Furikake

[ankomochi]

I love shiso furikake! I make shiso spaghetti using shiso furikake. I cook pasta, and mix with butter and shiso furikake. It's so easy and pretty tasty. If I want more flavor, I put the pieces of umeboshi to enhance the flavor.

Occasionally I get hive eating furikake gohan. I think something in furikake is making me getting an allergic reaction.

[skchai]

Furikake goes with just about any relatively dry (and a few wet), savory, salty snack. Here's some other creative (?) uses I've come across or tried myself:

Setofumi (Goma-Katsuo) Furikake in Chicken or Tonkatsu Breading

Shiso Furikake on Cole Slaw

Sake Tarako Furikake on Boiled, Fried, or Roasted Peanuts

Any-kine assortments on Popcorn (different bowls for each, at parties)

Katsuo Mirin on Green Mango (tastes better than it sounds)

Norikomi (Nori and Goma) + Shiso on Bombay / Chaat Mix - this is good!

Ah. . . that's it

[Comfort Me]

Last night I was eating alone, so I made a quick salad with ginger dressing, some steamed carrots, and an omelette. As I was wisking the eggs, my eyes lit on my jar of Furikake. So, on a whim, I poured the eggs into the skillet, the sprinkled on a liberal dose of Furikake. MOST yummy.

I just recently found Furikake, and reading all the varieties made my mouth water. I love dashi, so I'm going to look for Furikake with bonito. My wife will love the salmon flake. I'll just have to hunt around Chicago looking for more varieties!

Tomorrow I'm going to have rice, egg, and Furikake for breakfast. I'm drolling just thinking about it!

[jrufusj]

Last night I was eating alone, so I made a quick salad with ginger dressing, some steamed carrots, and an omelette. As I was wisking the eggs, my eyes lit on my jar of Furikake. So, on a whim, I poured the eggs into the skillet, the sprinkled on a liberal dose of Furikake. MOST yummy.

I just recently found Furikake, and reading all the varieties made my mouth water. I love dashi, so I'm going to look for Furikake with bonito. My wife will love the salmon flake. I'll just have to hunt around Chicago looking for more varieties!

Tomorrow I'm going to have rice, egg, and Furikake for breakfast. I'm drolling just thinking about it!

Have fun. There are a ton of flavors to try. The four on my shelf right now are wasabi, mentaiko, katsuobushi, and salmon. The order I've listed them probably also matches my order of preference.

What do you pay for it in Chicago? I normally bring it back from Japan to Seoul. In Seoul a bottle half the size costs twice as much as the bigger one in Tokyo.

Jim

[hillvalley]

My roomate my freshman year of college was Korean and introduced me to furikake. I have been addicted ever since. I keep a jar of seaweed furikake in my classroom to throw on top of rice for lunch. This year my students love the stuff and I have started using it as a reward (they are mainly inner city kids most of whom have never seen an ocean, let alone seaweed). I have one kid who like to eat it plain, and would "drink" the stuff if I let him.

Edited December 13, 2003 by hillvalley (log)

[torakris]

we haven't discussed furikake in a while.....

It seems that the flavor I loved way back the yaki (grilled) miso furikake no longer exists , need to find a new favorite.

[redfox]

Oh man, yaki miso furikake sounds great! Was it vegetarian? (I don't even know why I'm asking, since if it was, that will just fuel my sadness at never having any while it existed.)

[Hiroyuki]

It seems that the flavor I loved way back the yaki (grilled) miso furikake no longer exists

Have you checked out that the product really does not exist any longer?

Do you remember the brand? Is it Riken's?

http://www.rike-vita.co.jp/f_product/f_pro.../indexc-09.html

[torakris]

It seems that the flavor I loved way back the yaki (grilled) miso furikake no longer exists

Have you checked out that the product really does not exist any longer?

Do you remember the brand? Is it Riken's?

http://www.rike-vita.co.jp/f_product/f_pro.../indexc-09.html

that's it!! 3rd one down

I wonder why all the stores in my area have stopped stocking it?

[Hiroyuki]

I used to be totally addicted to furikake, until I read the ingredient label. There's so much junk in there! Ugh.

We still keep about one pack (either tarako or ajidouraku) and use it very occasionally, but it's not something I want to eat regularly. Which is good, since I'm trying to cut down on the amount of rice I eat, and with furikake I can easily eat two or three bowls!

