Japanese seven spice blend is something you can easily create at home. I have used ingredients that were easy to find in South Africa. You will need a spice grinder to get the desired consistency.

Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Japanese Seven Spice ♥
Japanese Seven Spice
Shichi-mi tōgarashi translates to seven red chilli pepper. Japanese seven spice is a blend of seven spices and the spicy flavour comes from the chillies. You might find it is your local stores as nanami togarashi. Typically, the ingredients found in this blend are red chillies; ground sanshō; roasted orange peel; black sesame seeds; white sesame seeds; ground ginger; nori; and poppy seeds. As I was not going to spend the time roasting orange peels, I replaced them with dried yuzu zest I had in my pantry. I also went a bit off base and replaced the Japanese pepper (sanshō) with Szechuan peppercorns which are Chinese. Expect to find a shaker of this spice on tables when you eat out in Japan. And knowing that now, I think I might just add this to our table, to compliment the salt and pepper.
Toasted nori
I had every intention of buying nori sheets and toasting them myself. But, I decided that 19 leftover nori sheets would be a waste. So, I bought a pack of roasted seaweed snacks.
These came from a local Asian supermarket and I only used one sheet. The rest of them were quickly devoured. They were a tad greasy but extremely tasty. And something I could easily enjoy to nibble on while having a drink.
Why I made Japanese Seven Spice
I decided that I would make this at home as I love freshly made spice blends. I needed this specific spice blend for the crispy quinoa salad recipe I was testing. It seems like a lot of effort for just 10mls, but I knew I will use it again for ramen and poke bowls.
Take a look at this inspiring recipe for ♥ Japanese Seven Spice ♥ from Lavender and Lime #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Japanese Seven Spice
Ingredients
- 5 mls white sesame seeds
- 5 mls black sesame seeds
- 2.5 mls Szechuan peppercorns
- 2.5 mls poppy seeds
- 15 mls red chilli flakes
- 7.5 mls dried yuzu zest
- 2.5 mls dried ginger
- 1 8cm x 6cm sheet roasted seaweed, cut in half and finely sliced
Method
- Place the sesame seeeds, peppercorns and poppy seeds into a dry frying pan and toat over a low temperature until frangrant
- Pour into your spice grinder and leave to cool completely before adding the chilli, yuzu, ginger and nori
- Pulse until the spice blend is coarsely ground
- Store in an airtight container and use as needed
See the links below for blog posts I published on October 17:
- 2023: Fig Biscuits
- 2022: Herring In Horseradish Cream
- 2021: The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club
- 2018: Life Retreat
- 2016: Prawn Pathia Curry
- 2013: Salted Caramel Ice Cream
- 2011: Meatloaf
I always have this blend in my pantry. And I did make a version of it myself some time back. I am a huge fan of Japanese foods.
Sherry
I thought you would like this 🙂
Oh how wonderful! This spice blend is one of my favorites! I even put it on eggs. I’d love to make it myself. I need to find dried ginger.
I so need to try this on eggs!
Definitely an interesting spice blend. I didn’t expect to see Szechuan huajiao peppercorns, but I like the twist, which makes cooking so much more fun.
Thank you!
This looks fantastic and sounds so easy. Except for the Yuzu zest I have all the ingredients.
Hope you try and make a version of this 🙂
I’m actually not familiar with this Japanese Seven Spice – what a unique and flavourful blend!
I am putting it on everything!