10 Thai Ingredients You Cannot Find at the Japanese Supermarket (And Where to Get Them)

Japanese supermarkets are incredible. But if you are trying to cook Thai food at home, they are going to let you down on a few key ingredients.

1. Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla)

Authentic Thai fish sauce with the specific fermentation and saltiness that makes Thai cooking taste right is genuinely hard to find. Look for brands like Tiparos or Megachef.

2. Kaffir lime leaves

Essential for Tom Kha, green curry, and countless other dishes. Almost never stocked in Japanese supermarkets, even in larger cities.

3. Thai curry paste (green, red, yellow)

Japanese supermarkets carry Japanese curry roux. Thai curry paste is a completely different product. Mae Ploy and Maesri are the benchmarks.

4. Galangal

Often confused with ginger, galangal has a completely different flavour. It is the ingredient that makes Tom Kha soup taste the way it should.

5. Palm sugar

Thai cooking uses palm sugar for its caramel-like depth. It is the secret behind many Thai dipping sauces and desserts. Japanese brown sugar is not the same.

6. Tamarind paste

The souring agent in Pad Thai, Som Tum, and dozens of other dishes. Occasionally found in specialist stores in Tokyo or Osaka, but rarely elsewhere.

7. Pandan leaves

Used to add fragrance to Thai sweets, sticky rice, and drinks. The aroma is unmistakable and completely missing from Japanese supermarkets.

8. Thai jasmine rice

Japanese rice is excellent but it is short-grain and sticky. Thai food is designed to be eaten with long-grain jasmine rice. The texture and fragrance are completely different.

9. Coconut cream

Japanese supermarkets increasingly stock coconut milk, but coconut cream, which is thicker and richer, is much harder to find. The difference significantly affects curries and desserts.

10. Thai chili paste (Nam Prik Pao)

Roasted chili paste is a fundamental Thai condiment and the base of Tom Yum soup. Not available in standard Japanese supermarkets.

All 10 of these ingredients are available on shoppu.jp with delivery to all 47 prefectures in Japan, usually within 2 to 4 days.