Grilled
Horaku Yaki
Horaku Yaki — sea bream and shellfish steamed whole over hot stones, no water
Sea bream, shrimp, clams, and other shellfish are arranged over hot stones in a shallow earthenware pan and steamed with nothing but salt — a dish from Imabari. Using no water is said to concentrate the flavor, and it's traced to a victory meal of the Murakami pirates.
- Origin: Ehime Imabari
- About 640 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Sea bream takes the center of a flat earthenware pan, ringed with shrimp, clams, and turban shells in bright color, and the whole arrangement is steamed with nothing but salt. Because no water is added, the seafood's flavor concentrates, and pebbles laid underneath are said to draw off excess moisture, leaving the dish tender and mealy. Seafood tumbled in the rough currents of the Kurushima Strait, known for its unusually fast tidal current, is said to grow especially firm and flavorful.
How it's made
Pebbles and pine needles are arranged on the earthenware pan, sea bream is set at the center, and shrimp, clams, turban shells, and boiled eggs are arranged around it. The pan is then covered and steamed. The seafood used shifts with the season, but arranging it around a central sea bream is said to be the standard. Seasoning is salt alone, a choice said to be aimed at drawing out the ingredients' own savor rather than masking it.
Why it took this shape
The dish is said to date to the Muromachi period, when the Murakami pirates based in this area are said to have eaten it to mark a victory in battle, which is why it is also called pirate cuisine. In peacetime these pirates are said to have taken on the important work of piloting ships, guarding the sea, and carrying goods through the Seto Inland Sea, and they are also said to have been cultured people who enjoyed tea, incense, and linked verse. Imabari faces the Kurushima Strait, known for its unusually fast tidal current, and that fierce current is said to have raised the firm-fleshed seafood behind this bold presentation.
Before you go
- Osechi and zoni for the New YearA guide to the meaning behind osechi's tiered boxes, the regional differences in zoni (square vs. round mochi, clear vs. miso broth), and the nanakusa-gayu custom.
- Setsubun: ehomaki and lucky beansA guide to ehomaki, the uncut sushi roll said to be eaten facing a lucky direction on Setsubun, and to mamemaki, the bean-throwing custom with roasted lucky beans.
- Food for Hinamatsuri and Tango no SekkuA guide to the chirashi sushi and hina-arare eaten at Hinamatsuri, and the kashiwa mochi and chimaki eaten at Tango no Sekku — festivals wishing for children's healthy growth.
Dishes in the same style
- Abutte KamoSmall damselfish are salted overnight, then grilled whole, scales and innards left on — a bony fish often passed over elsewhere, but said to have caught on in Hakata Bay after a Meiji-era glut led someone to salt and grill the excess.
- Gohei MochiFreshly cooked non-glutinous rice is pounded, pressed flat on a skewer, and grilled with a miso glaze. Said to have originated in the mountainous Chubu region, it's traditionally made the night before a festival praying for safety in mountain work.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Ehime
- Bote ChaRoasted tea is whisked to a froth with a salted bamboo whisk and poured over black-bean rice with toppings like bamboo shoot — a dish from Matsuyama. Said to have been devised by a domain lord's household during a period of enforced frugality, it's still served at a temple's springtime Buddha festival.
- EbitenSmall shrimp are ground shell and all, worked with white fish and tofu, and fried into a cake — a fish-paste product from eastern Ehime. The salt is kept light to let the tofu's sweetness and the shrimp's aroma come through, with the ground shell left in for a gritty bite.
- Igisu DofuIgisu seaweed and raw soybean flour are simmered into stock and chilled firm like agar, a dish from Imabari. Its cool texture is meant to coax back a summer appetite, and households differ over whether to fold in shrimp or leave it plain.
- SatsumaGrilled fish is flaked and worked into barley miso, thinned with a stock from its own bones, and ladled over hot barley rice — a dish of southern Ehime. Said to have started as a fisherman's trick for making dry barley rice easier to eat, with the fish varying by area and household.
- Tai SomenA whole sea bream is simmered and set on a large platter of boiled somen noodles, the cooking broth doubling as a dipping sauce. The noodles are linked to the Tanabata weaver-star legend and the fish to good fortune, and the dish has long been served to family at weddings and milestone birthdays.
- TaimeshiEastern Ehime cooks a whole sea bream into the rice pot; the south instead lays raw fillets marinated in egg and soy over hot rice. Considered an auspicious fish, it appears at celebrations too, and which style a household follows tends to run by region.