actually is doing.
Practical Guide
Koji Recipes: 8 Ways to Cook with Koji and Shio Koji
Marinades (10% shio koji by weight), glazes, pickling (1 tbsp per 200g veg), dressings, amazake, koji bread, and koji butter — with ratios and timing for every application.
Core Ingredient Guide
What Is Koji
A central reference page for understanding enzymes, fermentation language, rice transformation, and why koji keeps appearing across the site. Start here when the terminology itself is the blocker.
Core Pantry Guide
What Is Shoyu
A pantry guide that matters because seasoning vocabulary can easily flatten into vague soy-sauce language. Use it when the difference between ingredients changes how you cook.
Core Ingredient Guide
What Is Amazake
A clarification page for sweetness, fermentation, and rice transformation. Use it when the reader needs to place amazake before trying to use it.
Core Ingredient Guide
What Is Natto
A reference page for texture, flavor, and bowl context. Use it when the question is not just what natto is, but how it belongs in actual eating and kitchen use.
Core Pantry Guide
What Is Furikake
A pantry reference for the rice topping that bridges plain grain and a finished bowl. Use it when the question is what furikake actually is and how to choose or use it well.
Use these for process, safety, and setup
These pages matter when the question is about how to judge a batch, choose a tool, or understand why the setup changes the result.
Core Technique Guide
Fermentation Temperature Guide
A practical reference for pace, warmth, timing, and batch behavior. Use it when the real issue is not the recipe, but how to read the ferment itself.
Core Safety Guide
Fermentation Mold Safety
A reference page for identifying warning signs and keeping judgment calm when surface changes raise concern. Use it when uncertainty is the main problem.
Core Setup Guide
Fermentation Tools
A setup page for vessels, scales, and the basic equipment that actually affects the quality of a fermentation practice. Use it when gear is the real question.
Core Equipment Guide
Japanese Rice Cookers
A reference page for heat control, rice texture, and why some equipment decisions matter enough to change the outcome. Use it when tool choice shapes the bowl.
Core Equipment Guide
Artisanal Knives
A prep-quality guide for readers who need better trim, cleaner cuts, and more control rather than more recipe inspiration. Use it when the issue begins at the board.
Pantry Setup Guide
Japanese Pantry Starter Kit
The 7 ingredients that cover 80% of Japanese home cooking — shoyu, mirin, sake, dashi, miso, rice vinegar, and sesame oil — with a buy-order tier list, specific brand picks, and an upgrade path when quality matters.
Substitution guides: what to use when a pantry ingredient is missing
These pages give exact ratios and ranked options. Each one explains what the original ingredient contributes, then maps which substitute captures which property.
Substitution Guide
Mirin Substitute
5 options ranked by dish type, with exact ratios. Sake + sugar is the closest overall; apple juice works alcohol-free.
Substitution Guide
Dashi Substitute
Instant hon-dashi, diluted chicken stock, shiitake water, and kombu water — ranked by dish context and what dashi is doing in each recipe.
Substitution Guide
Rice Vinegar Substitute
Critical dilution ratios for sushi rice and pickling. White wine vinegar at 3:4 works best; champagne vinegar needs no adjustment.
Substitution Guide
Shio Koji Substitute
White miso + salt is the closest swap (1 tsp miso + ½ tsp salt per 1 tbsp shio koji). Five ranked options for marinades, curing, and quick seasoning.
Substitution Guide
Sake Substitute
Dry sherry is the best 1:1 replacement for cooking sake. Six options ranked by application — deglazing, nimono, marinades, and teriyaki.
Substitution Guide
Miso Substitute
Tahini + soy sauce mimics texture and depth; doenjang is a near-identical swap; tamari for liquid dishes only.
Substitution Guide
Soy Sauce Substitute
Tamari is the closest like-for-like; coconut aminos for soy-free; fish sauce diluted for umami depth.
Substitution Guide
Sesame Oil Substitute
Toasted sesame seeds blended into neutral oil is the closest DIY swap. Perilla oil, tahini diluted, and walnut oil for cold applications. Use case table included.
Substitution Guide
Tamari Substitute
Two scenarios: no gluten concern (use regular shoyu 1:1) vs. gluten-free required (coconut aminos + salt, or Bragg's). Ranked by application.
