Rice dishes
Igai Meshi
Igai Meshi — mussels foraged by ama divers, cooked into rice
In Natsudomari, part of Tottori City's Aoya district and the only place in the San'in region where ama divers still work, mussels the divers bring up are cooked into rice. Made from around June, when the divers' season begins, it fills the mouth with the scent of the shore and marks the start of summer.
- Origin: Tottori City, Tottori
- About 500 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Igai meshi is a rice dish cooked with the shucked meat of igai, a triangular-shelled mussel, a dish passed down in the Natsudomari area of Aoya, Tottori City. Simple in its ingredients, it fills the mouth with the aroma of the sea, and it belongs to a coastal community known as the only place in the San'in region where ama women divers still work.
How it's made
The meat is removed from the shell, and the byssus threads, which trap sand and grit, are carefully pulled away. The mussel meat is cut into pieces, parboiled, and cooked together with rice and seasoning. Finely chopped carrot or burdock are sometimes added, and some households cook the mussels with their shells still on. Beyond rice, igai is also sake-steamed, grilled over charcoal, or simmered from cold water into a clear soup that draws out its broth.
Why it took this shape
Igai live in the rocky, well-flushed shallows from the intertidal zone down to about 20 meters, and the dish is said to have begun with mussels gathered by the ama divers of Natsudomari in Aoya. It came to be made from around June, when the divers begin their season, and it is reported to have become a seasonal marker announcing summer's arrival in the small fishing village, as well as a dish served to guests during the Obon holiday.
Before you go
- How to use a convenience storeA quick guide to choosing rice balls and hot snacks, buying coffee, paying by cash, IC card, or tap payment, using the eat-in corner, and sorting your trash — the basics for a first visit.
- Station food and ekiben (station bento)Where and when to find ekiben (station bento) before it sells out, etiquette for eating on board, how standing soba and udon stalls work, and where to find souvenirs sold inside the station.
- Soraben and airport diningA guide to what soraben means and how it differs from ekiben, whether to buy before or after security, etiquette for eating on board, airport restaurants, and things to check before buying food souvenirs to take home.
Dishes in the same style
- Aburafu DonDeep-fried wheat gluten, shaped into a log, is simmered in a sweet-savory broth and set with egg over rice, katsudon-style — a Tome City bowl said to trace to a tofu shop's shelf-stable gluten product, later turned into a bowl dish by a local innkeeper.
- Aburi-zushiNigiri with just its surface flash-seared by torch or hot iron. Unlike Edomae's shigoto curing for keeping, the searing here is done purely for the change in aroma and fat it brings — a relatively recent way of eating sushi.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Tottori
- 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.
- Azuki ZouniSoft round rice cakes are added to a broth of simmered red beans, the mainstream style of New Year's zoni in Tottori. Red beans have long been thought to ward off misfortune, and the dish is said to be simmered on New Year's morning with the year's first water and a purified flame, then shared among family.
- Daisen-doriA branded chicken said to be raised end-to-end, from breeding stock to processing, by producers at the foot of Mount Daisen — free-ranged longer than usual on an antibiotic-free feed aimed at balancing fat and flavor.
- Daisen OkowaShiitake, burdock, and chicken are cooked into sticky rice seasoned with soy, a dish from the foot of Mount Daisen. Said to trace back to warrior monks preparing it before battle to pray for victory, it was later served at the horse-and-cattle market by Daisen-ji temple and carried on into festivals and hospitality since.
- Daisen RubyBred at Tottori Prefecture's livestock station by crossing a sow of the oleic-acid-rich Daisen Akabuta line with a Berkshire boar, said to inherit both breeds' fat quality and tenderness.