Uzumi (Fukuyama Rice Hiding Simmered Toppings)
Uzumi (Fukuyama Rice over Hidden Simmered Toppings)
Uzumi is a local dish handed down in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. Ingredients such as shrimp, sea bream, taro, carrot and shiitake mushrooms simmered in dashi broth are placed in a bowl, the broth is poured over them, and rice is heaped on top to cover and hide them. The name comes from 'uzumeru' (to bury), referring to burying the ingredients under the rice. It looks like nothing but plain white rice, but when you break up the rice with chopsticks, the ingredients appear from underneath and the broth soaks into the rice. It is said to date back to the Edo period, and a well-known theory holds that common people, who were required to live frugally, hid luxurious ingredients to make their meals look plain. It was once made at home as a feast to celebrate the autumn harvest. For a time there were fewer occasions to eat it, but today it is served in school lunches in the city and can also be enjoyed at restaurants in places such as Tomonoura. Each restaurant puts its own spin on it, with versions made with sea bream or served as sushi or kamameshi (rice cooked in a small pot).
Origin
According to materials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, uzumi is said to have begun in the Edo period, when people ate it with the ingredients buried under the rice so that the meal looked plain. The theory is that because luxury was forbidden under the Fukuyama Domain's austerity policy, common people hid ingredients such as shrimp and sea bream. Some materials link this to the austerity government of the domain's first lord, Mizuno Katsunari, but there are various theories about its origin. Elsewhere in the Chugoku region, there are other food cultures of 'burying' ingredients, such as Uzume Meshi from the Iwami region of Shimane Prefecture and Bizen barazushi from Okayama Prefecture.
History
Until the Showa 40s, uzumi was often eaten as a dish to celebrate the autumn harvest. After that, there were fewer occasions to make it at home, but since 1990 Fukuyama City has served uzumi in elementary school lunches in the city as part of learning about local history. In 2010, the 福山食ブランド創出市民会議 (Fukuyama Food Brand Creation Citizens' Council) was established, and promotion of local dishes, beginning with uzumi, got underway. According to a public relations magazine of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, as of 2019 there were 28 restaurants in the city serving uzumi.
Features
The ingredients vary by area and include taro, carrot, matsutake, shiitake, shrimp, sea bream, chicken and tofu. The dashi also varies by area: in the south, facing the Seto Inland Sea, it is made from iriko (dried sardines), while in the mountainous north it is made from dried shiitake. When eating, you break up the rice on top little by little, mixing it with the broth and ingredients. Recently, creative versions of uzumi have also emerged: besides sushi and kamameshi, there is 'uzumi ice' (うずみ氷) with fruit buried under ice, as well as soft-serve ice cream and ramen with ingredients buried in them.
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
Seasonal ingredients are likened to 'happiness' or 'treasure,' and uzumi is cherished as an auspicious dish eaten while digging them out from under the rice. In school lunches, the broth and rice are handed out separately, and the children put the rice on top of the broth themselves before eating.
Famous Shops
季節料理 衣笠
広島県福山市鞆町鞆150-12
A seasonal-cuisine restaurant in Tomonoura, which flourished as a port where ships waited for the tide. Fukuyama City's page introducing local fish features 'tai uzumi,' made with red sea bream (madai), as a year-round dish at 1,300 yen (tax included). It is closed on Wednesdays (or the following day when Wednesday is a public holiday).
なりこま
広島県福山市霞町1-4-19
A live-fish restaurant described as founded in Showa 23 (1948). Its dishes center on fish landed at Tomonoura, and it offers 'tennen tai no ankake uzumi' (uzumi of wild sea bream with a thickened sauce). Travel information sites state that it costs 800 yen (tax excluded) and requires a reservation by the previous day. Depending on the season, the fish is replaced with Spanish mackerel (sawara) or olive flounder (hirame).
FAQ
Q. Is uzumi the same dish as Shimane Prefecture's Uzume Meshi?
A. They share the feature of burying ingredients under rice, but they are local dishes handed down in different places. Uzume Meshi is handed down in the Iwami region, including Tsuwano Town in Shimane Prefecture, and is characterized by ingredients such as tofu and shiitake served with wasabi. Fukuyama City's uzumi differs in that it often uses seafood from the Seto Inland Sea, such as shrimp and sea bream.