Rice dishes ── Sushi
Shoten Zushi
Shoten Zushi — takeout inari and rolled sushi sold at a temple gate
A set of inari and rolled sushi sold before the gate of Shoden-zan Kangi-in temple in Menuma, Kumagaya. Made with rice and once-precious fried tofu for festive occasions, villagers used to trade their own rice for it.
- Origin: Saitama Kumagaya
- About 60 km northwest of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
This hearty dish pairs inari sushi—vinegared rice packed into large fried tofu pouches—with rolled sushi. The large pouch, simmered sweet and savory, holds a generous portion of rice, giving satisfying volume in just a bite or two, the sweet-savory pouch balanced against the tang of the vinegared rice.
How it's made
Large fried tofu pouches are simmered sweet and savory in soy sauce and sugar, then stuffed with vinegared rice to make the inari sushi. Pouches that tear during preparation are reinforced with a wrap of dried gourd strip. The roll's filling today is said to be dried gourd strip and fish flakes, with the inari pouch shaped notably large, about 13 centimeters long.
Why it took this shape
In an area that once prospered from river trade on the Tone, this sushi, made with precious rice and once-costly fried tofu, is said to have been handed down as a festive dish eaten on ceremonial days. It is said to have spread alongside visits to a local temple built through donations from area residents, becoming a taste rooted in the community and also served to welcome guests.
Before you go
- How to read a vertical menuIn shops with strips of handwritten menu items on the wall, the top-right spot is often used for recommendations.
- 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.
- How to shop at a supermarketHow to choose prepared foods, sashimi, and packaged sushi, when discount stickers tend to appear, region-only specialties, buying by weight, the checkout and bagging flow, and sampling etiquette at a local supermarket.
Dishes in the same style
- 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.
- Aichi HakozushiVinegared rice is packed into a wooden frame, topped with shrimp, eel, shiitake, and egg arranged diagonally, and pressed. Placing toppings on the diagonal so everyone gets a fair share of each is said to be a feature of the Owari and western Mikawa style, made for celebrations.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Saitama
- Sakekasu Miso RamenA winter-only ramen from Ageo City, where sake lees from a long-running local brewery are worked into a Chinese restaurant's miso broth. The lees' depth and aroma layer over the miso's savoriness, leaving a mellow finish that warms the body in the cold months.
- Dojo NiPond loach caught in the paddies of eastern Saitama, simmered sweet and savory with shaved burdock, from a land fed by the Arakawa and Tone rivers. Rich in nutrients, it was valued as a tonic and a food for pregnant women.
- Gyoda Furai"Furai" from around Gyoda, Saitama, despite its name, isn't fried — it's grilled. Chopped scallion and pork go on a wheat-flour batter cooked on a griddle, an okonomiyaki-like snack said to have caught on with the women working the town's tabi-sock factories.
- Higashimatsuyama YakitoriPork cheek grilled over charcoal and brushed with a spicy miso sauce.
- HiyajiruSesame and miso ground in a mortar, mixed with summer vegetables like cucumber and shiso, then chilled with cold water. It serves as a dipping broth for udon in noodle-loving Saitama, and Kawajima town calls it suttate.