Japanese cuisine can be tricky to understand at the best of times. Their isolated location for most of history and a strong sense of cultural identity means that most of their flavours feel complex and unfamiliar to the global palate. But while most dishes from the country come with centuries of history, Furikake is one recent (by Japanese standards at least) addition that has earned a place as a beloved staple of the cuisine.
When Japan’s population boomed between 1867 and 1912, along with the country's military expansion, food was in shorter supply and nutritional deficiencies became more common. Calcium deficiencies were one of the most common since the typical Japanese diet is already naturally low in the mineral. To address this, an innovative pharmacist named Suekichi Yoshimaru developed a supplement made of ground fish bones that could be sprinkled over food to help increase your calcium levels. But he predicted – probably correctly – that children wouldn’t take to this intense flavour. So as a solution, he mixed the bonemeal with sesame seeds, nori (seaweed) flakes and poppy seeds to create a delicious savoury seasoning. Deeming it ‘Gohan no Tomo’ (A friend for rice), it became the first step toward what we now know as Furikake.
His choice of additives was heavily influenced by the discovery of the concept of umami by Kikunae Ikeda in 1908. Japanese scientists had long questioned why there were only four basic tastes on record ie. sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and bitterness. They reasoned that flavours like meat, and miso surely didn’t fit within these boundaries, which in turn led to the coining of umami or savouriness as an entirely distinct category. Today so much of what we associate with Japanese cuisine falls within that category, such as soy sauce, MSG and nori.
Building on the success of this supplement-turned-seasoning, food broker Seiichirou Kai decided to try his hand at his own version. He named it ‘Kore wa Umai’ (This is yummy) and it featured powdered konbu seaweed with ishimochi (white croaker fish), which was then simmered in soy sauce, dehydrated again and mixed with nori flakes and sesame seeds. Everyone agreed with the name because it helped him expand his business to Tokyo where he added a wildly popular Noritama Seaweed and Egg flavour.
The name ‘Furikake’ was only coined for these seasonings in 1959 when the National Furikake Association was founded. Coming from the Japanese term ‘furi kakeru’ meaning ‘to sprinkle over’ it established the mix as a condiment that could be used over whatever dish took your fancy. It also expanded the possibilities to include gomashio (toasted sesame seeds and sea salt), shiso (ground and pickled red shiso leaves) or katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and kombu and many, many more. The flavour options are limitless.
This versatile condiment is Japan’s answer to salt and pepper. Liberally applied over sushi, yakitori, ramen or even popcorn and pizza. It adds a punch of flavour and a small sample of Japan’s vast culinary prowess to any bite.