【Reading】わかめずし

【English Name】Wakame sushi

Wakame-zushi is classified as a regionally distinctive sushi dish that makes use of wakame (sea mustard) as its main ingredient. Various styles exist throughout the country, such as kneading wakame into vinegared rice or wrapping with wakame in place of nori.

In 1986, in the selection of the "Hometown Onigiri Hyakusen" (One Hundred Selected Hometown Rice Balls) by the Food Agency and a review committee, "wakame-musubi" from the Sea of Japan side of Yamaguchi Prefecture and "wakame-onigiri" from throughout Tokushima Prefecture—rice dishes incorporating wakame—were nominated, which suggests that the combination of wakame and cooked rice is a widely rooted food culture.

The name wakame-zushi often refers to a local dish that, built upon such wakame-rice culture, was elevated into a sushi preparation by combining it with vinegared rice. Its hallmark is said to be the rustic flavor in which the aroma of the sea (iso) and the sourness of the vinegared rice blend together. The preparation methods and names differ by region, and the way wakame is used also has diverse variations: mixing in, rolling, and laying underneath.