KITCHEN PRACTICE 3 — Plan Your Sourcing
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TASK
Work out where you can actually buy real kombu, katsuobushi, and
short-grain rice, and build a shopping list from the Core Pantry
table, prioritised by what Chapters 2 and 3 need first.

WALKTHROUGH

Step 1 — Identify your realistic sources. There are generally two
practical options wherever you live:
  1. A local Asian or Japanese grocery store, if one is reasonably
     reachable — these usually stock the full pantry list in this
     chapter directly, often cheaper than specialty online retailers,
     and let you check packaging/freshness in person.
  2. A reputable online retailer specialising in Japanese ingredients
     — the more reliable option if there's no suitable shop nearby.
     Look specifically for retailers that sell kombu and katsuobushi
     by name (not just "seaweed" or "fish flakes" — generic Asian
     grocers sometimes stock neither).

Step 2 — Check which items are genuinely hard to substitute.
  - Kombu and katsuobushi have no real substitute for an authentic
    dashi (Chapter 3) — these are worth sourcing properly rather than
    skipping.
  - Short-grain rice specifically (not just "rice") matters for
    texture in Chapter 2 — a bag simply labelled "rice" with no grain
    length given is a real risk of buying long-grain by mistake.
  - Soy sauce, mirin, sake, and rice vinegar are usually available in
    the international aisle of a large regular supermarket, so these
    don't need a special trip.

Step 3 — Build the prioritised list, ordered by chapter:
  1. Short-grain/sushi rice           (Chapter 2 — next chapter)
  2. Kombu, katsuobushi               (Chapter 3)
  3. Soy sauce, mirin, sake, miso     (Chapter 4 onward)
  4. Rice vinegar                      (Chapter 2 for sushi rice,
                                         Chapter 8 for pickling)
  5. Nori, togarashi, sesame oil      (Chapter 5 onward — not urgent)

Step 4 — If a specialty grocery genuinely isn't accessible, note
which items you'll need to order online with enough lead time to
arrive before the chapter that needs them — particularly kombu and
katsuobushi, since Chapter 3 comes immediately next.

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WHY THIS MATTERS
Kombu and katsuobushi specifically aren't always sitting in a general
supermarket's "world foods" aisle the way soy sauce usually is.
Working out sourcing now — before Chapter 3 actually needs them —
avoids being stuck mid-course waiting on a delivery, and having a
plan for the harder-to-find items separately from the easy ones (soy
sauce, mirin) keeps the whole shopping task from feeling like one
big, undifferentiated errand.