Gotta Get – Nosetare Rayu Oroshi のせタレラー油おろし

We are addicted to taberu rayu, the mild chili oil filled with fried garlic chips. At the store this area of condiments has blossomed into other products, including this very interesting rayu oroshi.

Oroshi is simply grated items, usually vegetables. Popular grated vegetables include wasabi for sushi, ginger for topping tofu, and daikon for serving with grilled fish.

The ingredients for this thick paste include daikon, soy sauce, sugar, rayu, mirin, yuzu, lemon juice, and katsuobushi extract. As you can imagine, it has a nice acidity from the yuzu and lemon, a rich umami from the katsuobushi, sweetness from the sugar and mirin, slight chili from the rayu, and a nice thick texture from the grated daikon. SB, which makes this product, has a line-up of rayu condiments.

Rayu oroshi seems to go with almost anything. It was the perfect garnish for tuna tataki. We also have enjoyed it with grilled meats (pork, chicken, or beef), ramen, and of course, over rice.

Look for it at major supermarkets in Japan.

Japanese Supermarket Gotta Get - Tube Seasonings

About three or four nights a week, one of these tubes will find their way to our dinner table. On the top is neriume, then on the bottom from left to right is yuzu kosho, nama wasabi, karashi,  and yuzu kosho wasabi.

neriume - umeboshi paste

yuzu kosho - a salty and slightly spicy paste of yuzu, salt, and green tougarashi (pepper)

nama wasabi - fresh wasabi

karashi - Japanese mustard

yuzu kosho wasabi - a blend of wasabi and yuzu kosho

The neriume is used mostly for making salad dressings, mixed with some rice wine vinegar, a bit of soy sauce, and some sesame oil. It is also a nice garnish to some sashimi or steamed white fish.

I can't get enough of the yuzu kosho. We use it on everything from a garnish to pot au feu, oden stew, yakitori, and grilled fish. It can be added to any salad dressing. Most recently we had it with steamed potatoes from Hokkaido. We just mixed a bit of the yuzu kosho in with some mayonnaise as a dip for the hot potatoes.

The nama wasabi and yuzu kosho wasabi are used mostly for when we have sashimi.

And the karashi mostly for oden.

These can be found in supermarkets or even at 100 yen shops. Other flavors to be found include ground ginger, grated ginger, and momiji oroshi (grated daikon and dried red pepper). Many of these products are from the spice company, S&B, famous for its curry powder. 

These have become an essential part of our pantry. Convenient, delicious, and easy on the wallet.

Shijimi Soup

It's not always easy to have access to fresh seafood. Growing up in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, we had plenty of fish in the summer. But come winter the closest I would get to fish would be a Filet-O-Fish at McDonald's.

One good way to have a bit of seafood during the week is to stock up on some items like this shijimi su-pu (shijimi soup). Little corbicula clams with wakame in a clear broth. Simply boil with some hot water and it's a nice last minute addition to any meal. This pack cost 525 JPY for 20 servings. It tastes good and is great to have on hand. Easy ways to add more to the soup is to include soft tofu or green onions.

Furikake Tasting Round One ふりかけ

Growing up we always had furikake in the house. It was a way to make white rice into a light snack, especially after coming home from school. Back in the 70s furikake was simple stuff, some nori and either something like fish flakes or dried egg yolks. Now I carefully peruse the furikake section of the supermarket (or the 100 yen shop) as the variety is amazing. I am one of those people that needs to try everything at least once if I can. So when I see a new type of furikake I immediately am curious as to how it will taste.

This first pack caught my eye as it is based on the popular taberu ra-yu (edible chili oil) that is taking the country by storm. While it's not as good as the real stuff, it's not a bad substitute. It includes tiny dried shrimp, and the mysterious crunchy bits of ra-yu. Ohmoriya has a great selection of furikake, in particular, I love the kari kari series that includes bits of crunchy umeboshi or takuan.

Another one that grabbed my attention was this pack as I love tarako and mentaiko, and I am also a fan of this company's products. Nagatanien has other great flavors like chirimen sansho, uni, and sukiyaki. However, I will have to say that this was the first of their products that I didn't care for. The texture was too much like sand. But, their other furikake are definitely worth trying, especially the chirimen sansho.

Mishima may be my favorite furikake company as they produce Yukari (dried, red shiso furikake) and Nameshi (dried, salted greens), both of which I always have in my pantry. This product is yukari, shirasu (tiny, dried anchovies), and sesame seeds. We loved this and will definitely get more. The shirasu was a nice contrast to the tart shiso leaves. I am going to try this over some angel hair pasta with some extra virgin olive oil. I can already tell it is going to be a hit.

Do you have any favorite furikake? Please post below if you do.