【Reading】うめしそまき

【English Name】Ume-shiso roll

Ume-shiso maki is a type of thin roll made by using chopped ume (pickled-plum flesh) and shiso as the filling, rolled up with nori and vinegared rice. Standing alongside kanpyo-maki and tekkamaki, it is a long-beloved standard among the rolls of Edomae sushi.

The greatest characteristic of this rolled sushi, which uses no seafood at all, lies in its distinctive flavor where the sharp acidity of ume intertwines with the refreshing aroma given off by shiso. Because its light aftertaste resets the palate, it is prized as a palate cleanser after eating richly fatty toppings, or as a roll to conclude a meal.

Tracing its origin brings to light the existence of the local dish "ume-shiso maki" handed down in Shimane and Hiroshima Prefectures. It is told that in the Edo period, Miya Taichu, a physician of Kasaoka in Bitchu Province, developed a poison-prevention mask called "fukumen" using ume flesh to protect the miners of the Iwami Ginzan silver mine, and that this took root as ume-flesh cuisine in the mine workers' bento. The current form of rolled sushi was born as such traditional food culture was incorporated into the world of sushi.

Shiso is widely known to have antibacterial and preservative functions, and ume too has long been valued as an ingredient with antibacterial properties. Ume-shiso maki, combining these two, can be said to be a dish that rolls in not merely a combination of flavors but the wisdom of suppressing food spoilage.