Thursday, February 5, 2026
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Purple Gomashio


Gomashio is a straightforward Japanese seasoning constructed from toasted sesame seeds and salt. It provides crunch, nuttiness, and added vitamins from the sesame seeds. Just a few years in the past I began making a purple model and it rapidly turned a kitchen staple. Dense with sesame, dynamic with chile powder and smoked paprika, the wildcard ingredient is inexperienced cardamom. Aromatic cardamom seeds are floor with mortar and pestle together with a few of the sesame and the ensuing mix of spices actually sings – particularly when it hits one thing scorching. And whereas by no means conventional, you should use it in most of the identical methods you may use a extra conventional model of goma (sesame) shio (salt).
A red gomashio sesame salt made with chile powder, cardamom,and other ingredients

Purple Gomashio: Components

  • Cardamom: Your cardamom seeds ought to be aromatic when crushed. You should purchase cardamom in numerous types – complete cardamom pods, cardamom seeds, floor cardamom seeds. For this recipe you need to begin with pods or complete seeds. If you happen to purchase the seeds, it’s a little bit of a shortcut and you’ll merely kilos them in a mortar and pestle, or grind them in a clear pepper grinder. If you happen to begin with seeds you’ll want about 1/4 teaspoon for this recipe.
    a glass jar of cardamom pods to use in the red gomashio spice blend
    My good friend Wendy gifted me a number of stunning glass jars of spices final week (her calligraphy!), and looking out on the cardamom I took it as an indication to make a recent spherical of purple gomashio.
  • Sesame Seeds: I sometimes maintain unhulled sesame seeds available, and that’s what I take advantage of right here. More energizing is best. You need to maintain sesame seeds in an hermetic container, out of direct gentle, ideally refrigerated in the event you don’t undergo them rapidly.
    Ingredients to use in red gomashio including sesame seeds, cardamom, chile powders, brown sugar
  • Onion: I desire to make use of dried onion flakes right here, however they are often tough to seek out. Onion powder does the job as nicely, and is accessible in most shops. That stated, in the event you plan forward, certainly one of my favourite ingredient discoveries recently is the toasted onion powder from Burlap & Barrel (not sponsored, only a fan). It’s good rather than the dried onion flakes right here.
  • Salt: I like to make use of flaky sea salt right here, you may sort of crush it together with your fingers into small, irregular shapes which might be good. Alternately, pink Himalayan sea salt pounded a bit with a mortar and pestle is a pleasant various.
    A small bowl of spices to add to crushed sesame seeds for gomashio
  • Chile powder: I like to make use of Kashmiri chile powder right here. It has a vibrant spiciness, fruity notes, and for the electrical colour (!) it brings. If you wish to use one other chile powder, add it regularly as your ultimate ingredient, including extra till the general mix is to your liking.

Red gomashio sesame salt sprinkled on onigirazu in a lunchbox
How To Use Purple Gomashio

It is a wildly adaptable seasoning. I find it irresistible sprinkled over labneh and drizzled with a ending additional virgin olive oil. It’s good sprinkled over home made pasta tossed with a beneficiant quantity of butter or olive oil, some Parmesan, and no matter recent herbs you’ve got available. It’s A-plus on a baked potato (or mashed potatoes omg). Or sprinkled throughout a plate of hard-boiled eggs. Mainly it’s a straightforward solution to make on a regular basis staples a bit particular. You see it sprinkled above on onigirazu, it’s equally at residence on rice bowls, onigiri, and soba bowls. I additionally like to sprinkle it throughout guacamole earlier than serving. I may go on and on, principally maintain it in your counter and use it consistently.

The Course of

Listed here are a number of course of pictures and visible cues in case you want them. 

  • Grind the cardamom: That is the feel you’re after when grinding the cardamom seeds. A little bit of texture together with a high-quality grind. It’s the grind I’m going for when grinding black pepper.  Cardamom pods being crushed in a white mortar and pestle
  • Grind a few of the sesame seeds: If in case you have a suribachi, this could be the time to make use of it – I purchased this one by Colleen Hennessey for Everlasting Assortment years in the past and it’s certainly one of my prized kitchen possessions. However a mortar and pestle works properly as nicely (pictured). Then you definitely add the remainder of components.
    Ingredients for red gomashio in a bowl waiting to be blended
  • Add the remainder of the toasted sesame seeds: Stir in the remainder of the seeds after which alter the seasoning to your linking with extra chile powder, brown sugar, salt, and so on. Preserve it in your counter and sprinkle with enthusiasm!

A red gomashio sesame salt made with chile powder, cardamom and other ingredients
Extra Do-it-yourself Spice Blends

Proceed studying Purple Gomashio on 101 Cookbooks

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