This is the 7230th most frequent Japanese word.
下味
Preseasoning or marinating food to enhance its flavor.
下味 refers to the base seasoning applied to the food before cooking to enhance its flavor.
この料理の下味にはしょうゆを使います。
We use soy sauce for the base seasoning of this dish.
下味 in this context is used to describe the preliminary seasoning added to the vegetables.
野菜を炒める前に下味をつけました。
I applied the base seasoning to the vegetables before stir-frying.
Here, 下味 refers to the seasoning applied to meat to prepare it for the cooking process.