Shichimi (Seven flavors)

I’m making “reading cards” for high school students.

This is one of them.

Could you enjoy reading?

Shichimi is a blend of spices that is served at the table as a condiment for noodle dishes such as soba and udon, but many people sprinkle it on other foods, including gyudon and yakitori. It is more properly called shichimi togarashi (seven-flavor chili pepper) after the main ingredient that gives it its heat: togarashi, or capsicum, which is a type of chili pepper. A shop in Tokyo’s Asakusa district called Yagenbori has been making shichimi for almost 400 years. Their original chukara blend contains black sesame seeds, roasted dry capsicum, the dried peel of the unshu mikan (Satsuma orange), sansho (Japanese pepper), poppy seeds and hemp seeds. Other companies may substitute one or more of these ingredients for other spices, such as ginger or seaweed, and some blends don’t have exactly seven ingredients.