【Reading】ままかり

【English Name】Mamakari (Japanese Scaled Sardine)

Mamakari is a local dish originating in the Seto Inland region and Okayama Prefecture, a traditional food in which the small fish "sappa" (a member of the genus Sardinella, family Clupeidae) is pickled in vinegar to finish. The name "mamakari," which became established as the dish's name, has today also permeated the region as an alternative name for the sappa itself.

The basic preparation process proceeds as follows: after removing the scales and gutting the sappa, it is dusted with salt and then placed into seasoned vinegar together with new ginger, chili pepper, and kombu. In the old method, the fish is first cured with vinegar alone for the first night, then transferred to a jar the next morning, topped up with sugared seasoned vinegar, and left another night to let the flavor settle. As for the finished form, small ones customarily keep the head on, while large ones have the head removed.

The ways of eating it go beyond vinegar-pickling and include yaki-zuke (grilled then pickled), nuka-zuke (rice-bran pickling), sugata-zushi, and nanban-zuke, with a wide variety of cooking methods rooted in the region.

As for the origin of the name, one legend is widely known: it was so delicious that people would keep eating it even by borrowing rice (mama) from the neighbors—hence the name. The record "Kobi Nikki" of 1869 (Meiji 2) also notes a tradition that it was so tasty that fishermen would share rice with those on neighboring boats.

Its first appearance in literature is said to be in the 1817 (Bunka 14) document "Iwafuji Hayashiya-cha," where the name "mamakari su-zuke" can be confirmed as an item among accompaniments to sake.