【Reading】ばくだんまき

【English Name】Bakudan maki

Bakudan-maki is a type of sushi in which ingredients such as tuna, negitoro, natto, okra, takuan (pickled radish), and raw egg (yolk) are wrapped in nori. "Bakudan" (bomb) is a word broadly referring to a dish combining multiple ingredients, and it is also served in the form of a rice bowl or gunkan-maki.

Regarding the formation of the name, two theories are cited—one likening the way the ingredients are mixed together to an explosion, and the other holding that the mixed-together appearance evokes an explosive—but neither has reached a definite conclusion.

The basic ingredients center on tuna, natto, egg, okra, and the like, and the style of eating them combined with soy sauce and wasabi is widely cherished. The composition of ingredients varies by region of service, and arrangements incorporating products unique to each locality are seen in various places. At sushi restaurants and izakaya, it is sometimes added as a sake accompaniment in the form of "bakudan" without using vinegared rice.

When made into a rolled sushi, the stickiness of the natto and okra works to unify the ingredients, and it is often rolled up at a size close to that of futomaki.