Since some of you guys like smallworld seem to be worried about the ingredients, I attempted to translate the label. I selected "Sukiyaki" of Marumiya as an example:

http://www.marumiya.co.jp/news/index.html

The label says:

胡麻 Sesame seeds

小麦粉 Flour

砂糖 Sugar

マッシュポテト Mashed potato

食用油脂 Edible fat and oil

牛肉 Beef

食塩 Salt

醤油 Soy source

こしあん Koshi an (I know what it is, but don't know how to say it in English. Jam made from azuki beans with shells removed?)

鶏卵 Hen egg

乳糖 Lactin // lactose // milk sugar (// is just a separator, meaning "or".)

脱脂粉乳 Skimmed milk powder

澱粉 Starch

エキス（ビーフ、酵母、チキン）Extract (beef, leaven, chicken)

粉末状植物性蛋白 Powdery vegetable protein

大豆加工品 Soy bean processed goods? (literal translation)

オニオンパウダー Onion powder

牛乳 Milk

味付海苔 Seasoned laver

イースト Yeast

蛋白加水分解物 Protein hydrolysate? (literal translation)

鶏肉 Chicken

香辛料 Spice

ぶどう糖 Glucose // grape sugar

調味料（アミノ酸等）Seasoner (amino acid, etc.)

着色料（赤ビート、カラメル、紅麹、カルチノイド） Artificial colors (red beet, caramel, beni koji (red rice malt?), carcinoid)

膨張剤 Baking powder // swelling agent

くん液 Smoke flavor

甘味料（天草、ステビア） Sweeteners (daylily // licorice // liquorice, stevia)

卵殻カルシウム Egg shell calcium

酸化防止剤（ビタミンE、ビタミンC) Antioxidants (vitamin E, vitamin C)

香料 Fragrance

香辛料 Spice. This word appears twice.

（原材料の一部に豚肉、えび、ゼラチンを含む） (Some raw materials contain pork, shrimp, and gelatin)

I made heavy use of Eijiro on the Web (英辞郎 on the Web) just to make sure words are correct.

http://www.alc.co.jp/

Now, how about your appetite?

***

Correction: Kuneki = Smoke flavor

Edited March 30, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[smallworld]

Now, how about your appetite?

Pretty much gone, thanks!

I can't believe all that stuff is in a single product.

Great translation, though. Eijiro on the Web is an excellent resource and I'm surprised it couldn't tranlate koshian. I suppose you could call it 'smooth adzuki paste'?

So does koshian really contain beans with the skins removed? I thought it was just very finely sieved.

[torakris]

Great translation, though. Eijiro on the Web is an excellent resource and I'm surprised it couldn't tranlate koshian. I suppose you could call it 'smooth adzuki paste'?

So does koshian really contain beans with the skins removed? I thought it was just very finely sieved.

usually it is the sieving process that removes the skins.

koshian in furikake? who would have thought....

[Hiroyuki]

usually it is the sieving process that removes the skins.

Definitely yes.

[hotstepher]

There are those weeks when cash is non-exsistent. That means lots of canned tuna and rice and bean sprouts. Furikake makes canned tuna taste like an extra-special exotic meal. I add the Furikake along with saracha (sp?) chili sauce and whatever else tickles my fancy.

[smallworld]

Great translation, though. Eijiro on the Web is an excellent resource and I'm surprised it couldn't tranlate koshian. I suppose you could call it 'smooth adzuki paste'?

So does koshian really contain beans with the skins removed? I thought it was just very finely sieved.

usually it is the sieving process that removes the skins.

Oh!

I wonder what happens to all those little left-over skins...

[Hiroyuki]

I wonder what happens to all those little left-over skins...

Here it is. Take a look at step 5.

http://www.aichi-c.ed.jp/contents/katei/si...beru/kosian.htm

Got it?

[Hiroyuki]

The list of ingrediants that I posted previously is not meant to frighten you, though.

Maybe you could learn more about food additives yourself and decide whether to eat furikake at peace or stay away from them.

I am an occasional user of various types of furikake myself. Among my favoriates are

ゆかり　Yukari (aka jiso)

かおり　Kaori (ao jiso)

菜めし　Nameshi (gree leaves called Hiroshima Na)

partly because they contain less additives. Note, however, that these three brands are under the category of

混ぜごはんの素　Mazegohan no moto, not

ふりかけ　Furikake

according to the manufacturer's site

http://www.mishima.co.jp/

(sorry, in Japanese only)

The furikake I like the best is the one that I make at home myself (and my wife), using mackerel cans, soy source, mirin, goma, and a little bit of pepper. It's really yummy. We call it maho no furikake, or magic furikake.

