Japanese cuisine

Make way for miso, mochi and matcha as Americans dig deeper into Japanese culture and cuisine. Such sushi staples as wasabi and ginger “are more mainstream now,” Ms. Purcell said. “People have gotten used to those flavors, and now they’re curious to try more exotic ones or from different regions of Japan.”

House Foods, Garden Grove, Calif., is introducing Tofu Shirataki Ramen, a range of ramen kits featuring gluten-free noodles and a soup base. Shirataki, a Japanese staple, is a low-calorie noodle substitute made from an Asian yam. Varieties include Shoyu, a soy sauce flavor; Spicy Miso, a spicy soybean paste flavor; and Tonkotsu, a pork bone flavor.

New from Entube, a Los Angeles-based condiment company, is a Spicy Umeboshi Plum paste, which combines Japanese plum with cayenne. Other Japanese-inspired condiments debuting at Winter Fancy Food included Yuzu Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil from O-Med Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Granada, Spain; and Red Miso Powder from Manitou Trading Co., a brand of Woodland Foods, Waukegan, Ill.

Two exhibitors at the show offer mochi ice cream, a Japanese confection made with pounded sticky rice. Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts, Aiea, Hawaii, features such flavors as azuki bean, pistachio, chocolate espresso, lychee and blueberry, among others. Varieties from Mikawaya, Inc., Vernon, Calif., include strawberry, mango, double chocolate vanilla bean, green tea, cookies and cream and mint chocolate chip.