I hope this is the appropriate forum for this post. It could easily go into spice blends, but it’s not really a rub or marinade, in and of itself, and it could be inserted into int’l foods, as its origin is Japan.
Anyone familiar with Japanese cuisine knows that it isn’t inherently spicy. While the flavor profiles can be quite complex, they are usually delicately spiced and rely more on umami than searing heat. If you go for udon though, you’ll generally find a little wooden bowl with a tiny little wooden spoon, filled with a red-orange powder and black specks. It’s shichimi togarashi, translated as seven taste pepper. Made primarily from ground red chili pepper, with the addition, of either the numbing Szechuan peppercorn or its Japanese cousin sansho, ground dried orange or yuzu peel, black and white sesame seeds, ground nori, and I forget the other two tastes, it is the traditional accompaniment to udon. And the reason the spoon in that little wooden bowl is so tiny is because it is spicy. Very spicy. I’ve never seen it served with any other food in Japan, although you can buy shichimi rice crackers which are popular.
When added to udon, shichimi (as it’s commonly referred to), is intensely hot, and you notice it immediately, especially if you add too much like I did the first time I tried it. But it seems that the heat is activated and perhaps even exacerbated by the hot liquid.
I added some that I had saved from a takeout udon order today to my surimi salad the other day though, and the spiciness of this blend was very slow to make its presence known, and it started in the back of the throat rather than right up front on the tongue and palate. It also exhibited more of the other flavors in the blend than it seems to do when added to hot liquid. I really got that hint of citrus, the sweet nuttiness of the sesame, and the umami of the nori coming through the heat of the chili peppers. And I found that I could use quite a bit more of it than the 1/8 of a teaspoon those teensy little wooden spoons provide.
I’m addicted. Now pretty much anything that I want to give a nuanced kick to gets a dose of shichimi togarashi. Give it a try if you haven’t already! You can find it in Asian markets or on-line, and I’ve recently spotted it in the Asian foods aisle at our local supermarket. But be very careful at first, especially if it’s hot liquid your giving that kick to!
Anyone familiar with Japanese cuisine knows that it isn’t inherently spicy. While the flavor profiles can be quite complex, they are usually delicately spiced and rely more on umami than searing heat. If you go for udon though, you’ll generally find a little wooden bowl with a tiny little wooden spoon, filled with a red-orange powder and black specks. It’s shichimi togarashi, translated as seven taste pepper. Made primarily from ground red chili pepper, with the addition, of either the numbing Szechuan peppercorn or its Japanese cousin sansho, ground dried orange or yuzu peel, black and white sesame seeds, ground nori, and I forget the other two tastes, it is the traditional accompaniment to udon. And the reason the spoon in that little wooden bowl is so tiny is because it is spicy. Very spicy. I’ve never seen it served with any other food in Japan, although you can buy shichimi rice crackers which are popular.
When added to udon, shichimi (as it’s commonly referred to), is intensely hot, and you notice it immediately, especially if you add too much like I did the first time I tried it. But it seems that the heat is activated and perhaps even exacerbated by the hot liquid.
I added some that I had saved from a takeout udon order today to my surimi salad the other day though, and the spiciness of this blend was very slow to make its presence known, and it started in the back of the throat rather than right up front on the tongue and palate. It also exhibited more of the other flavors in the blend than it seems to do when added to hot liquid. I really got that hint of citrus, the sweet nuttiness of the sesame, and the umami of the nori coming through the heat of the chili peppers. And I found that I could use quite a bit more of it than the 1/8 of a teaspoon those teensy little wooden spoons provide.
I’m addicted. Now pretty much anything that I want to give a nuanced kick to gets a dose of shichimi togarashi. Give it a try if you haven’t already! You can find it in Asian markets or on-line, and I’ve recently spotted it in the Asian foods aisle at our local supermarket. But be very careful at first, especially if it’s hot liquid your giving that kick to!
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