There’s no doubt Japan is a seafood country. Sushi is, of course, the most famous seafood dish in Japan, which you can even find being sold as a bento (boxed meal) in supermarkets and convenience stores. However, while you may be eager to try a sushi bento, you may be vegetarian, or simply hesitant about the raw fish. If that’s the case, no worries. Sukeroku sushi is here to the rescue!
This particular meal became popular during the mid-Edo Period (1603 – 1868) at a time in history when sushi was never eaten raw because neither freezers nor refrigerators existed, but also, parasites were widely (and understandably) feared. That means fish was always cooked over an open flame, salted, pickled or marinated. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1970s that raw fish started gaining popularity due to the development of safe storage and preparation techniques.
So, what’s included in sukeroku sushi?
First, you typically get inari, which includes sushi rice stuffed inside fried tofu pouches (caution for vegetarians here, because sometimes these pouches are cooked in a fish-based broth so always double check the ingredients list). Second, you will usually find a variation of maki, which are rolled cylindrical sushi filled with different ingredients like cucumber, kanpyo (dried gourd strips), or egg, and wrapped in seaweed.
The combination of the slightly sweet ingredients, such as the tofu pouches of the inari sushi and kanpyo, combined with the gently sour vinegared sushi rice creates a well-balanced flavor profile.
Learn more about the history of sushi: https://www.sushiya.de/en/sushi/historie/