Japanese Traditional Seasonings of Recent Article

What is TABERU-RAAYU?

 

ラー油(RAAYU, or chili oil), that spicy red oil you drizzle over ramen and gyoza, hit the big time in 2010, but this time filled out with such ingredients as fried garlic, fried onion, and ground sesame seeds.

RAAYU or Chili oil (also called hot chili oil or hot oil) is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with dried chili peppers and sometimes also additional ingredients.

 

It is used as an ingredient in cuisines of Latin America, and of East and Southeast Asia, and Chili oil is typically red in color.

And now, RAAYU is being embraced as yet another topping for rice.

TABERU-RAAYU(食べるラー油) is exactly a meaning "RAAYU to eat".

Momoya; one of the major food companies in Japan released jars of it in 2009.
That name translates to "It looks spicy but isn't too spicy but is a bit spicy" .

This "TABERU-RAAYU" has fascinated a lot of Japanese.

 

What is FURIKAKE?

 

ふりかけ(furikake) is a dry Japanese condiment meant to be sprinkled on top of rice.

Furikake usually consists of various ingredients such as sushi nori (seaweed), sesame seeds, dried tuna flakes, ground shiso leaf, salmon flakes, powdered soy sauce or miso, and dried egg.

Other flavorful ingredients such as katsuobushi (sometimes indicated on the package as bonito), or okaka (bonito flakes moistened with soy sauce and dried again), salmon, shiso, egg, powdered miso, vegetables, etc. are often added to the mix.

Japanese Furikake: Nori and egg		Japanese Furikake: Nori and Mentaiko
Japanese Furikake: Red perilla		Japanese Furikake: Red pepper

 

Furikake is often brightly colored and flaky.
It can have a slight fish or seafood flavoring, and is sometimes spicy.

It can be used in Japanese cooking for pickling foods for onigiri.

Outside Japan, furikake can be found in most Asian groceries (near the katsuobushi) or in the ethnic food aisle of some major supermarkets.