Best Furikake UK: How to Choose Your Rice Seasoning
Furikake (ふりかけ) is a dry Japanese seasoning made for cooked rice: a mix of granules and flakes, usually built on sesame and seaweed, then flavoured with bonito or with plants such as pickled plum, red shiso and radish leaf. You scatter it over warm rice or stir it through, and a pinch does the work, because the makers' own sheets put salt at roughly 13 to 28g in every 100g.
The makers we hold specifications for use it two ways. Sprinkle-on furikake, such as Daihoku's bonito and nori blend from Sapporo, goes over rice at the table. Tanaka Foods of Hiroshima also makes a mix-in line called ごはんにまぜて (gohan ni mazete, "mix into rice"), which it tells you to stir into freshly cooked rice. For a chef, that split matters more than the brand: sprinkle-on for texture on top, mix-in for seasoning right through a batch of rice for onigiri or bento.
This guide compares the furikake we stock by what is actually in the pack, and it sits inside our Dashi and Umami Masterclass.
Source: SushiSushi furikake record, drawn from producer specifications by Daihoku Co., Ltd., Tanaka Foods Co., Ltd. and Nagatanien Co., Ltd. The newest is dated January 2024.
What Is Furikake Made Of?
Furikake is mostly sesame and seaweed: sesame makes up about a quarter of Daihoku's bonito blend and of Tanaka's ume shiso and six-vegetable blends, and in those three blends nori or wakame adds another 13 to 16 per cent.
| Style | Example on our shelf | What leads the recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Ume and shiso | Tanaka Ume and Shiso, 33g | Sesame 25%, radish leaf 15.5%, red shiso 15.1%, wakame 14.1%, salt 10.7%, ume plum 8% |
| Six vegetables | Tanaka 6 Vegetable, 33g | Radish leaf, carrot, red turnip, red cabbage, perilla and paprika (41% together), sesame 25%, wakame 13.4% |
| Bonito and nori | Daihoku Katsuobushi and Nori, 40g | Bonito 24.6%, sesame 23.3%, nori 15.7%, with small amounts of kombu, shiitake and matcha |
The bonito in Daihoku's blend is wild-caught and Japanese; the bonito flakes are simmered at 98°C for 90 minutes, then dried, shaved and seasoned before blending. If you want to know how those flakes are made from the fish, read how bonito flakes are made. Daihoku declares no additives, while Tanaka's plant blends add glutamate and a nucleotide for savoury depth, the same pairing explained in our guide to umami.
Our view: read the first three ingredients, not the front of the pack. They tell you whether you are buying a sesame blend, a seaweed blend or a fish blend.
Source: SushiSushi furikake record; ingredient percentages from Tanaka Foods ratio sheets (2019 and 2022) and the Daihoku specification and temperature certificate (2022 and 2023). Percentages are as stated by each maker and may have changed since.
Is Furikake Vegetarian?
Some furikake is fish-free and some is not: bonito blends contain fish, and even plant-led blends can hide dairy, egg or fish sauce, so check the ingredient list every time.
Tanaka's ume and shiso, red shiso and six-vegetable blends list no fish, dairy or egg. Its ten-grain blend contains lactose, and its wasabi furikake contains mackerel, egg and milk. Tanaka does not label any of them vegetarian or vegan, so we do not either.
For a kitchen serving vegetarians, the Tanaka ume and shiso or six-vegetable blends are the ones to look at first, with the label checked against your own allergen controls.
Source: SushiSushi furikake record; Tanaka Foods product sheet (January 2024) and ratio sheets. Suitability is our reading of the ingredient lists, not a claim by the maker.
How Salty Is Furikake?
Furikake is very salty: Tanaka's own nutrition sheets give salt at 12.7g per 100g for its bonito furikake, 21.2g for its wasabi blend and 28g for its greens and sesame blend.
That is why a pinch is enough. If you season rice for onigiri with furikake, cut back or leave out any other salt, and taste before you add more.
Source: SushiSushi furikake record; Tanaka Foods product sheet, January 2024.
How Do You Use Furikake?
Furikake is made for rice: Tanaka recommends its bonito furikake for warm rice, rice balls and bento, and its mix-in seasonings for stirring through freshly cooked rice.
Tanaka also suggests its wasabi furikake on somen noodles and natto. Beyond that, the makers' sheets say little, so treat other uses as your own experiments rather than tradition.
Source: SushiSushi furikake record; Tanaka Foods product sheet (January 2024) and 2019 specification. Uses beyond rice are not covered by our sources.
How Should You Store Furikake?
Store furikake sealed at room temperature, away from direct sunlight and humidity, and use it soon after opening: the makers give 12 months unopened and ask you to finish an open pack as early as possible.
The blends are dried hard before packing, and Daihoku packs a desiccant sachet in its 40g pouch. Damp is the enemy: a pack left open goes soft and loses flavour.
Source: SushiSushi furikake record; Tanaka Foods product sheet (January 2024), Daihoku specification (February 2023), Man Nen Co., Ltd. product specification (July 2020).
Our Furikake Picks
Source: SushiSushi furikake record; Tanaka Foods ratio sheets. Stock checked 3 November 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is furikake?
Furikake is a dry Japanese rice seasoning of granules and flakes, usually sesame and seaweed with bonito or plants such as ume plum, shiso and radish leaf. You sprinkle it over warm rice or mix it through for rice balls and bento.
Is furikake vegetarian?
Not always. Bonito furikake contains fish, and some plant-led blends contain lactose, egg or fish sauce. Tanaka's ume and shiso and six-vegetable blends list no fish, dairy or egg, but check the label for your own needs.
How long does furikake last once opened?
Not long at its best. Makers give about 12 months unopened and ask you to finish an open pack as early as possible. Keep it sealed, dry and out of sunlight, because damp turns it soft and dulls the flavour.
What is the difference between furikake and a mix-in rice seasoning?
Furikake is scattered over rice at the table. Tanaka's gohan ni mazete ("mix into rice") seasonings are stirred through freshly cooked rice, which suits onigiri and bento where you want the seasoning all the way through.
Where to Buy Furikake in the UK
If you are looking to buy furikake in the UK, we keep Japanese rice seasonings with fast delivery across the UK. Start with a plant-led Tanaka blend for everyday rice and onigiri.
For more, read what kombu is and why it matters or our guide to the best dashi in the UK.
Sources: SushiSushi Knowledge record for furikake, built from producer specifications by Daihoku Co., Ltd. (Sapporo; February 2023), Tanaka Foods Co., Ltd. (Hiroshima; 2019 to January 2024), Nagatanien Co., Ltd. (Tokyo; 2018 and 2021) and Man Nen Co., Ltd. (Gifu; July 2020). Facts are reworded from those documents. Nothing on this page is taken from the open web.
