Shichimi togarashi

Chilli, citrus peel, sesame. Three sharp things scattered on one blank one.

Buckwheat is bitter and flat; the tin adds citrus, salt and a slow burn.

Grilled over charcoal, then dusted. Peel cuts fat, sanshō does the buzz.

Salt, pod, dust. Nothing is cooked twice and nothing needs a sauce.

Marine broth meets the nori in the tin; the chilli is almost incidental.

Over a raw yolk on rice, where sesame supplies the texture it has none of.

A blank grain and a loud tin. The only seasoning a bowl of rice can take neat.

Cold silken tofu is texture, not flavour. The tin supplies everything else.

The blend already contains dried peel; fresh zest makes the chilli read floral.

Sweet glaze plus peel and buzz; the fat needs the citrus more than the heat.

Citrus peel and chilli over char. The blend was built for grilled food.

Buttered corn takes the peel and nori better than any chilli powder does.

Nori and peel survive cocoa; the heat is slow enough to follow the melt.

Chilli, sanshō and nori dust on a halved egg. Texture doing seasoning’s job.

Citrus peel and berry esters, with the chilli arriving after the sugar.