Substitution Guide
Kombu Substitute
Dried shiitake for vegetarian dashi (guanosine instead of glutamate); nori for light broths; MSG for pure umami without ocean flavour. Ratios per piece of kombu.
Substitution Guide
Ponzu Substitute
DIY ponzu: 3 tbsp soy + 2 tbsp lemon juice + 1 tbsp mirin. Or soy + yuzu for authentic. Full ratios for hot pot, dressing, and tataki dipping.
Substitution Guide
Yuzu Substitute
Lemon zest + grapefruit juice (2:1) approximates yuzu's floral-sour profile. Meyer lemon, sudachi, or bottled yuzu juice for cooking. When nothing really works.
Substitution Guide
Nori Substitute
Soy paper for sushi rolls (closest structurally); shiso leaves for onigiri; thin tamagoyaki sheet as a traditional alternative. Organised by the job nori is doing.
Substitution Guide
Katsuobushi Substitute
Niboshi (dried sardines) for stronger dashi; dried shiitake for vegetarian IMP-free umami; Hondashi powder as the easiest swap. Ranked by application.
Substitution Guide
Shiso Substitute
Vietnamese perilla is the closest for green shiso garnish. Mint + basil blend for fresh applications. Red shiso for pickling has no real substitute.
Substitution Guide
Natto Substitute
Tempeh is closest in texture; cheonggukjang is closest in flavour. Fermented black beans, miso, and edamame for rice bowl context. Ranked by use case.
Lesser-known pantry ingredients
Quick-reference guides for ingredients that come up in Japanese cooking but rarely get a clear explanation.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Sake
Parallel fermentation with koji and yeast produces 12–16% ABV rice wine. Four grades (junmai, honjozo, ginjo, daiginjo) and four cooking functions: aroma carrier, tenderiser, odour neutraliser, umami amplifier.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Kombu Dashi
The vegan single-source dashi — cold-brew (10g/1L, 8 hrs) vs. warm-steep (60°C, 20 min). When to use alone, when it becomes the base of awase dashi.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Awase Dashi
Kombu + katsuobushi together — the 7–8× umami synergy explained. Ichiban method, niban follow-on, and why the combination is the standard.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Hondashi
Granulated instant dashi — what it is made of, Ajinomoto vs. Yamaki quality difference, 1 tsp/500ml ratio, and the salt-adjusted seasoning rule.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Katsuobushi
The fish half of dashi — types (arabushi vs honkarebushi), dashi ratio (20–30g per 1L), steep time, and topping applications.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Wakame
The soft seaweed in miso soup. 2g dried = 14g rehydrated in 5–10 minutes. How it differs from kombu (dashi) and nori (toasted sheets).
Ingredient Guide
What Is Yuzu
The aromatic citrus behind ponzu and yuzu kosho. Why lemon cannot replace it, where to find bottled juice, and how to use it without losing the aroma.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Tamari
Wheat-free soy sauce from miso production — thicker, richer, and less salty per volume than shoyu. Best for dipping and finishing.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Shiso
Green shiso for fresh garnish; red shiso for umeboshi coloring. The anise-mint-basil herb on the sashimi plate, and how to use it.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Togarashi
Ichimi (pure chili, ~50,000 SHU) vs shichimi (7-spice aromatic blend). Not interchangeable — one adds heat, the other adds complexity.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Nori
Yaki vs ajitsuke nori, grade differences, and how to keep sheets crisp. The seaweed wrap for onigiri and maki.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Sesame Oil
Toasted (finishing only, 175°C smoke point) vs light (cooking fat, 215°C). Kadoya is the benchmark for toasted.
Ingredient Guide
What Is Mochi
Fresh vs kiri mochi, types (daifuku, dango, ozoni), how to cook each form, and the choking risk note.
How-to-use guides
How to use Japanese pantry ingredients
Exact ratios, application rules, and the decisions that change the result — for each ingredient, in each context.
Each page covers the practical rules: when to add the ingredient, in what quantity, what it does to the dish, and when not to use it. The format is consistent: a ratio table up front, then application-by-application guidance with specific quantities. A how-to-use page for mirin, for instance, gives the glaze ratio (1:1 mirin to soy sauce), the simmering window (add in the last 3–5 minutes), and the cases where sugar is genuinely a better choice.
