【Reading】すしはね

【English Name】Sushihane

Hanedashi-nori refers to nori that has been deemed non-standard in the grade inspection of nori. Products that failed to meet the criteria for a regular product, such as color unevenness, holes, irregular shape, or uneven thickness, fall under this. As an industry term, the name sushi-hane has also become established, and it is an expression commonly heard in the sushi trade.

Japanese nori is classified into multiple grades through inspections at production areas and bidding sessions. The highest-grade products circulate for gifts and for high-end sushi restaurants, but it is not uncommon for hanedashi products to differ little from regular products in flavor and nutrition, having merely visual flaws. Therefore, they are actively used for purposes where the appearance is not conspicuous, such as the inside of rolled sushi, gunkan-maki (battleship rolls), and shredded nori.

For sushi restaurants, it is an effective means of holding down purchasing costs, and it is also widely adopted by conveyor-belt sushi chains and takeout sushi shops. There are also occasions when it appears at storefronts for general consumers at bargain prices as wake-ari nori (imperfect nori) or hanedashi nori.

Nori is an indispensable ingredient for sushi, used in many sushi forms such as rolled sushi, gunkan-maki, and temaki-zushi (hand rolls). The very existence of hanedashi nori is also the flip side of how strict the quality-control system for nori is.