& B Chili Pepper (Ichimi Togarashi) - 0.52oz

A small, pocketable bottle with a special single hole plastic insert under the cap. You can hold the bottle horizontally and tap it for a light dose of the fiery stuff, or you can up-end it, and burn out your palate. This isn’t ghost pepper level, but my sense is that it’s a bit hotter than cayenne. LIke cayenne powder, this offers little flavour beyond the heat. I follow a largely temple style Japanese diet, so my luncheon meal is often little more than a bowl of rice, a few pickled vegetables, all sauced with shoyu, rice vinegar, a touch of mirin and then topped with a few shiso (red perilla) leaves. Three or four taps of this S&B togarashi add a mellow depth to the rice, balancing the salt of the shoyu, sour of the vinegar and sweet sake flavour of the mirin. My only complaint is that like many Japanese food products, this small bottle is expensive. You could substitute cayenne. I have, and it works, just not as well. I keep a variety of fresh and dried peppers in my pantry, but none are an exact match to the S&B. So, I apply a principal of moderation and the bottle lasts one or even two months.

I recommend

Even with only limited use so far, I really like this pepper. Not too hot so as to impede flavor, but hot enough to provide an enjoyable bite. Among other uses, excellent to sprinkle on some ramen. Looking to mix it with bread crumbs on fried chicken. Love it.

I am using everyday , hard to believe but I having UDON every morning for four year now. I have to have this one for touch of taste

The flavor was bold and fresh with a broad spectrum of pepper flavors. It adds some complexity to dishes that might otherwise be bland.