How-To Guide
How to Use Sake
Four functions: aroma delivery, tenderising, deodorising fish, umami amplification. Ratios: 2 tbsp per serving for marinades, 3 tbsp for nimono, 3–4 tbsp for deglazing.
How-To Guide
How to Use Hondashi
1 tsp per 500ml is the standard ratio. Salt adjustment rule: Hondashi is ~45% salt and MSG — reduce miso by 20% and soy sauce by 25–30% to compensate.
How-To Guide
How to Use Mochi
Kiri mochi: grill 3–4 min per side until puffed, glaze with soy in the last 30 sec. Toaster oven at 180°C for 8–10 min. Ozoni soup, daifuku ratios, and the choking safety rule.
How-To Guide
How to Use Soy Sauce
Seven types, not one ingredient: light soy for seasoning (1–2 tbsp), dark soy for color (1 tsp), sweet soy for glazing. Core ratios for stir-fry, marinades, and fried rice.
How-To Guide
How to Use Togarashi
Ichimi is pure chili heat (1/4–1/2 tsp for most dishes); shichimi adds citrus, sesame, and sansho. Add at the table, not the pot — volatile oils degrade above 80°C.
How-To Guide
How to Use Wakame
1g dried = 7g rehydrated. Soak 5 minutes in cold water, squeeze, use. Add to miso soup last — 30 seconds in residual heat keeps it bright green and silky.
How-To Guide
How to Use Tamari
Richer and less sharp than shoyu. 1:1 replacement in most cooked dishes; preferred for dipping and gluten-free teriyaki. Decision guide: when tamari, when shoyu.
How-To Guide
How to Use Rice Vinegar
60ml per 2 cups raw rice for sushi seasoning; 3 tbsp per 200g for sunomono. Seasoned vs unseasoned — why it matters for control.
How-To Guide
How to Use Kombu
10g per 1L for cold-brew dashi overnight; 5cm strip in rice cooking water; 10cm in bean cooking. What to do with spent kombu.
How-To Guide
How to Use Katsuobushi
15–20g per 1L at 90°C for 3–5 min (ichiban dashi). The bitterness risk of over-steeping. How to build furikake and use as a hot topping.
How-To Guide
How to Use Ponzu
Pour at the table, not into the pan — citrus aromatics evaporate above 80°C. Undiluted for dipping; 1:1 with sesame oil for dressing.
How-To Guide
How to Use Nori
Wrap onigiri at the last moment (moisture softens nori within minutes). Shiny side out for maki. How to re-crisp softened sheets.
How-To Guide
How to Use Sesame Oil
Add after the heat is off — smoke point is 177°C and the aroma burns above it. Measure in teaspoons, not tablespoons. The finishing-oil rule.
How-To Guide
How to Use Shiso
Chiffonade and add after heat — volatile compounds disappear above 60°C. Tempura at 180°C for 25–30 sec. Red shiso for pickling umeboshi.
How-To Guide
How to Use Yuzu
Zest over hot dishes just before serving (aroma is destroyed by heat). Juice for ponzu: 1 tbsp per 2 tbsp soy. Yuzu kosho recipe: equal weight zest, chili, and salt.
How-To Guide
How to Use Natto
Stir 40–50 times before adding tare — that step multiplies the threads. 1 pack per rice bowl. How to fold into tamagoyaki and chahan without the stickiness.
How-To Guide
How to Use Koji
Shio koji in 10 days (200g koji + 60g salt + 200ml water). Amazake at 60°C in 6–8 hours. Koji water as a no-salt tenderising brine. Enzyme logic behind each application.
How-To Guide
How to Make Kombu Dashi
Cold-brew (10g/1L, 8 hrs) and warm-steep (60°C, 20 min) methods side by side. Why the kombu goes slimy above 60°C and how to avoid it.
How-To Guide
How to Make Dashi (Ichiban)
Full awase dashi — kombu to 60°C, remove, then 20–30g katsuobushi at 80–90°C for 3 min. Temperature control, niban extraction, and weekly batch scaling.
How-To Guide
How to Use Amazake
Drink (3 tbsp : 200ml water at 60°C), marinade for fish (4–5 tbsp per 500g, 2–4 hours), and sugar-free sweetener (3 tbsp amazake ≈ 1 tbsp sugar). Enzyme logic and the no-boil rule.
