The Japanese use many aromatic ingredients in their cooking, although few are spices but Japanese cuisine does use Shichimi-togarashi, a seven spice blend of whole and coarsely ground spices including red pepper, citrus peel, sesame seed, poppy seeds, rapeseeds, Szechuan pepper, and nori (seaweed) flakes but it is a more unassuming mix I like to stock up on.

Gomashio or sesame seed salt, is something I use all the time. This is a simple combination of toasted sesame seeds and salt is but it adds a delicious overtone to dishes and can help kee salt intake in control. It is also considered extremely nutritious. Macrobiotics experts advise that a simple meal of brown rice sprinkled with gomashio can meet nutritional requirements.

Photograph: stock.xchnge