Furikake
A Japanese rice seasoning. Its forerunner is said to be a powder of dried, ground fish created by a Japanese pharmacist in the early 20th century to add calcium to the everyday diet; today it is one of the most popular Japanese rice seasonings. What matters most is easy to overlook: every ingredient must be completely dry. Damp sesame or nori makes the seasoning clump in the jar and lose the crispness that is its whole point.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Toasting the sesame 10 min
- Nori 5 min
- Combining 10 min
- Cooling 15 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneToast the sesame in a dry pan
Toast the white sesame in a dry pan for about 4 minutes, shaking constantly, until the seeds start jumping and smell nutty, then tip onto a plate. Toast the black separately and more briefly, 2–3 minutes (about 7 minutes in all) — it is already dark, so colour will not warn you before it scorches; go by the smell.
Ingredients: 80 g white sesame seeds · 40 g black sesame seeds · 4 pcs nori · 15 g bonito flakes
The seeds start jumping — the sign they are ready.Cook off the soy sauce with the sesame
Return all the sesame to the pan, lower the heat, pour in the soy sauce with the sugar and stir until the liquid has completely evaporated and the seeds are loose again. That takes about 2 minutes. Any moisture left will clump the seasoning in the jar.
Ingredients: 2 tsp soy sauce · 2 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 1 tsp chilli flakes
Crisp the nori over a flame
Pass the nori sheets over a gas flame or a dry pan for a few seconds a side, until brittle and a darker green. Damp nori will not crumble but tears into strips instead.
Ingredients: 80 g white sesame seeds · 40 g black sesame seeds · 4 pcs nori · 15 g bonito flakes
A few seconds over the flame — the nori turns brittle.Crumble the nori and bonito by hand
Crumble the cooled nori between your palms into fine flakes and rub the bonito flakes the same way. By hand, not in a grinder — a grinder reduces them to dust, and the point is perceptible, crisp pieces.
Ingredients: 80 g white sesame seeds · 40 g black sesame seeds · 4 pcs nori · 15 g bonito flakes
Mix once everything is cold
Wait until the sesame is completely cold (about 15 minutes), and only then mix it with the nori, bonito, salt and chilli. Warm sesame gives off steam that softens the nori immediately — the commonest mistake with this seasoning.
Ingredients: 2 tsp soy sauce · 2 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 1 tsp chilli flakes
Everything cold before mixing — or the nori goes damp.Store in an airtight jar
Transfer to an airtight jar, ideally with the desiccant packet from the nori packaging. Furikake keeps a month somewhere dry. Do not refrigerate — condensation turns it into a solid block within days.
Ingredients: 80 g white sesame seeds · 40 g black sesame seeds · 4 pcs nori · 15 g bonito flakes
Before you start
What to sprinkle it on
Classically white rice, but furikake also works on a fried egg, on avocado, on roasted vegetables, on buttered noodles and on popcorn. One of the few seasonings that brings salt, umami and crunch at the same time.
Flavour variations
Add dried lemon zest and shichimi togarashi for a citrus-hot version, dried salmon flakes for a fishy one, or wasabi powder for heat. The sesame and nori base stays the same — the rest depends on what you plan to use it for.
The vegan version
Instead of bonito, use dried shiitake ground to a coarse powder, or nutritional yeast. The umami is different — earthier rather than marine — but the seasoning still works well.