Shichimi Togarashi seasoning

Shichimi togarashi is a well-known seasoning used in Japan. Shichi-mi togarashi roughly translates to “7-flavour chilli pepper”, and the blend of 7 ingredients has been used for centuries to create this umami-rich seasoning powder. It can be used anywhere a dish would benefit from a depth of flavour, and a bit of spicy kick: think noodle dishes, dumplings, grilled eggplant and other vegetables, sprinkled over a yum-bowl, with eggs, mixed through a dukkah blend, added to a chutney…

Traditionally, the blend calls for seven specific ingredients, but as usual, we’ve played around a bit with this recipe to make use of what we have on hand. You can do the same with most seasoning mixes; just substitute similar ingredients and quantities to begin with, so you have the right flavour bases and combinations, and then you can tweak from there-on to create your own special blend 🙂

INGREDIENTS (ORIGINAL RECIPE):

2tbsp ground red pepper/chilli such as togarashi or cayenne pepper
1tbsp granulated/ground dried orange peel
1tbsp white sesame seeds and/or black sesame seeds
1tsp hemp seeds and/or poppy seeds
1tsp ground peppercorns, such as sansho or Sichuan pepper
1tsp nori flakes (cut from 1/2 sheet of nori, or sold as ‘anori’)
1/4tsp ground ginger

As you know, we’re super keen on reducing waste, foraging and fermenting, and this recipe was an ideal way to tap into all of these. We always have dried citrus zest on hand, from all the preserving we do with seasonal abundance of citrus (if you’re looking for things to do with lemons, read here), and every year, we ferment and dry a huge batch of wild onion grass because it’s such a wonderfully versatile ingredient. It ends up with the same salty, umami-rch flavour as dried seaweed, so it seemed the perfect fit for this recipe. And then we always have Tasmanian pepperberry in the pantry, as it’s such a brilliant Australian native spice and we love it.

When playing around with this recipe, consider replacing ingredients with some of these options:

Ground red pepper – cayenne, homegrown chili, regular chilli flakes, Korean gochukaru
Granulated/ground dried orange peel – dried lemon, yuzu, blood orange, grapefruit, mandarin etc
White sesame seeds and/or black sesame seeds – nigella, hemp seed, poppy seed, flaxseed
Hemp seeds and/or poppy seeds – nigella, toasted sesame seed, basil seed, amaranth seed
Ground Sichuan peppercorns – Tasmanian pepperberry, white peppercorn, black peppercorn & lime zest powder
Nori flakes – dried fermented wild onion grass/spring onion; dried herbs like basil, parsley, shiso; dried bonito flakes
Ground ginger – you can try ground allspice, mace or possibly even nutmeg

The Urban Nanna’s Shichimi Togarashi

2tbsp gochucaru chilli flakes
1tbsp ground dried blood orange peel
1tbsp blended white sesame seed & nigella see (slightly more sesame
1tsp poppy seeds
1tsp ground Tasmanian pepperberries
1tsp dried fermented wild onion grass, crunched into small flakes
1/4tsp ground ginger

The method for making this seasoning is simply “Make big bits small, mix it all together, and keep it in an airtight jar”. So easy, and absolutely delicious. We’d love to hear what unique blends you come up with!