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Nagasaki Prefecture

Oomura zushi(Oomura sushi)

Oomura zushi(Oomura sushi)
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  • Nagasaki Dietetic Association "Group Research Activities: Omura-zushi Passing on and Passing Down"

  • Nagasaki Dietetic Association "Group Research Activities: Omura-zushi Passing on and Passing Down"

  • Nagasaki Dietetic Association "Group Research Activities: Omura-zushi Passing on and Passing Down"

Main lore areas

Omura City

Main ingredients used

hanpen, carrots, burdocks, kanpyo (dried gourd), kinu-saya (soybean sprouts), and broiled egg

History/origin/related events

This is a local dish that has been handed down in Omura City since ancient times.
It is said to have originated in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), when Omura Sumikore, who was defeated in battle and had his territory taken away from him, returned to Omura City after making a counterattack and regaining his territory, and the local people made oshizushi to celebrate.
The reason for the oshi-zushi was because there were not enough plates to feed the large number of soldiers.
The local people prepared oshi-zushi by spreading a large amount of freshly cooked rice in a shallow wooden box (morobuta) and topping it with a double layer of ingredients, which the soldiers then cut into squares with a side knife and ate.
According to this tradition, Omura-zushi became "sushi for victory celebrations," and is still valued as an indispensable dish for celebratory occasions.

Opportunities and times of eating habits

Since becoming a local specialty, Omura-zushi has become a regular dish served at some restaurants in Nagasaki Prefecture.

How to eat

Ingredients and recipes vary from household to household, but the standard ingredients include hanpen, carrots, burdock root, kanpyo (dried gourd), kinugaya (a type of pea), and a broiled egg. It is said that the practice of adding a lot of sugar when seasoning rice is a result of the custom of using a lot of sugar to show hospitality to guests in the days when sugar was precious, a custom that has been handed down to the present. Nowadays, more and more households and restaurants use less sugar for health reasons.

Efforts for Preservation and Succession

The research group "Omura Zushi Heritage Group" of the Nagasaki Dietitians Association has been making "New Omura Zushi" with less sugar and salt to meet the modern health consciousness since 2000, and aims to pass the recipe on to the next generation and spread it.

RECIPE

Ingredients (For 30 pieces)

  • Rice 4 cups (4.5 cups)
  • Dashi kelp 10cm square
  • sake 4 tsp.
  • Water (including sake) 4 cups
  • Seasoning A] Sugar 50g
  • Seasoning A] Salt 1 tsp.
  • Seasoning A] Vinegar 1/2 cup
  • White fish (fillet) 200g
  • Seasoning B] Sugar 20g
  • Seasoning B] Salt Less than 1/5 tsp.
  • Seasoning B] Sake 1 tbsp.
  • Hanpen (red, green) 1 pack
  • Seasoning C] granulated sugar A pinch
  • Seasoning C] Vinegar a little
  • burdock root 150g
  • Seasoning D] Salad oil As needed
  • Seasoning D] Dashi stock As needed
  • Seasoning D] Sugar 1 tbsp.
  • Seasoning D] Light soy sauce 1 tbsp.
  • Dried shiitake mushrooms (including the pebbles) 20g
  • Kampyo (dried gourd) 15g
  • Seasoning E] Sugar 1.5 tbsp.
  • Seasoning E] Sake 1.5 tbsp.
  • mirin (sweet cooking rice wine) 1.5 tbsp.
  • Seasoning E] Dark soy sauce 2 tbsp.
  • Seasoning E] Dried shiitake mushroom stock 3/4 cup
  • eggs 5
  • Seasoning F] salt 1/5 tbsp.
  • Seasoning F] Sake 1 tbsp.
  • granulated sugar 1 tbsp.
  • Boiled mushrooms 100 g
  • Boiled Japanese butterbur 100g
  • Seasoning G] Dashi stock As needed
  • Seasoning G] Sugar 2 tsp.
  • Seasoning G] Light soy sauce 2 tsp.
  • Ginger pickled in sweet vinegar 30g
  • sprouts a pinch
  • 【Vinegar】Vinegar 4 tbsp.
  • water 4 tbsp.

How to cook

  • 1. Add pork and fried rice to the washed rice, pour in enough water (excluding sake), add dashi kelp, soak for about 30 minutes, take out, add sake, and cook until firm.
    Add sake and cook until firm.
    Cut kamaboko, konnyaku and carrot into thick strips, and burdock root into thin strips.

  • 2. Combine all the ingredients in [Seasoning A] and make "Vinegar mixture".

  • 3. Boil the white fish, remove it to a dish towel, blanch it in water, wash it quickly, put it in a heavy saucepan, add [Seasoning B] and make "Soboro".

  • 4. Quickly blanch Hanpen in boiling water, cut into small cubes, and sprinkle with [Seasoning C].

  • 5. Finely chop gobo (burdock root), soak in rice water to remove excess water, drain, fry in oil, add [Seasoning D] and season.

  • 6. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water, boil kanpyo (dried gourd), chop into small pieces, and simmer in [Seasoning E] until most of the broth is absorbed.

  • 7. Beat the eggs, add all of [Seasoning F], strain through a colander, cook thinly, shred as finely as possible to make "broiled egg" and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
    (Depending on the season, boiled bamboo shoots or boiled butterbur may be used for an even more seasonal flavor and aroma. In that case, finely chop the boiled bamboo shoots and boiled dandelion, boil them in [Seasoning G] and drain).

  • 8. While the cooked rice is still hot, pour the vinegar mixture over the rice and mix with a fan to make the rice shiny.

  • 9. Wet the inside of the sushi mold with vinegar, place 1/2 of the sushi rice flat on the mold, place the burdock root flat on top of the burdock root, and add the rest of the sushi rice.

  • 10. Spread the remaining ingredients flat, in order from thickest to thinnest, and place the egg on top.

  • 11. Cover with a sushi lid, weigh down the lid, and let stand for about 30 minutes.

  • 12. Cut into pieces while still in the sushi mold, and remove from the mold.

  • 13. Arrange on serving plates and garnish with pickled ginger and sprouts.
    (If you do not have sprouts, you can use Haran or Nanten (Chinese lantern plant) as you like.
    (If no sprouts are available, use Japanese hualan or nanten as desired.) Other ingredients such as pickled peeled shrimp, carrots, mitsuba (mitsuba), and Nara pickles may also be used.

provider : Nagasaki Dietetic Association "Group Research Activities: Omura-zushi wo tsutaenokoshi-tai" (Group Research Activities: Omura-zushi wo teigenokoshikoshi-tai)

* Recipes vary depending on the region and home.