～Uwajima’s Hearty Local Dish～
Uwajima tai-meshi is a dish from Ehime Prefecture that has been selected among Japan’s top 100 local dishes by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. It is eaten by dipping sashimi of fresh sea bream caught in the waters off Uwajima in a sauce consisting of raw egg, soya sauce and dashi before placing it on top of a bowl of piping hot rice along with seaweed and various other condiments.
◆Enjoy the fresh taste of the sea in this dish traditionally eaten by local fishermen
The Iyo Navy was based on Hiburi Island in the Uwa Sea, and it is said that Uwajima tai-meshi originated as the food eaten by sailors serving aboard its ships, where open flames could not be used. It is also claimed that the origins of the dish can be traced back to the Uwa Sea pirates who would round off their drinking sessions by adding cooked rice to the bowls they drank from, placing sea bream sashimi on top and then pouring soy sauce over it. Later, it came to be a dish commonly prepared by fishermen while on their boats.
In those days, the dish was made not only with sea bream, but any sashimi, including horse mackerel. It is said that the dish only came to be made exclusively with sea bream during the Showa period. Located on the Seto Inland Sea, Ehime Prefecture is Japan’s leading producer of wild and farmed sea bream, and sea bream is the prefectural fish of Ehime. Elsewhere in the prefecture, the word tai-meshi refers to a rice dish with cooked sea bream, but a dish of cooked rice topped with slices of raw sea bream is unusual even in Japan, and unique to the Uwajima area.
◆The secret to the delicious taste of Uwajima tai-meshi
Uwajima tai-meshi is eaten by dipping slices of freshly caught sea bream sashimi in a sauce consisting of egg, soya sauce and dashi and placing it on top of piping hot rice before sprinkling with condiments such as seaweed, spring onions, nori and sesame. Although a simple dish, you can sense the aroma of the Uwa Sea and appreciate the tastes of each and every one of the ingredients. The harmony between the firm texture and ever so slightly sweet umami flavour of the sea bream and the mellow mixture of egg and soya sauce is truly exquisite. As the typical local dish of the area, tai-meshi is widely available throughout the city.
Address: Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture
Website: https://www.visitehimejapan.com/en/features/Tai_Seafood
Phone: not available
