Shichimi Togarashi (七味唐辛子) – Japanese Seven-Spice Blend

Shichimi togarashi means seven-flavor chili. In Japan the blend sits on the tables of soba, udon and yakitori shops. You sprinkle it at your seat over noodle soups, rice bowls and grilled food. Besides chili, it contains sansho pepper, dried citrus peel, black and white sesame, nori and ginger, plus hemp seeds or poppy seeds. Ichimi togarashi is nothing but ground chili.

By Laura Chen· November 4, 2026

1 Stdtotal

30servings

8kcal

JapaneseCuisine ›

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You dry the citrus peel yourself in the oven. It gives the blend the fresh scent that store-bought jars lose after a few weeks. Toast the sesame in a dry pan until it pops, and grind everything coarsely. A few whole sesame seeds and chili flakes belong in the finished blend. Sansho tingles on the tongue like Sichuan pepper, which replaces it in a pinch.

Try the blend over Kitsune Udon or on a bowl of Gyudon. For Yakitori you sprinkle it on the skewers right after grilling.

Image: AI-generated.

Shichimi Togarashi (七味唐辛子) – Japanese Seven-Spice Blend

Name: Shichimi Togarashi Recipe: Seven-Spice Blend
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 30
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 organic orange or 2 organic mandarins; 20 g chili flakes (ichimi togarashi or gochugaru); 10 g white sesame seeds; 10 g black sesame seeds; 4 g sansho pepper, ground; 4 g hulled hemp seeds or poppy seeds; 2 g aonori (seaweed flakes) or 1 nori sheet; 2 g ginger powder

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

15 minutes

Cook time

45 minutes

Calories

Cuisine

Japanese

Ingredients

1 organic orange or 2 organic mandarins
20 g chili flakes (ichimi togarashi or gochugaru)
10 g white sesame seeds
10 g black sesame seeds
4 g sansho pepper, ground
4 g hulled hemp seeds or poppy seeds
2 g aonori (seaweed flakes) or 1 nori sheet
2 g ginger powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 100 °C (210 °F) top and bottom heat. Peel the orange thinly with a peeler, without taking the white pith.
Lay the peel on a tray lined with parchment paper and dry it for 40 to 45 minutes, until it snaps. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
Toast the white and black sesame in a dry pan over medium heat for 3 minutes, until the white sesame browns lightly. Tip it onto a plate.
If you have no aonori, toast the nori sheet in the pan for 1 minute and crumble it with your fingers.
Crush the orange peel in a mortar into coarse flakes of 1 to 2 mm.
Add half the sesame, the chili flakes, sansho, hemp seeds and ginger and grind everything coarsely for 1 minute.
Mix in the remaining sesame and the aonori. Fill the blend into a dark screw-top jar.

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Shichimi Togarashi (七味唐辛子) – Japanese Seven-Spice Blend

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