Place
Ehime
愛媛県
29 items
● 27 born here(Bote Cha, Ebiten, Igisu Dofu, and more) / ● 1 raised here(Iyoji Shamo) / ● 1 prepared here(Gyoniku Sausage) / ○ 2 known for it here
Born here27
- Bote Chaぼて茶tea whisked to a froth over black-bean rice, a temple festival treatRoasted 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.
- Ebitenえび天a fried cake of ground shrimp, shell and all, worked into tofuSmall 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 Dofuいぎす豆腐a jellied summer dish of seaweed and soybean flour set like agarIgisu 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.
- Satsumaさつまgrilled fish flaked into barley miso and ladled hot over riceGrilled 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 Somen鯛そうめんa whole simmered sea bream served over noodles for weddings and milestonesA 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.
- Taimeshi鯛めしwhole sea bream cooked into rice, or laid raw over it in egg-soy sauceEastern 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.
- Ehime Tako Meshiたこ飯octopus simmered into rice with kelp and citrus peelOctopus from the Iyo Sea is cut into pieces and cooked into rice with kelp and root vegetables. It's said to have begun with fishermen simmering their catch right on board, and the finishing touch of mikan peel on top is distinctly Ehime.
- Ehime Tarutoタルトa castella roll cake filled with yuzu-scented red bean pasteA Matsuyama specialty: a castella sponge rolled around sweet red bean paste. A domain lord is said to have brought the recipe home after encountering a Portuguese-style confection in Nagasaki, then reworked it with yuzu citrus in the filling — a nod to the region's oranges — leaving a spiral pattern in cross-section.
- Fuka no Yuzarashiふかの湯ざらしparboiled shark sliced thin and dressed in hot mustard misoShark is quickly blanched, plunged into cold water, and sliced thin to eat with a mustard-spiked vinegar miso — a dish of southern Ehime. Said to have begun with fishermen using shark too small to sell as a drinking snack, it's counted as essential to Uwajima's festive sawachi platters.
- Fukumenふくめんflaked white fish over konjac noodles, colored to mark the four seasonsFlaked white fish, simmered sweet and salty, is worked into thin-cut strands of konjac styled like noodles — a festival dish from Uwajima. The colors are said to stand for the seasons, pink for spring through white for winter, and it's served at weddings and longevity celebrations.
- Horaku Yaki法楽焼sea bream and shellfish steamed whole over hot stones, no waterSea 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.
- Imabari Ramen今治ラーメンShio — salta seafood broth from sea bream and dried sardinesAn Imabari ramen built on sea bream and dried sardines, seasoned with local Hakata salt. A light bowl served with thin curly noodles and toppings like sumaki fish cake and local chicken chashu.
- Imabari Yakitori今治焼き鳥yakitori pressed on an iron griddle, not skeweredPressed flat on an iron griddle instead of skewered; prized for its crisp skin.
- ImotakiいもたきSoy-based & yosenabea riverside autumn hot pot of taro, chicken, and mochi dumplingsChicken, taro, konjac, and shiitake simmer together in this hot pot, said to have begun in Ozu. Local lore traces it to a gathering where people brought their own home-grown taro, and in autumn crowds still gather on the riverbank to eat it under the moon.
- Izumiyaいずみやa scattered sushi made with seasoned soybean pulp instead of riceA scattered-sushi variant that uses seasoned soybean pulp (okara) in place of vinegared rice. It's said to take its name from Izumiya, the trade name of the Sumitomo family who opened the Besshi copper mine, after commoners who couldn't easily afford rice mimicked the look of their sushi. In Uwajima it's called maru-zushi.
- Jako-tenじゃこ天fried whole-fish paste cakeWhole small-fish paste, bones included, fried into an oval cake, an Ehime specialty. Said to trace to Uwajima's first domain lord bringing a kamaboko craftsman from Sendai, its name reflecting a habit of using odd, mixed catch fish without waste.
- Kankoroかんころdried sweet potato simmered soft and mixed with sweetened red beanOn the rice-poor Sada Misaki peninsula, sweet potato was dried for storage, then this snack simmers it soft and works in sugar and red bean. The name is said to come from the sound of stirring the pot, and the dish recalls life on the peninsula before citrus growing took hold.
