We put ketchup and mustard on hotdog. On top of that, putting fried onion or fired garlic will make it better. In the same way, Japanese like to add a little bit of "something extra" to many foods. And everyone is buying this "something extra".

Japan's recent bestseller is "Taberu ra-yu (spicy oil for eating)". Ra-yu is normally an oil spice but there are other things in it. But before that, I will explain more about this "ra-yu". Ra-yu was originally a Chinese spice. It is said that ra-yu was introduced to Japan in the Edo era. Now here’s a quick question. Have you been to Chinese restaurant? If you have, do you remember a red oil place on the table? That is ra-yu. If you have never seen it, think of ra-yu as red oil that is spicy.

Before, Japanese used to drip couple of drops of this ra-yu in ramem, dumpling dip, or stir-fried vegetables and enjoyed the change in flavor. However, the "Taberu ra-yu" is quite different. You don't add it to some other food but instead you can eat it by itself.

In "taberu ra-yu", there are fried burdock, onion, and garlic in it.There are even crushed corn flakes in some of it too. These ingredients are soaked in a savory ra-yu. Just eating only this can satisfy us. The writer of this article, TARHO, which is me, ate it and thought that this is ridiculously good, perfect for food to go with sake!! It will go well with rice, rame, tofu, salad and many other foods depending on your idea!

Lastly, let me introduce spices other than ra-yu.

You should try these "something extra" seasoning when you come to Japan!! And buy some for souvenir.