Shichimi togarashi is easily found at any Japanese grocery store, and most Asian grocery stores. It may also be found in spice sections or Asian food sections in large conventional grocery stores.

If you’re feeling very DIY or you’re looking for a distinctive and personalized blend, shichimi togarashi can be made at home quite easily, assuming that you can find all of the ingredients that you wish to include.

Shichimi togarashi is predominately chili pepper, so it adds smoky-sweet heat to dishes. The additional ingredients are more subtle, but the citrus, sansho, and sesame notes are usually noticeable. Overall, the blend is very pleasantly flavoured and works quite well as a stand-alone condiment. For this reason, it’s not usually mixed with other blends or spices, but is instead used as a garnishing or primary spice. It is spicy by Japanese standards (the Japanese generally use very little hot pepper), but it is certainly not an overly hot pepper product.

Shichimi togarashi is popular on noodles, rice cakes, or even on plain rice. While it’s commonly used to spice up bland or starchy dishes, the flavour is remarkably versatile and works on a wide variety of foods, including those from well outside the Japanese culinary repertoire.

Shichimi togarashi is generally just sprinkled on top of cooked dishes, but it also makes an excellent rub or marinade for seafood and grilled meats.

There isn’t a lot of variation in commercial shichimi togarashi, and there aren’t any particularly ‘bad’ things to watch out for when choosing shichimi togarashi (if you even have a choice – many stores carry a single brand). Make sure you read the label and ingredients, as it’s easy enough to accidentally buy ichimi togarashi, which is pure pepper powder. Likewise, avoid any blends that contain preservatives or artificial flavourings, as shichimi togarashi should be fresh and based on high quality ingredients. Check expiration dates to avoid staleness.

If you do have options, look at the ingredient list to see if you’d like to try one variety over another – red pepper powder, sesame seeds and nori will generally be prominent, but some varieties may contain hemp seeds or poppy seeds. The difference is a matter of personal taste only.

Preparation
Shichimi togarashi requires no preparation and can be used as-is.

Storage
Store shichimi togarashi as you would with any spice or spice blend – keep it well-sealed and away from direct light.

Because it’s a spice blend, shichimi togarashi can vary in both the variety and proportion of ingredients. That being said, variations tend to be personal or between brands, and selection tends to be fairly limited in Western markets. If you happen to have the luxury of shopping around in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, Japan, you may be able to find Yagenbori Shichimi Togarashi, which has been in operation for nearly 400 years. This incredible store not only sells variations on the basic sauce, but will actually let you custom-mix your own blend based on your tastes.

Two popular blends, named for the temples found in close proximity to the original sellers, are Kiyomizu shichimi and Yagenbori shichimi. Kiyomizu (from Kyoto) blend contains hemp seeds, while Yagenbori (from Tokyo) blend contains poppy seeds and citrus peel.

If you can’t get actual shichimi togarashi, you could put together a quick mix of crushed chili, sesame seeds, and any of the other component ingredients you have on hand. The flavour will certainly not be the same without the citrus or sansho, but it’s better than nothing. If you have Sichuan peppercorns, they can be used to replace the sansho component, as the two are quite closely related.