Imported gourmet

As much as we try to use locally available ingredients, there are certain things that we can't get here that we would really struggle to be without.

The top ten things we crave, smuggle and beg our friends to bring back for us:

1. Dried porcini mushrooms
2. Mirin (sweet sake for cooking)
3. Dashi (Japanese fish stock)
4. Thai/Vietnamese Fish sauce
5. Good cheese
6. Good wine
7. Good whisky
8. Kewpie mayonnaise karashi (although I have almost figured out how to make this myself... getting close)
   
9. Dill seeds (for growing and eating)
10. Good soy sauce

There are many other things that we would like to have, but these ten are the things we most frequently crave, and, umm, if anyone is coming this way we're all out of wine and cheese....