How-To Guide
How to Make Amazake
200g dried rice koji + 400g cooked rice held at 55–65°C for 6–8 hours. Temperature is the single critical variable — above 70°C kills the enzymes. Yogurt maker, rice cooker, and instant pot methods compared.
Ingredient comparisons
Side-by-side ingredient comparisons
Head-to-head comparisons with exact substitution formulas and clear guidance on when each choice is the right one.
Use these when the question is not what an ingredient is, but which of two similar ingredients to reach for and why. Every comparison page follows the same structure: a quick-answer table at the top, then a property-by-property breakdown covering flavour, salt level, acidity, and cooking behaviour. The goal is never to declare a winner — it is to make the trade-off visible so the reader can choose with confidence. Rice vinegar vs white vinegar, for example, comes down to acidity (4.2% vs 5–7%) and residual sweetness, not a blanket superiority.
Comparison Guide
Miso vs Doenjang
Both are fermented soybean pastes — but doenjang is stronger, earthier, and fermented differently. Not interchangeable: doenjang jjigae requires doenjang; miso soup requires miso.
Comparison Guide
Usukuchi vs Koikuchi
'Light' soy is saltier than 'dark' soy — usukuchi is 18–20% salt vs koikuchi's 16%. Use usukuchi for chawanmushi and pale dishes; koikuchi for ramen tare and everything else.
Comparison Guide
Tamari vs Soy Sauce
Wheat content is the key structural difference — tamari is GF, richer, darker. When to use each and the 1:1 substitution rules.
Comparison Guide
Ponzu vs Citrus Juice
Ponzu is a complete sauce (soy + citrus + mirin + dashi); citrus juice is raw acidity. Exact DIY substitution formula.
Comparison Guide
Rice Vinegar vs White Vinegar
4–4.5% vs 5–8% acidity. Why white vinegar fails in sushi rice. Adjustment ratio: ¾ tbsp white vinegar + pinch sugar per 1 tbsp rice vinegar.
Comparison Guide
Kombu vs Katsuobushi
Glutamate vs inosinate. The 7–8× umami synergy when combined. When each works alone and when doubling one doesn't replace the other.
Comparison Guide
Shio Koji vs Salt
Salt is instant; shio koji requires 1–8 hrs minimum for enzymatic tenderising. 8–10% application ratio and when the enzyme difference matters.
Comparison Guide
Nori vs Kombu
Eaten vs extracted. Wrapper vs broth base. Why substituting one for the other rarely works and what does work as a vegan dashi substitute.
Comparison Guide
Hondashi vs Scratch Dashi
When the dish will taste the difference and when it will not. Decision table by dish type, salt-adjustment rule, and Yamaki vs. Ajinomoto quality gap.
Reader flow
How Guides connects back into the main site
Notice the missing definition, use Guides for clarity, then return to the deeper pages or the practical route once the question is resolved.
Notice the term, distinction, or missing definition
Come here when the problem is not yet the full subject or the full dish, but a smaller question about meaning, judgment, ingredient behavior, or setup.
Start with a guideUse Guides for clarity, not for volume
Pick the page that resolves the question cleanly, whether that question is ingredient language, process behavior, safety, or equipment context.
Use the reference pagesReturn to hubs or recipes once the question is clear
Go back into Rice or Fermentation for deeper subject coverage, or move into Recipes when the explanation has already done enough work.
Move into RecipesFAQ
Frequently asked questions about Guides
- What kind of pages belong in Guides?
- Pages that define terms, explain ingredients, clarify methods, sharpen distinctions, and answer practical reference questions.
- How is a Guide different from a hub page?
- A hub goes deep into a subject. A guide answers the smaller reference question inside that subject.
- When should I use Guides instead of Recipes?
- Use Guides when the method still is not clear. Use Recipes when the explanation is done and you are ready to cook.
- Are Guides mainly about ingredients or about technique too?
- Both. The section covers ingredients, process, safety, troubleshooting, terminology, and equipment when those questions need direct clarification.
- Where should a new reader start?
- Start with the guide that matches the missing definition or distinction, then return to Rice, Fermentation, or Recipes once the question is clear.