© Pavol Frešo · CC BY 2.0

🍱 Ego

"Ego" is a dish made from "Egokusa" seaweed boiled to dissolve, then set in rectangular shape. It's like Kanten (=agar-agar) or jelly, and eaten with mustard soy sauce. This is a local dish mainly eaten in the Sea of Japan side, and it is said that it was brought to Fukushima as an appetizer with sake from Niigata in the late Edo Era, and it was prevailed because the place was "shukuba" (post station). Now it is eaten not only in Nishi Aizu, but also in the river basins of the Aga River and the Tadami River. "Ego" has been cooked since around Meiji Era. It was believed that merchants from Niigata walked around to sell "Ego". By the way, the locals call "Ego" "Igo" with their local accent.