Japanese Condiments

Shichimi Togarashi

Shichimi broken down: ‘shichi’ 七 = seven, ‘mi’ 味 = taste

The seven tastes meaning ingredients in this case, can vary, and manufacturers and eateries create their own special blends to match their specific needs.

Most commonly, the shichimi includes; red pepper, Japanese sansho pepper, hemp seed, and sesame seeds. Then depending on everyone’s preference, other ingredients can include poppy seeds, aonori (nori flakes), ginger, cinnamon, dried and ground tangerine peel, white or black sesame seeds, dried shiso.

The very first shichimi was introduced in Yakenbori, in Ryogoku area of Tokyo, in the Edo period. Yakenbori 薬研掘 in those days was an area where many doctors and chemists resided. One establishment created the ‘shichimi’ to encourage people to incorporate the goodness of herbs into their daily diets. Cleverly including aromatic sesame seeds in the mix to entice people with the fragrance and familiarity. 

So Restaurant chooses a blend of ground and dried Japanese tangerine peel, red pepper, black and white sesame seeds, aosa nori flakes, poppy seeds, and sansho pepper.

So Restaurant の七味唐辛子の原材料は、陳皮(日本国内製造)、唐辛子、黒ごま、白ごま、あおさ、けしの実、山椒です