THE FURIKAKE TREND

Foodies, in this post I'll re-visit the Japanese sprinkle that's actually making me sick. I'm not putting down this concoction, nor am I putting down Japanese culture. I love the Japanese culture, and I find the Japanese in general are the kindest souls to grace this planet. Of course we have good and bad of everyone, but I'm just saying. So furikake that sprinkle that is in sushi, and poke', it is now put on everything you can think of. Old news for some, yeah I get it. But man, do we have to have that on popcorn at the movies? Do we need it on french fries as a sports bar? I'm old. I'm a grouchy old ______er! Keep it on Japanese foods will ya? Back in my day.... blah blah blah. Haha.

So what is this? It is a dried seasoning, made up of dried fish, seseme seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and MSG. Some off brands will add other stupid ingredients in there. Again, that fusion thing right? 

Furikake over steamed rice, poor man's meal and it works.

According to Wikipedia

Gohan no Tomo is considered to be an early version of furikake.

One account of the origin of furikake is that it was developed during the Taishō period (1912–1926) by a pharmacist in Kumamoto prefecture named Suekichi Yoshimaru (吉丸末吉).^[7][8] To address calcium deficits in the Japanese population, Yoshimaru developed a mixture of ground fish bones with roast sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and seaweed that was made into a powder. He called this product Gohan no Tomo (ご飯の友 "A Friend for Rice") and is generally considered the precursor to contemporary furikake. A food company in Kumamato later acquired the product and was able to sell it commercially.^[7] It was initially sold in a flask-like container shaped with a narrow neck to prevent moisture from seeping into the product.^[8]

Years after Yoshimari's Gohan no Tomo, a grocery retailer in Fukushima City named Seiichirō Kai developed a mixture consisting of white croaker and powdered kombu and other ingredients simmered with a soy sauce-based broth. Kai called his product Kore Wa Umai (これは旨い "This Is Good"); it was popular on its release. Although Kore Wa Umai was initially considered a luxury item for the affluent who were able to consume white rice on a regular basis, it later was made accessible to the Japanese working class.^[8]

Availability of furikake in Japan increased starting shortly after September 1948 when Nissin Foods began to manufacture it on a large scale to address pervasive malnourishment. The product was commercialized on the basis that it provided a good source of protein and calcium.^[9] Furikake was made widely available as it was dispensed to those serving in the Japanese military starting in World War I.^[8]

The term furikake was used generically to describe the product starting in 1959 with the formation of the National Furikake Association. Since 1959, furikake products are usually differentiated by their particular ingredients, such as salmon furikake and sesame-and-salt furikake.^[8]

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