【Reading】てっかまき

【English Name】Tekka-maki (tuna roll)

Tekkamaki is a type of thin-rolled sushi made by rolling tuna at the core with vinegared rice and nori, and the standard style is to roll wasabi in together. Eating it dipped in soy sauce is the most common way to enjoy it. Standing alongside kanpyo-maki and kappa-maki, it has been loved across generations as a representative of thin rolls.

Rolled sushi itself is presumed to have originated in Kamigata (the Kyoto-Osaka area) in the mid-Edo period (around 1750-1776). Tekkamaki, which uses tuna at its core, is said to have been born at Tokyo sushi restaurants from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji era, and was originally a dish that made effective use of tuna trimmings. In the era before refrigeration, zuke (soy-sauce-marinated tuna) was the mainstream, but as preservation technology improved, raw akami (lean meat) came to take the leading role. In recent years it is not unusual for shops to use chutoro or otoro.

Several theories exist about the etymology of "tekka." Widely known are the theory that the vivid red of tuna was likened to the color of heated iron (tekka), the theory tracing its origin to wordplay related to gamblers, and the theory that it was prized at gambling dens because it could be eaten with one hand.

In Nagasaki Prefecture there is also a "white tekkamaki" using fish such as yellowtail and amberjack at the core, said to have spread after the war.