Halal Japanese groceries.
Gyomu super (業務スーパー) is a Japanese supermarket chain which has shops in all 47 prefectures.
It literally means “supermarket for commercial use”, which may sound as if the product is only for business customers, but it is open for everyone. This supermarket has been very successful because their concept is to offer products as reasonable as possible, by trying to sell as a bulk and removing fresh products that expires within a short period of time.
Why are we introducing this supermarket to you? That is because the supermarket has a very advanced idea and there are always some of halal certified products! These halal items are all produced by a company called Kobe Bussan, which is running supermarket, and their concept is to promote cultural understanding through foods.
What kind of halal items are there?
In the shops that handle imported items, we can usually find Halal certified products. Well, buying such items is one of the ways to cook Halal meals in Japan, however, we guess that many of you would like to look for something “Japanese”.
What makes Gyomu super so special is that they have various halal certified Japanese products available. Let’s take a look at these items.
Seasonings
Spicy Red Furikake (赤い辛撃しびれのふりかけ)
Furikake is dried seasonings to top on rice. This Spicy Red Furikake has not only dried red chilli but also Chinese pepper which makes your tongue numb, so if you like spicy food, this is the one you have to get.
Price: 248 yen
Nama Shichimi (生七味)
Shichimi literally means “seven spices” and it is usually used for noodle items such as Soba or ramen. The one at Gyomu super is raw, not dried, with some Chinese peppers. This Shichimi can be used as a topping for your rice, too.
Price: 278 yen
Rayu (具だくさん食べるら～油)
Rayu is Spicy Oil, whose oil is used to add flavor on Ramen and other meals. However, some of the companies have produced “Rayu to eat”, which has fried garlic and chilli as main ingredients. This product can be mixed with sauce for dumplings or other Chinese food, or pasta which becomes like “aglio e olio”, olive oil with red chilli.
Price: 199 yen
Lemon Pepper (レモン胡椒)
This seasoning is very useful. It is a seasoning with lemon and green chilli, so it is a bit spicy. It can be used for fried stuff or hot pot. It is also a good idea to just marinate with chicken and grill well.
Price: 248 yen
Canned fish
There are various canned Halal fish. You might think fish itself are most already halal, but the truth is that they are already cooked in Japanese style! Just open the can and warm up, and your main dish is ready.
Mackerel
Mackerel is a very common fish and is used as main dish. There are three types of canned mackerels in Gyomu super: Soy sauce, Miso and boiled. Boiled mackerel needs to be seasoned, so we will recommend you take either soy sauce or Miso, as you do not have to worry about other ingredients or recipes.
Sardine
If you are not good at the smell of mackerel, then choose sardine. There are also soy sauce and Miso flavor, so you can easily prepare your main dish. They are both using ginger to remove fishy smell.
In conclusion.
There are many more halal products in the supermarket, even halal meats. Items introduced can be great souvenirs for someone who love Japanese food, because there are not so many Japanese food souvenirs that are certified as Halal.
Another reason why the supermarket is recommendable is that all 47 prefectures have this supermarket! Even though you are planning to travel to a prefecture where there are not many halal restaurants, you may find halal items in this supermarket.
If you are interested in checking all halal items they handle, check their website the list of halal foods at Gyomu super.