What is Mazekomi Furikake?

If you are quite well acquainted with Japanese food, you should know about “Furikake (ふりかけ)”.

For those who have never heard of it, Furikake is a seasoning blend consisting of various kinds of granules or dry mini flakes made from ingredients such as meat, eggs, seafood, seaweed, and sesame seeds.

Furikake is a product meant to be sprinkled mainly on a hot bowl of white rice, and after sprinkling, we usually eat the Furikake topped rice as it is. This is the traditional way of eating Furikake flakes.

Mazekomi Furikake (混ぜ込みふりかけ)

But in recent years, as I wrote in this article, Furikake products of the type called “Mazekomi (混ぜ込み)” can be seen in grocery stores in Japan.

The Mazekomi Furikake is actually a relatively new type of Furikake which, unlike regular Furikake seasonings, is meant to be mixed with rice after being sprinkled.

Mazekomi Furikake can be told apart from ordinary Furikake by the name, in which the word “Mazekomi (混ぜ込み)” meaning “mixing in” is usually included. 

But of course, you can use normal Furikake, like the usage of Mazekomi Furikake, by mixing into steamed plain rice, like when you make Onigiri rice balls.