【Reading】ごもくいなりずし

【English Name】Gomoku Inari Sushi

Gomoku inari-zushi is a member of the sushi family made by stuffing sweet-and-savory simmered fried tofu pouches (aburaage) with vinegared rice mixed with various ingredients. Unlike ordinary inari-zushi using only plain vinegared rice, gomoku inari is greatly characterized by mixing shiitake, carrot, sesame, lotus root, and the like into the vinegared rice.

In the Kansai region, such filled inari-zushi is standard, and it is also widely known as "gomoku inari." The shape also differs in character from the bale-shaped style of Kanto, with the mainstream style being to cut the fried tofu diagonally in half and shape it into a triangle.

The history of inari-zushi dates back to the late Edo period. Records remain that around the end of the Tenpo era (around 1844), sushi stuffing rice into fried tofu was sold by peddlers at Edo stalls. The "Morisada Manko" depicts a cooking method of stuffing fried tofu with rice mixed with finely chopped kanpyo and kikurage, showing that the filled style took root from the dawn of its history.

As an easy home preparation method, using commercially sold "chirashi-zushi no moto" (chirashi sushi mix) has also become widely established. By mixing retort ingredient sets, whose distribution spread from the late 1970s onward, into plain rice and stuffing it into simmered fried tofu, gomoku inari is easily completed. It also appears at the table on special days such as outing bento and Hinamatsuri, and has long been loved as home cooking.