Spices of East Asia
Sichuan pepper, star anise and five-spice, gochugaru, shichimi and wasabi: seasoning built on pastes, ferments and the numbing peppercorn. 34 spices on EveryMasala so far.
Spice cities, markets and growing areas
Sichuan 3Aichi Prefecture 1Azumino 1Chongqing 1Edo 1Guizhou 1Hainan 1Hainan Island 1Hita 1Iwate Prefecture 1Izu Peninsula 1Kiyomizu-dera 1Miyako-jima 1Mount Hiko 1Nagano Prefecture 1Okinawa 1Sensō-ji 1Shimane Prefecture 1Shizuoka Prefecture 1Shuangfeng County 1Soeda 1Toyohashi 1Wakayama Prefecture 1Xinhui 1Yongfeng 1Yufuin Onsen 1Zenkō-ji 1Zhejiang 1ChengduHanyuan
Blends of the region
Five-spice powderShichimi togarashiKimchi seasoning pasteGochujangMala seasoningThirteen-spice powder (shisanxiang)FurikakeSichuan pepper salt (jiaoyan)
Countries
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreMugwort艾草 (ài cǎo)
Aromatic leaves from the Artemisia genus used in Asian cuisine and traditional medicine.Leaf · Bitter · Herbal and green
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreShiso紫蘇
A mint-family herb with serrated leaves, used fresh or pickled across East Asia.Leaf · Herbal and green · Sharp and pungent
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreAilanthus-like prickly ash椿叶花椒
A wild Asian prickly ash with piquant berries and edible young leavesFruit · Sharp and pungent
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGarlic chives韭菜
A flat-leaved Allium with a garlic scent, used across Asia as a herb and vegetable.Leaf · Sweet and mellow
🇰🇷 South Korea and 5 moreKorean mint배초향
An anise-scented Asian mint leaf used in Korean stews and herbal traditionsLeaf · Anise and liquorice · Herbal and green
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreSansho山椒
The dried berries and young leaves of a spiny Japanese shrub, prized for their numbing citrus heat.Seed · Citrus and bright · Numbing and tingling
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreShiso紫蘇
A mint-family herb with serrated leaves, used fresh or pickled across East Asia.Leaf · Herbal and green · Sharp and pungent
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreAilanthus-like prickly ash椿叶花椒
A wild Asian prickly ash with piquant berries and edible young leavesFruit · Sharp and pungent
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGarlic chives韭菜
A flat-leaved Allium with a garlic scent, used across Asia as a herb and vegetable.Leaf · Sweet and mellow
🇰🇷 South Korea and 5 moreKorean mint배초향
An anise-scented Asian mint leaf used in Korean stews and herbal traditionsLeaf · Anise and liquorice · Herbal and green
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreSansho山椒
The dried berries and young leaves of a spiny Japanese shrub, prized for their numbing citrus heat.Seed · Citrus and bright · Numbing and tingling
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Shiso: Dalgial, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ailanthus-like prickly ash: Shih-Shiuan Kao, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Garlic chives: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Korean mint: Dalgial, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sansho: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source