[torakris]

The furikake I like the best is the one that I make at home myself (and my wife), using mackerel cans, soy source, mirin, goma, and a little bit of pepper. It's really yummy. We call it maho no furikake, or magic furikake.

Hiroyuki,

could you give a little more information about that homemade version?

I too am much more partial to homemade versions, a favorite here is a simple one with chirimen-jyako, sesame seeds soy and mirin. I also make one with daikon leaves and miso, it is a slightly "wetter" furikake.

[Pan]

I didn't know daikon leaves were edible! How do they taste?

[Hiroyuki]

Hiroyuki,

could you give a little more information about that homemade version?

Sure, with pleasure! I don't know how to write a recipe in a proper way, though.

My version is also a wet version. But it lasts for ten days or longer. (Put it in the refrigerator, of course.)

***Maho no furikake (magic furikake) ***

(Sounds silly?)

Ingredients:

1. Mackerel can, boiled plain (mizuni): 3 (not shown in the photo)

2. Soy source: 6 tablespoons. (I don't have a measuring spoon. Just the large spoon in the picture.)

3. Mirin-fu seasoner: 6 tablespoons (same volume as soy source) (I don't use hon mirin. Mirin-fu is enough for me.)

4. Pepper

5. Sesame seeds

How to make:

0. Measure and mix soy source and mirin in a container.

1. Open the 3 cans, drain, and put the mackerel into the nonstick frying pan.

2. Add pepper and sesame seeds. (I can't say how much; just as much as you like).

3. Put the pan on the stove, turn on the gas, and smash the mackerel. (I use a bamboo spatula. See photo) Continue to smash until the mackerel nearly dries out (but still wet). This will take about 5 minutes or so.

4. Put the mix of soy source and mirin, and mix well until nearly dry (but still wet). This will take about 2 minutes or so.

And the result is this:

Whenever I have little appetite, a munch or two of rice with this furikake makes me work up my appetite in no time. It's true. That's why I call it maho no furikake, or magic furikake. It has the same effect on my wife and children, too.

(Sorry, I don't know how to insert photos. Maybe next time...)

[Hiroyuki]

Just for your reference:

I just happened to come across the website (in Japanese) while searching:

http://www.kyoto-wel.com/yomoyama/yomoyama10/117/117.htm

The title says: Golden ratio for taste.

According to the site, the golden ratio for taste is:

Soy source : Mirin = 1 : 1

Accidentally, my maho no furikake has the same ratio.

***

Talking of daikon leaves, my mother was (maybe still is) good at tsukemono.

The misozuke she made with daikon leaves was very delicious. It's a shame that so many people (including Japanese) just throw them away.

[rlivings]

But just as good as a snack is microwave very buttery popcorn with furikake on it... you can also mix in some rice crackers.

Akiko

furikake and popcorn, yum.

www.hawaiian-hurricane.com

[torakris]

I didn't know daikon leaves were edible! How do they taste?

Daikon leaves are really wonderful!

I buy the daikon with the leaves attached whenever possible, though sometimes they can be hard to find. I have even seen bags of frozen, chopped daikon leaves in the supermarkets.

I would compare the taste to maybe turnip greens, they have a pleasant green leaf flavor not bitter at all.

They are good just boiled and mixed with white rice as a type of maze-gohan (mixed rice) and are also good in stirfry type dish. I really like it with some seame oil and sakura ebi, a type of small dried pink shrimp.

[Hiroyuki]

torakris (or someone else who has the authority),

Could you delete my preceding post in this thread?

Photo 1:

Photo 2:

[morda]

I just bought some furikake the other day, funny enough. It also has a rather short ingredient list, but there is no corresponding japanese label. The brand is Ajishima and I just noticed it's a product of Taiwan. Anyway, the ingredient list is:

sesame seed

horse radish

shaved bonito

japanese mustard plant (wasabi?)

sugar

seaweed

soy sauce (water, soy bean, wheat, salt)

salt

cooking rice wine

sugar

Looks pretty innocuous to me...am I missing something?

morda

Edited to add that the flavor I have is wasabi fumi furikake.

Edited May 20, 2004 by morda (log)