Back when I was in college and the year after I graduated, I spent time in Japan. As a result, I do enjoy making Asian fare. I recently came across a spice I used on grilled chicken dishes. It's called "Shichimi" - literally means 7 spices. The main spice is ground chili pepper and then they add the following:
mandarin orange peel
sesame seed
hemp seed
poppy seed
nori which is a dried seaweed (if you eat sushi, you know nori)
and ground sansho (a type of Chinese pepper)
I just grilled some chicken wings, made hot sauce, but added Shichimi to it while it was grilling. It was delicious and I highly recommend it.
Here's a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shichimi_togarashi
You can buy it at most Asian markets. Just ask someone for it.
