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Yamaguchi Prefecture

Iwakuni zushi

Iwakuni zushi
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    Image Source : Nutrition teacher in Yamaguchi City

Main lore areas

All over the prefecture, Iwakuni area

Main ingredients used

Rice, fish, eggs, shiitake mushrooms, lotus root

History/origin/related events

Iwakuni City is known as the eastern gateway to Yamaguchi Prefecture. The city has a history of prosperity as a castle town of 60,000 goku of the Yoshikawa domain, and even today, it is blessed with numerous historical and cultural assets as well as beautiful nature. The famous symbol of the city is the Kintai Bridge, a five-storied arched bridge that was built some 300 years ago. Iwakuni-zushi" is one of the most famous food items in Iwakuni.
It is a pressed sushi, also called "tonosama-zushi" (lord sushi), which was presented to Lord Yoshikawa of the Iwakuni Clan in the Edo period (1603-1868) and was said to be a favorite of the lord. The dish is made with gorgeous ingredients typical of a castle town, and is gorgeously stacked in three to five tiers. It has been made as a celebratory gift or an offering. In order to make a large quantity of sushi at one time, the wooden sushi frame can be as large as 60 centimeters square. When making large pieces of sushi, the craftsmen would sometimes press the sushi on top of the lid to harden it. The finished sushi is then cut into squares and served to the customers one by one.

Opportunities and times of eating habits

As a dish to be served at festive occasions, it has a proud tradition dating back to the feudal era.

How to eat

Place a chicha leaf at the bottom of the sushi frame and fill it with sushi rice mixed with horse mackerel or other fish paste. After the rice is beautifully decorated with a broiled egg, shiitake mushrooms, dengbu, and vinegared Iwakuni lotus root (a specialty of Iwakuni), another layer of chishya leaves is laid on top, and finally a wooden lid is placed over the top to weigh down the rice. The basic recipe is for one tier to hold one square of rice, and at Japanese-style restaurants, the chef, dressed in a white tabi (socks), would place one foot on the lid and pull the lid off with all his strength. When making it at home, a lunch box, square mold, milk carton, or cake mold can be used instead.

Efforts for Preservation and Succession

The dumpling can be tasted at restaurants and inns in Iwakuni City, especially in the Kintai Bridge area, and there are also take-out items available.

RECIPE

Ingredients (For 4 persons)

  • Rice 300g
  • A] Water 400ml
  • A] Kelp 3g
  • A] Sake 1 tbsp.
  • lotus root 50g
  • B] Sake 1 tsp.
  • B] Sugar 2/3 tbsp.
  • salt A pinch
  • B] Vinegar 2/3 tbsp.
  • Eggs 2
  • Salad oil 1 tsp.
  • Sugar peas 8g
  • dried shiitake mushrooms 4 pieces
  • C] Dried shiitake mushroom stock 100ml
  • C] Sake 1 tsp.
  • C] sugar 2/3 tbsp.
  • C] soy sauce 1 and 2/3 tsp.
  • c] mirin (sweet cooking rice wine) 1/2 tsp.
  • D] sugar 2 and 2/3 tbsp.
  • D] Salt 2/3 tsp.
  • D] Vinegar 3 tbsp.
  • Chisha (sunny lettuce) 20g
  • Sakura Denbu 5g

How to cook

  • 1. Wash rice and drain in a colander. Add [A] and cook rice.

  • 2. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water.

  • 3. Cut the brickwort into thin (1 to 2 mm thick) half-moon slices. Boil water in a small pot, add 1 tsp vinegar (not included in the amount), and boil in the water for about 2 minutes. Drain off the water and soak in seasoning liquid [B], which has been mixed well, to season.

  • 4. Make broiled egg. Beat an egg, fry it thinly in an omelet pan with oil, and cut it into thin strips.

  • 5. Add a pinch of salt (not included) and the kinugaya in boiling water, boil quickly, and cool in cold water. Cut one piece diagonally into two or three pieces for easy eating.

  • 6. Drain and cut shiitake mushrooms back in water into 3mm pieces, and cook in [C] until all the liquid is absorbed.

  • 7. Make vinegared rice. Put [D] in a small saucepan and heat to dissolve well. When the rice is cooked, place it in a sushi container dampened with water. Pour in [D] and mix quickly with a rice scoop.

  • 8. Place a layer of chisha in a sushi container, top with half of the sushi rice, and sprinkle with half of the ingredients in the following order: lotus root, shiitake mushrooms, egg, and sakura-denbu. After pressing once, cover the top of the sushi container with the rice, sprinkle the remaining ingredients (lotus root, shiitake mushrooms, kinugaya, and egg), and press again. Sprinkle the Sakura-denbu on top as a final touch of color.
    If you do not have an oshizushi mold, you can substitute a cake mold with an open bottom or a cake mold lined with plastic wrap.

provider : Nutrition teacher in Yamaguchi City

* Recipes vary depending on the region and home.