# Morokozushi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Morokozushi

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
The Seino region

## Main Ingredients Used
Moroko and Vinegared rice

## History, Origin, and Related Events
“Morokozushi“ is made by filling a sushi box with vinegared rice, topping it with sweet and spicy simmered “moroko”, and making this into pressed sushi. It is a local dish with a simple flavor that is valued as a hospitality dish for New Year's Day and festivals and is eaten not only in the Seino region but also in the northwestern part of Aichi Prefecture.“Moroko” is a freshwater fish that belongs to the Cyprinidae family and grows to about 10 cm in length as an adult. It is said that it is easier to eat morokozushi if smaller moroko is used.The Seino region, which was nurtured by the three Kiso rivers (Kiso River, Nagara River, and Ibi River), was a network of riverside villages until the land infrastructure was developed after the war, and river fish such as crucian carp, carp, moroko, eel, catfish, etc. were plentiful. A food culture that utilized them developed and is still loved by people today.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
It was made in each household as a dish to serve guests for festivals, New Year's Day, memorial services, and other occasions when many people gathered together. Nowadays, it is less often made due to decreased catches and people no longer being interested in river fish, but it is still eaten as a nostalgic dish on special occasions.

## How to Eat
Cook rice with sake and kombu, and once it is cooked, mix it with seasonings to make vinegared rice. Lay out haran in a wet sushi box, and from the bottom, layer vinegar rice, moroko, and haran in order. Place a weight on top. After two to three hours, remove the sushi from the box and cut it into appropriately sized pieces of appropriate size.Moroko is made by boiling it down with sugar, soy sauce, sake, and ginger until it turns a golden brown color.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
In addition to being sold at some supermarkets around the traditional places, it can also be purchased year-round at roadside stations that sell local agricultural products and specialty products, as well as river fish specialty stores.

## Ingredients
- Polished rice: 4 cups
- Sake: 2 tbsp.
- Dashi kombu: 10cm
- [A] Vinegar: 80ml
- [A] Sugar: 5 tbsp.
- [A] Salt: 1／2 tsp.
- Moroko tsukudani: 200g
- Haran: 8 to 12 leaves

## Recipe
1. 1. Wash the rice, add water (not listed in the ingredients), sake, and kombu, and cook. Combine the seasonings from [A] and add to the cooked rice to make vinegared rice, then let it cool.
2. 2. Wet a sushi box, line it with haran in line with the bottom board, add the vinegared rice from 1, flatten it, and arrange the moroko to cover it entirely. Cover it entirely with haran, and place a weight on top for two to three hours.
3. 3. Remove the sushi from the box and cut into 12 to 18 pieces.

## Provider Information
provider : Gifu Prefecture School Nutritionist Association

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