I recently got back from travelling to Ishigaki island. Loved it. There was a condiment I had at a restaurant that I’d love to identify so I can recreate it.
It was a spicy, ground paste. It was very spicy and had visible chili seeds and sesame seeds, it also had a strong citrus flavour, maybe from shikuwasa or some kind of citrus skin. It wasn’t blended and seemed to be crushed into a paste. The taste was spicy, acidic from the citrus, and savoury. It was served on the side of a stewed pork belly dish.
I bought a few condiments (they were with the yakiniku condiments and labelled things like island togarashi) that looked similar while I was there, but both are more a vinegar + chilli flavor, and don’t taste like what I had. I don’t know if it’s something that is widely available in Japan, something local to Okinawa or something that was specific to Ishigaki but I lived in Utsunomiya for a year in the mid 2000s and never tasted anything like it then.
If someone has a recipe or link I can read enough Japanese to follow a blog post or something, but I’m not good enough to navigate the internet in Japanese. Please help and thank you!
by parasuta
