Japanese Spices

Umami Blend is your new secret ingredient - it adds depth of flavour, complexity and richness to everything from soups and stews to meatballs, risotto and gravies. Made with all-natural, plant based ingredients, it is a must have for vegan and vegetarian cooking. Once you've cooked with it, you'll notice the difference in flavour and wonder how you managed without it! To learn more about what umami means, read our blog post here.

Flavour Notes: Rich, savoury

Cuisine: Australian

Heat Level: 0/5

One of Japan's most beloved condiments, furikake is a delicious finishing sprinkle that adds flavour, texture and savoury umami to rice dishes, salads, poke bowls, or even smashed avocado on toast. Our take combines the traditional nori seaweed flakes and toasted sesame seeds with a fresh citrus twist from finger lime, makrut lime leaf and orange peel. Itadakimasu!

Flavour Notes: Zingy, umami-rich, crunchy

Cuisine: Japanese

Heat Level: 0/5

Recreating Japan's favourite Katsu-style curry is so easy with this blend. Make a mild and silky sauce that's delicious with chicken, beef or vegetables. Noodles and rice also pair well with the heady mix of spices including cumin, fenugreek, ginger, thyme, allspice, cardamom and star anise. Leftovers make a moreish karepan - Japan’s answer to a toastie. This mix will fast become a go-to in your family's dinner repertoire.

Flavour Notes: Warming, slightly sweet, savoury

Cuisine: Japanese

Heat Level: 0/5

Oishii Instant Ramen Blend makes a quick and tasty miso broth that contains no nasty additives and delivers punchy flavour. Use this blend to create a yummy - or as they say in Japan, "Oishii" instant ramen broth, topped with noodles and your favourite condiments for a delicious midweek meal for all the family.

Flavour Notes: Umami-rich, savoury, lightly sweet

Cuisine: Japanese

Heat Level: 0/5

Shichimi Togarashi ("shichi" meaning "seven" and "mi" meaning "taste"; "togarashi" is Japanese dried red chilli) is a popular Japanese seven-flavour seasoning, containing dried chilli mixed with several distinct spices.

Often just called shichimi, there are variations to the formula depending on which region in Japan you travel to - often, more than seven spices are included. Use as a condiment for spicing udon noodles, soups, nabemono (one-pot dishes) and yakitori. Its delicious crunch is irresistible.

Flavour Notes: Nutty, bright, fragrant, mild strength heat

Cuisine: Japanese

Heat Level: 2/5

The famous phrase 'open sesame' derives from the popping sound akin to a lock spring opening that a ripened sesame pod makes as it bursts open. These hulled seeds are immensely popular in cooking all over the world and form the base for kitchen staples like tahini, hommus and sesame oil. In Mexican cooking, it is used in sauces for mole or adobo. Sesame is also widely used to decorate artisanal breads.

Use these nutty, crunchy and striking coloured seeds to lift Asian dishes and modern desserts. Coat meat or fish in sesame seeds before cooking for flavour, colour and crunch. Popping up in desserts like tuiles and macarons, ice creams and eclairs, cakes, panna cottas and doughnuts, black sesame is the new poppy seed!