# Taimeshi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Taimeshi

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Seto Inland Sea coastal regions such as Fukuyama City, Onomichi City, and Osakikamijima Town

## Main Ingredients Used
Rice, sea bream, salt, dashi stock

## History, Origin, and Related Events
“Taimeshi” is a local dish mainly eaten in the Seto Inland Sea coastal region. It’s made by putting a whole sea bream in a pot and cooking it with rice. It’s said that fishermen began making this dish during the Edo period when the village headman of Hashirishima started casting a sea bream fishing net. The Seto Inland Sea is characterized by a rocky and undulating seabed terrain, along with strong tidal currents, making it a suitable spawning environment and habitat for sea bream. As a result, sea bream fishing has thrived in the area since ancient times. Traditional fishing methods for sea bream, such as single-hook line fishing, abise fishing, floating sea bream fishing in Noshiro, and sea bream net fishing in Tomo, have been passed down through generations. Among them, Tomonoura in Fukuyama City is famous for the “taishibari net fishing method,” which is said to have started about 380 years ago in the Edo period. It’s a fishing method in which the sea bream that gather in the Seto Inland Sea to spawn in early summer are caught in nets all at once, and is now designated as an important intangible folk cultural property of Fukuyama City. From the beginning to middle of May you can watch the fishing from a boat and have the experience of actually pulling a net. In recent years, there has been a surge in red snapper aquaculture in the Seto Inland Sea. The practice of “harbor-based cultivation” involves releasing red snapper into the harbor and providing them with food for a specific period to encourage their settlement in the area. Additionally, the establishment of the first “marine ranch” off the coast of Osaki Kamijima Town has further promoted red snapper cultivation in the Seto Inland Sea.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
It’s eaten throughout the year, but sea bream is in season from March to May. Originally a fisherman's dish, there is no particular occasion or season for eating it. Today it’s mainly served in restaurants.

## How to Eat
Remove the innards and scales from the sea bream, put it in a deep pot, season it with soy sauce, sake, mirin sweet rice wine, and salt. Then cook it with rice. Burdock and carrots are sometimes added too.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
Although it’s sometimes made at home, it’s most often served at restaurants. In Tomonoura in Fukuyama City, there are many shops that make sea bream dishes, such as taimeshi and sea bream chazuke, and it’s a local specialty. It’s also provided in school lunches as an opportunity to learn about traditional cuisine. Boil-in-the-bag taimeshi is also on sale, making it easier to enjoy.

## Ingredients
- Polished rice: 2 cups
- Water: 450ml
- Sea bream: 1
- Carrots: 20g
- Burdock root: 20g
- [Seasoning] Light soy sauce: 1 tbsp
- [Seasoning] Salt: 1／3 tsp
- [Seasoning] Sake: 1 tbsp
- Dashi kelp: 10cm square
- Chopped seaweed: Appropriate amount

## Recipe
1. 1. Remove the scales and innards from the sea bream and wash it thoroughly.
2. 2. Cut the carrots and burdock root into thin strips and remove the bitterness by soaking them in water.
3. 3. Add water, the vegetables from Step 2, and [Seasoning] to the washed rice, spread dashi kelp and the sea bream from Step 1 on top, and cook.
4. 4. After cooking, loosen the meat of the sea bream and mix it into the dish.
5. 5. Place Step 4 in a bowl and top with chopped seaweed.

## Provider Information
provider : Recipe provided by: “Taste of Fukuyama, Local Cuisine Edition” (Fukuyama City Eating Habits Improvement Promotion Member’s Council)

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