Shichimi togarashi, meaning “seven-flavor chili pepper”, is a Japanese spice mixture that can be used on noodles, salad and many more dishes. It is usually served in restaurants alongside ramen noodle soup, but the uses are endless.
It can be purchased in most Asian supermarkets as well as Amazon.com.
The main ingredient is ground red pepper which gives it the heat and other ingredients that are usually included are ground ginger, orange peel and seaweed flakes. There are also other ingredients that some manufactures may include depending on their recipe.
Shichimi Togarashi Recipe
To make your own Shichimi Togarashi at home the following recipe includes all the common ingredients found in this seasoning. This recipe makes 1/4 cup of seasoning:
2 tablespoons of ground red pepper
1 tablespoon of crushed sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of nori (seaweed) flakes
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
1/2 teaspoon of orange zest
I just learned that a few weeks ago, you could have bought a limited edition version of the spice from Starbucks.
The product packaging was designed by Morita Shigeru, an artist who also designed the Starbucks logo. The tin comes with a special sleeve, which I assume is printed with some of his signature artwork.
Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about this artist and am not sure what the significance of the number “75” is. There are 75 grams of shichimi togarashi in each tin. But that doesn’t seem like enough reason to make a big deal about it on the packaging. Does anyone know more about this?
I should also mention that this isn’t the first time Starbucks has made shichimi togarashi available in Japan. In fact, they’ve been doing it for years. However, I’m pretty sure this is the first time they’ve sold it under their own label rather than just offering it as an ingredient in one of their food items. They usually offer packages of ground pre-mixed spices, called nanami togarashi or nanairo togarashi, but they’ve never sold plain old shichimi togarashi before.
Shichimi Togarashi – is a Japanese spice mixture that consists of seven ingredients: red chili pepper, dried seaweed, sesame seeds, citrus peel, ground ginger, black and white sesame seeds. The name shichimi means “seven flavors” and togarashi means “chili pepper”. It is used mostly in soups and noodle dishes. You can also use it on other dishes as well.
The history of Shichimi Togarashi dates back to 17th century when it was first produced by a nunnery in Kyoto called Nanzenji Temple. Since then the recipe has been passed down from one generation to another and today there are multiple variations of this spice mix.
However each spice mixture usually contains red chili pepper. The other six ingredients may vary but most of them contain the same spices such as dried seaweed, sesame seeds, ground ginger and citrus peel.
So, you’re looking for a really great way to spice up your favorite Asian dishes and you’ve heard about this shichimi togarashi spice. But what is it? How hot is it? And what exactly are the ingredients that go into making this blend of goodness? Well, look no further! Here we will give you all of the details about this very popular spice blend used in many Japanese dishes.
What Is Shichimi Togarashi?
Shichimi togarashi (which means “seven-flavor chili pepper”) is a spicy Japanese condiment made from seven different ingredients. It typically consists of chili peppers, sesame seeds, orange peel, ground ginger, seaweed flakes known as nori, poppy seeds, hemp seeds and sansho or Szechuan peppercorns. The blend varies from region to region and from household to household. Some blends contain other ingredients such as garlic or yuzu peel.
This spice mixture is also known as nana-iro togarashi in Japan which means “seven-colored chile pepper.” Just like with this name, the colors found in shichimi can vary depending on the types of peppers used and the other ingredients included.
Shichimi Togarashi, also know as Shichimi or Japanese seven spice, is a spice blend that is often used to add a kick of heat and flavor to dishes.
The origins of Shichimi date back to the 15th century, where it was first sold by a street vendor in the Asakusa district of Edo (now Tokyo). The original blend contained just three ingredients – sansho pepper, hemp seed and mustard powder. It was later expanded to include the additional four ingredients – dry yuzu peel, sesame seeds, ginger and ground seaweed.
In Japanese shichimi means “seven flavors” while togarashi means “chili pepper”, making the literal translation of shichimi togarashi “seven flavor chili pepper”. Although it is referred to as Japanese seven spice, there are actually more than seven ingredients in this seasoning blend. In fact, some blends contain up to 10 different ingredients!
Shichimi can be found in most grocery stores on the International aisle or at Asian markets in either premade tins or plastic packets.
Shichimi togarashi, also known as Japanese seven spice, is a common Japanese condiment consisting of seven ingredients. The most common ingredients are chili peppers (which provide the heat), nori (dried seaweed flakes), sesame seeds and hemp seeds. Most often, it’s sprinkled atop foods like onigiri (see our post on how to make onigiri), ramen, udon noodles and soba. It’s also commonly added to soups and stews.
If you’re into spicy food, you’ll definitely want to give this seasoning a try. You can typically find it in the international aisle at your local grocery store, or head over to Amazon if you’re having trouble finding it in your area.
It can be used in many other ways besides sprinkling it over your food – for example, you could sprinkle some onto a piece of meat before grilling or pan-frying it. Check out our shichimi togarashi recipes for more inspiration!
Shichimi togarashi, or shichimi for short, is a Japanese spice blend used to add flavor and heat to soups, noodles, and other foods. The name translates to “seven flavored chili pepper,” referring to the seven ingredients in the blend. Shichimi is similar to cayenne pepper in that it’s a mix of both spices and dried hot peppers.
The seven ingredients are:
Dried red chilis
Black peppercorns
Orange peel (sometimes tangerine)
Sesame seeds (black and white)
Ginger
Nori seaweed flakes
Powdered sansho (Japanese prickly ash)