【Reading】いわしまるずし

【English Name】Iwashi Maruzushi (Sardine Round Sushi)

A type of local sushi long handed down in Ehime Prefecture and the Seto Inland Sea region is iwashi maru-zushi. It is a dish in the lineage of "azuma-zushi," in which okara (soy pulp) is seasoned with vinegar and sugar, and the form combining vinegar-cured sardines (iwashi) and okara is especially distinguished by the name "maru-zushi."

As for the cooking procedure, first the sardine is butterfly-cut from the back and its center bone carefully removed, then it is soaked overnight in a vinegar solution mixed with sugar to dress it. The okara is dry-roasted to remove excess moisture, and after sugar and sansho (Japanese pepper) berries are used to draw out aroma and sweetness, chopped vegetables are mixed in. To finish, the okara is wrapped in the dressed sardine and shaped into bite-sized pieces for serving.

The background to this dish being born in coastal fishing villages lies in the wisdom of rice-saving, in which okara was used in place of vinegared rice in an era when obtaining rice was difficult. On the Seto Inland Sea coasts of Hiroshima and Okayama Prefectures as well, the same method is established under the name "azuma-zushi," but around Uwajima in Ehime Prefecture, the custom remains today of distinguishing the fishless form as "azuma" and the form combined with fish as "maru-zushi." Although small fish such as konoshiro (gizzard shad) and mamakari (Japanese sardinella) can also be substituted, sardine harmonizes outstandingly with the aroma of sansho, producing a distinctive flavor hard to reproduce with other fish.