【Reading】てっぽう

【English Name】Teppou

Teppo is one of the industry jargon terms (fucho) used at sushi restaurants, mainly referring to kanpyo-maki (dried gourd roll). It is a thin roll of sweet-and-salty simmered dried gourd rolled slim with vinegared rice and nori, and the name is said to come from the fact that the cut cross-section resembles the barrel of a gun.

The history of kanpyo-maki is old; it appears even in "Morisada Manko" (a customs encyclopedia begun in 1810), and is thought to have been familiar to the common people as a standard of Edomae sushi by the latter half of the 18th century. Kanpyo is a dried food made by thinly peeling the flesh of the bottle gourd and sun-drying it, known as an ingredient that pairs well with nori.

Note that the term "teppo" is said to be used less often among young chefs in recent years. As a culinary term it can also refer to pufferfish (fugu), deriving from the pun that "if it hits you, it can cost your life." In Kansai it is often written in hiragana as "teppo," and is the etymology of "tecchiri" (fugu hotpot) and "tessa" (fugu sashimi).

In Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture, there is also a local dish called "teppo-maki," a thick roll using ordinary rice instead of vinegared rice and bonito flakes seasoned with soy sauce.