Sweets
Sasamaki
Shimane sasamaki — rice-flour dumplings bound in bamboo grass
Kneaded rice flour is shaped, wrapped in kumazasa bamboo grass, tied with rush, and boiled for the Boys' Festival. The grass, believed to have antiseptic properties, is said to carry a wish for children's health; regional names include chimaki and maki.
- Origin: Shimane Unnan
- About 630 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Sasamaki is a rice cake made by wrapping kneaded rice flour dumplings in kuma-zasa bamboo grass leaves and boiling them, a traditional food eaten at the old-calendar Boys' Festival in Shimane's eastern region and the Oki islands. The bamboo grass stem doubles as a built-in skewer, letting it be eaten without dirtying the hands, and it is typically dipped in soybean flour, sweetened soy sauce, or honeyed soy sauce. The name varies by area, called "chimaki" in the east and "maki" in Oki.
How it's made
Rice flour is kneaded with lukewarm water into oval dumplings, each pierced with a stem of bamboo grass before being wrapped in several leaves and tied with a rush cord. Boiling for about 15 minutes finishes the dish; the leaves are then opened, still tied, to remove the dumpling, which is dipped in soybean flour or sweetened soy sauce. Extras can be hung to dry under the eaves and kept refrigerated, so many households make a large batch at once to enjoy as snacks over time.
Why it took this shape
Kuma-zasa bamboo grass is said to have antibacterial and preservative properties, and it was once reportedly used to bandage cuts and wounds. The custom of eating sasamaki is said to have grown from a wish for children's health drawing on that same property, and beyond the month-delayed Boys' Festival, it is also eaten at gatherings marking a break after rice planting, the festival called "demachi," and the midsummer date known as "hange." The ratio of mochi to non-glutinous rice flour, and the way the leaves are wrapped and tied, differ from household to household, and making it together as a family, each member taking on a different step, is said to have become an annual tradition rooted in the community.
Before you go
- How to shop in a depachika (department store food hall)A guide to browsing prepared foods and bento, choosing wagashi as a gift with a good shelf life, sampling etiquette, end-of-day discounts, asking for cold packs and wrapping, and finding your way around a depachika floor.
- Osechi and zoni for the New YearA guide to the meaning behind osechi's tiered boxes, the regional differences in zoni (square vs. round mochi, clear vs. miso broth), and the nanakusa-gayu custom.
- Setsubun: ehomaki and lucky beansA guide to ehomaki, the uncut sushi roll said to be eaten facing a lucky direction on Setsubun, and to mamemaki, the bean-throwing custom with roasted lucky beans.
Dishes in the same style
- Abekawa MochiFresh-pounded rice cake is dusted in soybean flour mixed with sugar. Named for the Abe River, it's said to have been famous among Tokaido travelers as a teahouse specialty and to appear in the travel novel Tokaidochu Hizakurige.
- Iga ManjuSweet bean paste is wrapped in rice flour dough, then coated with dyed sticky rice grains. One account ties the name to the grains' resemblance to a chestnut's spiny husk, and in the western Mikawa region it's said to be offered to Hina dolls at the Doll Festival.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Shimane
- Ago-yakiAgo-yaki is Izumo noyaki made from flying-fish paste, fire-baked without a skewer. Its crackling surface and refined sweetness make it a favorite travel souvenir from Shimane.
- Agonoko UmaniThe roe of egg-bearing flying fish, caught only in early summer, is simmered in stock and soy sauce as an Oki bar snack. Its large grains and dense, sticky texture are prized as a delicacy said to be scarcer even than the fish's flesh.
- Akagai Garan MushiArk shell clams from Lake Nakaumi are steamed in their shells in a soy-seasoned broth, also known as akagai no kara-mushi. The name 'garan' is said to come either from a slurred 'kara' (shell) or the rattling sound made while rinsing the shells — a dish long kept for New Year's.
- Azuki ZoniRound mochi sit in azuki beans simmered with a light hand on the sugar, closer in taste to a thin zenzai than a dessert. In the Izumo area some households eat a clear zoni on New Year's Day, then switch to this one from the second.
- Bakudan OnigiriA large round rice ball is wrapped entirely in lightly toasted, soy-brushed rock nori from Oki — its bold look earning it the name 'bakudan,' or bomb. It travels well in lunch boxes and as an everyday snack.
- Dojo Kenchin JiruLoach is simmered with burdock, daikon, and shiitake in a clear soy broth in Yasugi, said to embody the old saying that one loach is worth one eel for stamina — traditionally eaten after washing the mud off from rice planting.