Raw
Wani no Sashimi
Wani no sashimi — thin-sliced mountain shark eaten with ginger soy sauce
In Hiroshima's mountainous Bihoku area, small shark—locally called "wani"—is sliced thin and eaten raw with ginger and soy sauce. Far from the coast, the long-keeping fish once filled the gap where fresh seafood rarely reached, and it is said to still appear at autumn festivals and New Year.
- Origin: Hiroshima
- About 640 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Sliced raw shark, known locally as wani in the mountainous inland areas of Chugoku. The meat's high ammonia content is said to keep it edible as sashimi for up to two weeks. Color and texture vary by species — the redder cuts resemble swordfish, lean and mild — and the ammonia smell grows stronger with time, which is why it's traditionally paired with ginger and soy sauce.
How it's made
The shark is sliced thin for sashimi and dipped in ginger and soy sauce; some households use a sweetened soy sauce instead. Beyond sashimi, it's simmered, breaded and fried, tempura-battered, jellied, seared, glazed, or pickled in a sweet vinegar — garlic sometimes cuts through any lingering smell.
Why it took this shape
The mountain villages around Miyoshi sat far from the coast, and fresh seafood is said to have been hard to come by there in the past — shark, which kept well, filled the gap. Merchants from the Sea of Japan side are said to have brought it in during the Edo period, and fishermen from Shimane are said to have carried it in regularly from the late 1800s on, after which it became a home sashimi staple, especially for autumn festivals and New Year's gatherings.
Dishes in the same style
- Akagarei no KomaburiRoe-bearing red flounder is sliced into sashimi and tossed with its own boiled, crumbled eggs, a dish from around the Amijiro area of Iwami Town. Said to have descended from a similar dish made with crucian carp roe, it pairs rich eggs with mild, fatty winter flounder for festivals and New Year's.
- Amagi no KawatakeA rare wild freshwater algae, found only in the Kogane River in Asakura, is dressed with sweet or three-flavor vinegar — said to have once been presented to the shogun, and now conservation efforts continue as it's listed as endangered.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Hiroshima
- Anago MeshiConger eel, grilled kabayaki-style, is sliced and layered over rice cooked in dashi—a dish from Miyajima. It uses "Seto anago," prized for the fat that fast currents help build into the fish, and is said to have begun in 1901 as a bento sold at Miyajimaguchi station.
- AzumaSardine-like mamakari, cured in vinegar, is pressed onto seasoned okara instead of vinegared rice in this coastal sushi. It is said to have begun as a way to stretch scarce rice by substituting the cheap, plentiful soy pulp, and was served at festivals and New Year's gatherings.
- Bishu NabeChicken, gizzard, and pork are simmered with nothing more than salt, pepper, and sake in this hot pot from Saijo, one of Japan's noted brewing towns. It is said to have begun as a simple meal cooked by sake brewers between batches, seasoned lightly so as not to dull their palate for tasting.
- EbamakiRice is tossed with Hiroshima-na pickle, bonito flakes, and sesame, then rolled in toasted nori—a roll from Hiroshima's Eba district, long known for seaweed cultivation. The ends are sometimes tucked shut so it can be eaten one-handed while rowing, a food born for nori fishermen working on the water.
- Fuchu-yakiA Fuchu, Hiroshima take on okonomiyaki that swaps sliced pork belly for ground beef or pork worked right into the batter, so the meat's flavor is said to come through evenly in every bite.