Satsuma

Satsuma flakes grilled white fish and thins it with charred miso and fish dashi, then pours it over hot rice. Sea bream is common, but black porgy, rockfish, and mullet — other white fish caught in the Seto Inland Sea — are also used, and the smoky flavor of the charred miso melds with the fish's umami into a broth that clings well to the rice. The miso used to be spread on a pot lid or mortar and set over a charcoal brazier to bring out its aroma, it's said. The dish is said to have traveled along the coast from Kyushu to Shikoku, and is also known as "Iyo-zatsuma" in Ehime and "Sanuki-zatsuma" in Kagawa.

The white fish is salt-grilled, then the bones and skin are removed and the meat is flaked. A dashi is made separately from the head and bones. Miso is spread on a wooden spatula and lightly charred to bring out its aroma. The fish is ground well in a mortar, mixed with the charred miso, and thinned gradually with the cooled dashi; adding the dashi while still hot is said to make the miso separate, so it's always cooled first. It's poured over hot rice and topped with scallion and sesame, roasted lightly in a pan and ground for extra fragrance.

Satsuma is said to have become an everyday dish served whenever a household had a good catch of fish. Grilling and flaking fish that spoiled quickly, and using every part down to the dashi, appears to be a way of making the most of it while still getting real satisfaction from precious rice — a humble dish said to have been handed down through households built on that kind of resourcefulness. Iriko, a local specialty, was reportedly sometimes used as well, and the ease of making it from familiar fish and seasonings seems to be why it has been passed down in so many households.