🍱 Garigari Namasu

Ibaraki Prefecture has been an "agricultural prefecture" since ancient times, taking advantage of its mild climate and rich water quality throughout the year to produce a variety of vegetables. At the same time, it is a “fishing prefecture” as the offshore area is a rich fishing ground where the Oyashio and Kuroshio currents intersect, and a variety of seafood is landed each season. “Garigari Namasu”, a local dish made in Ibaraki Prefecture, which is blessed with rich food materials, is made with the seasonal produce of the mountains and sea. Like common Namasu, “Garigari Namasu” is a dish of finely chopped seafood and vegetables and seasoned with vinegar-based seasonings, but its distinctive feature is the cooking utensils. As the name “Garigari Namasu” implies, daikon (Japanese radish) is roughly grated with a rasping noise (“Gari gari”) using a utensil called "onioroshi". The "onioroshi" is a bamboo grater with sharp teeth. Its name comes from the fact that its teeth bring up the image of an oni (ogre)'s teeth. Many households in areas where “Garigari Namasu” is eaten have their own onioroshi. Since it is made of bamboo, heat is not easily transferred to the ingredient and it is grated more coarsely than normal daikon oroshi (grated Japanese radish), so it is possible to grate it while retaining the moisture and texture of the ingredients. “Garigari Namasu” is eaten throughout the prefecture, but it is often eaten on a day of celebration in the paddy field region of southern Ibaraki Prefecture.