Japanese cooking relies on a number of staples; ingredients that are needed in a wide range of classic Japanese dishes. These include soy sauce (for adding savoury/umami flavour), mirin rice wine (for sweetness and flavour depth), vinegar (for adding acidity and using in pickling), and panko breadcrumbs (for coating meats or vegetables in preparation for deep-frying). If you are needing to stock up on your staples, take a look in japancentre.com's vast Cupboard Staples section.