Cook the local flavors once more

Umeboshi and red shiso rice ball

An umeboshi-and-shiso rice ball and mehari-zushi on a black plate

Wakayama grows more ume than any other prefecture in Japan: 58% of the national harvest in 2024 (64% the year before). I chopped Kishu umeboshi and mixed it into rice with red shiso.

Ingredients

Cooked rice
Kishu umeboshi
Red shiso

How I made it

Take the umeboshi flesh off the pits and chop it
Mix the plum and red shiso into rice and press into balls

Sources: maff.go.jp

This moment in the journey

Mehari-zushi, wrapped in takana

I folded the chopped takana into the rice and pressed it firmly into a ball, then wrapped it in a whole takana leaf. This is mehari-zushi, a traditional dish of Wakayama.

There are several stories behind the name. One says you open your mouth so wide to eat it that your eyes open wide too (me o haru). Another says the leaf seals the rice completely, like taping up a window (meba-ri). Folding in the edges of the leaf, I found myself agreeing with both.

It is said to have spread as a quick lunch for fishermen and foresters to eat between jobs. I also made rice balls mixed with umeboshi and red shiso, and set them out on a black plate.

Watch this scene on YouTube1:08

Read this scene in the full journey