- Kijiniku to Kiriboshi Daikon no Mazegohanきじ肉と切り干し大根の混ぜご飯Pheasant and Dried Daikon Mixed Rice — a mild, lean game bird folded into rice with sun-dried radishPheasant meat and sun-dried daikon, along with root vegetables, are simmered in a stock made from pheasant bones and folded into cooked rice — a dish from Kihoku Town. The lean, mild meat is said to suit aging, and the bird is now raised locally and served in school lunches.
- Matsuyama Hyota-kei Ramen松山瓢系ラーメンShoyu — soy saucea sweet pork-and-chicken lineageA Matsuyama ramen combining chicken-carcass and pork-skin stock with the braising liquid from sweet soy chashu. Said to take its name from a lineage carried forward from a shop founded in 1980.
- Matsuyama-zushi松山鮓a lavish scattered sushi built for Setouchi guestsVinegared rice dressed with a mix that includes lizardfish paste, folded together with conger eel, cured mackerel, and shrimp from the Seto Inland Sea — a lavish scattered sushi from Matsuyama, served to guests as hospitality.
- Mikan Zushiみかんずしsushi rice seasoned with mikan juice instead of scarce vinegarIn southern Ehime, where rice vinegar was once hard to come by, the tart juice of mikan or kabosu citrus stands in for vinegar in this scattered sushi. It's said to have grown out of "mikan rice," made with fruit too blemished to sell, and it now appears on school lunch menus too.
- Mugi Miso Shiru味噌汁（麦味噌）a barley-miso soup made from Ehime's own mellow, high-koji misoA miso soup made with Ehime's own barley miso, high in malted rice grain and known for a mellow sweetness. Said to be a holdover from days when rice went to tribute and barley was worked into miso instead, it's also called inaka (country) miso. The trick to keeping its flavor is to stir it in just before serving, never reboiling it.
- Sekka Jiru石花汁soup kept simmering by dropping in heated stones, from a stone-quarry townVegetables, shellfish, and fried tofu are simmered in rice-rinse water or stock, then kept hot by dropping in a stone heated over a fire. Said to have begun as a meal for stonecutters on Oshima island off Imabari, the name is said to come from how the rising steam looked like a blooming flower.
- Senzankiせんざんきbone-in chicken deep-fried whole, Imabari's version of karaageBone-in young chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces, marinated, and dusted in potato starch before frying — Imabari's take on fried chicken. The bone is said to deepen the flavor, and it turns up everywhere from celebrations to packed lunches.
- Shoyu Meshiしょうゆめしa soy-simmered mixed rice that became Matsuyama's train-station bentoBurdock, carrot, and other seasonal vegetables are cooked into rice with soy sauce — a celebratory rice dish from the Matsuyama area, said to trace back to Muromachi-era hospitality cooking. A Showa-era bento version, sold at the train station, remains a Matsuyama favorite today.
- Tachiuo Maki太刀魚巻／太刀巻hairtail fish spiraled onto bamboo and grilled over charcoalHairtail fish is wound in a spiral around a bamboo skewer and grilled over charcoal, basted with a secret sauce — a specialty of Uwajima. Devised, it's said, by a long-established fishmonger using a mild, fatty fish, it's now a favorite with visitors to the town.
- Yawatahama Champon八幡浜ちゃんぽんEhime champon carried across the water from Kyushu's noodle cultureYawatahama's port, the western gateway of Shikoku, has long been linked by sea to Beppu and Usuki on the Kyushu coast. The Kyushu idea of a noodle dish loaded with toppings is thought to have crossed on that route, and locally it evolved with a chicken-and-seafood broth instead of pork bone, plus jakoten fish cake as a defining topping.
Raised here1
Prepared here1
Known for it here2
- MadaiマダイWhite fishred seabream — the celebratory fish of JapanThe red fish central to Japanese celebrations. Its mild white flesh appears raw, in taimeshi rice, or salt-grilled — wild fish firmed by fast currents and farmed fish raised in calm bays earn distinct reputations by region.The ria coastline of Uwa Sea gives strong tidal flow well suited to aquaculture, making the area one of Japan's leading farmed-tai producers.
- ShimaajiシマアジWhite fishstriped jack — a rare relative of the horse mackerel valued at sushi countersOne of the priciest fish in the jack family, especially scarce in the wild. Its crisp raw texture makes it a prized sushi topping — calm, well-flushed bays support aquaculture, and farmed fish are often compared against the rarer wild catch.Calm waters in the Uwa Sea suit aquaculture well, making this town one of Japan's leading producers of farmed shimaaji.