A Special Product in Development: What Does Green Chili Oil Taste Like?
The special product development team in Toshima are currently developing a product using local ingredients islanders love that can promote the wonders of Toshima to people outside of the island. Last year, they sold Japanese herb ashitaba oil sauce, which proved to be popular, but this year, their focus is on developing an enjoyable chili oil using special raw ingredients.
"Enjoyable chili oil" can be found in different varieties, from products that are sold locally to products that are sold all throughout the country. The chili oil that the team is currently working on uses a combination of tea seed oil, the ashitaba herb, and island chilis, making it a unique green color.
(Raw ingredient: Ashitaba leaves found on Toshima)
Normally, many people think of chili oil as being red in color, but the development team decided on green by using the ashitaba leaves from the island to differentiate it from other chili oils on the market.
(A sample of distributed chili oil)
After completing a sample of the chili oil, the team provided information on how to enjoy the product and conducted a survey of people on the island to see what they thought. The island has a population of 300 people and the 40 samples provided were gone within only four days. The team was surprised at how popular the chili oil proved to be.
(How to Enjoy the Chili Oil:)
Above, left to right: "Dipping sauce for gyoza", "Adding new flavor to curry", "Condiment for soba or udon noodles" Below, left to right: "Condiment for cold tofu", "Adding new flavor to sashimi [or seasoning for bekko, a dish made of egg and island chilis]", "The island chilis are on the spicier side. If you're not good with spicy food, try the chili in small amounts."）
This image shows various everyday food products that go well with the green chili oil: dipping gyoza in it and putting it on top of cold tofu, udon noodles or soba noodles as a condiment. Many people who tried the chili oil enjoyed it with their food.
The team now will focus its efforts on improving the recipe based off the surveys they took and officially selling the product on the market. They're exploring options on creating a balanced package deal with the Toshima ashitaba tea seed oil sauce.
The team is striving to deliver this product to the tabletops of people outside the island, as they want to promote Toshima's special products to as wide an audience as possible.
