Japanese 7 Spice - Shichimi Togarashi

Jar of freshly mixed shimichi togarashi.

Japanese 7 Spice - Shichimi Togarashi

The super easy Japanese spice blend is here to transform your dishes. Sprinkle your homemade Shichimi Togarashi over everything - udon noodles, dipping sauces and anything else you want to spice up. Ready in less than 5 minutes, and you guessed - only 7 ingredients!

Course Condiment

Cuisine Japanese

Prep Time 1

Total Time 1

Servings Jar

Calories 119kcal

Author Wandercooks

Cost $5

Equipment

Mortar & Pestle

Ingredients

2 tbsp red pepper or chilli flakes / cayenne pepper (30 g)
1 tbsp white sesame seeds (15 g)
1 tbsp poppy seeds or black sesame seeds (15 g)
1 tsp sichuan pepper or sansho pepper / black pepper (5 g)
1 tsp seaweed flakes / aonori or nori sheet (5 g)
1 tsp citrus powder (5 g)
1 tsp ground ginger (5 g)

Instructions

Place the red pepper, white and black sesame seeds, ground sichuan peppercorns, aonori, citrus powder and ground ginger in a small bowl. Mix until combined.
2 tbsp red pepper, 1 tbsp white sesame seeds, 1 tbsp poppy seeds, 1 tsp sichuan pepper, 1 tsp seaweed flakes / aonori, 1 tsp citrus powder, 1 tsp ground ginger
Store in a glass jar or airtight container.

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0dh0Jvkfiw

Notes

To make this recipe just right:

If you want a finer blend, pop everything into a mortar and pestle and grind for a few minutes before popping it in a bottle.
For a smokier blend, dry fry ingredients in a small frying pan on low for a few minutes until the mix starts to darken and smell extra fragrant. Turn off the heat and allow to cool before storing.
Chilli Powder: This is the heart of the dish and the source of the hot and spicy heat. Whether you use chilli powder, chilli flakes, chili pepper (US folks!), cayenne pepper or even gochugaru (Korean chilli powder) - use whatever you like here.
Pepper: The other addition of heat for this mix - the pepper! The style of pepper used in this spice blend has a unique numbing feel on the tongue, without being too spicy. It's best to use Japanese sansho pepper (it's on Amazon), it's in the green S&B bottle in the pepper section of most Japanese supermarkets. If you can't find it, a close second is Chinese sichuan / szechuan pepper corns, which are also available at Asian supermarkets or online and are best when freshly ground. In an absolute pinch, just use cracked or ground black pepper.
Aonori: Traditionally togarashi uses crushed nori sheets, but if you can get hold of aonori flakes, this makes it a little quicker. If using nori, just use one sheet.
Citrus Powder: You can source lemon and orange peel powder in some supermarkets or online. We couldn't, so we made our own. To do this yourself, finely grate the peel of one lemon or orange onto an oven tray, lined with a sheet of baking paper. Set your oven to it's lowest setting or 'Keep Warm', and allow it to dry for around 20-30 mins. Once it turns a shade or two darker, and feels dry to the touch, it's ready to go in your spice blend!
Black Sesame Seeds: This should be easy to find at the supermarket, however, if you can't find them a popular alternative is using poppy seeds instead.

Nutrition