【Reading】たけぐし

【English Name】Bamboo Skewer

A takegushi (bamboo skewer) is a cooking tool made by shaving a thin rod from bamboo material and sharpening one end. In the English-speaking world it is known as a "bamboo skewer," and along with the stainless-steel metal skewer it is positioned as a basic item of Japanese-cuisine cooking.

As for how it is made, bamboo is split into thin boards, then shaped into rods, with the end finished to a sharp point. In the sushi shop kitchen, it is often put to use when grilling conger eel kabayaki and in the preparation and heat-check work of toppings.

It divides into several types by the shape of the cross-section: the round-cross-section "marugushi," the half-moon "hanmarugushi," the square-cross-section "kakugushi," and the thin board-shaped "hiragushi" are the main types. Furthermore, there is also the "matsubagushi," with a tip split into two prongs, and the "teppogushi," which has a distinctive shape resembling a gun.

Its uses are wide-ranging: not only piercing materials to make grilled and fried dishes, but also serving as a means of checking the internal heating state by inserting it into sponge cake or chawanmushi. In addition, it is useful in a technique of repeatedly stabbing it into blocks of meat such as chashu to promote the soaking-in of sauce.

Note that the character for "gushi" (串) traces its roots to a pictographic character depicting the figure of an object pierced through by a rod.