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Shichimi togarashi in close-up, the blend of seven spices
  • Spice
  • 七味唐辛子

Shichimi togarashi

Seven flavors, and chili is only one of them.

Flavor profile

Heatheat 60%
Roasttoasted sesame 45%
Citruscitrus peel 40%
Tingletingle 35%
Oceanocean 25%

The strengths are editorial judgments on a scale within the family, not measurements. They can be compared across the spices varieties, not directly against another family.

Shichimi is seven flavors in one jar, with chili as one of them and not as the point. The blend was created in the 1600s by herb dealers in Edo as a health remedy, and it still shows in the composition: citrus peel, sesame, hemp seed, ginger, seaweed, and sansho account for everything that is not heat. That is exactly why it is milder than it looks. The chili is diluted by six other things.

Sensory analysis

Pyramid and character

Aroma

from the jar

  • citrus peel
  • toasted sesame
  • chili

Taste

on the tongue

  • mild heat
  • nuttiness
  • citrus

Finish

what lingers

  • warmth
  • light tingle
  • clean
HEATTINGLECITRUSAROMA STRENGTHBITTERNESSHEAT TOLERANCE

Character 0-100 per axis, set relative to the other entries in the same family. An editorial judgment of a typical serving, not measurements.

Background

Facts

Contents
coarsely ground chili, sansho, roasted citrus peel, sesame, hemp seed, ground ginger, and nori or aonori; poppy seed, yuzu peel, and shiso also appear
History
the first blend is attributed to the spice dealer Karashiya Tokuemon, who set up shop in the 1620s by the Yagenbori canal in Ryogoku in Edo, and the blend came to be named after the place
The houses
three houses still dominate today, all beside temples: Yagenbori at Sensoji in Tokyo, Shichimiya Honpo at Kiyomizudera in Kyoto, and Yawataya Isogoro at Zenkoji in Nagano
Variants
the houses have different recipes; Shichimiya includes dried shiso and has a milder, more fragrant profile, while Yawataya has ginger and aonori
The name
shichi is seven and togarashi is chili, so seven-flavor chili
Use
udon, soba, gyudon, grilled meat, and miso soup; classically sprinkled over a bowl of noodles that is otherwise mildly seasoned

At the table

Use

Dosage
a pinch at a time, because it is a finish and not a base
Timing
sprinkled on finished food; the citrus peel and the sesame lose most of what they have in a simmering pot
Note
buy a small jar, because the aroma from the citrus peel is the first thing to go and an old shichimi is in practice a weak ichimi

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