🍱 Hakozushi

“Hakozushi” can be found all over Japan. It is a type of sushi made by filling a square wooden box with sushi rice, placing the ingredients on top, and then pressing them down from above. The history of "Hakozushi" is older than that of nigirizushi. It started with “Narezushi”, which is made by marinating fish, rice, and salt for a long period of time, and by the Muromachi period (1336-1573), “Hannare” appeared, which is made to mature in a relatively short period of time. Compared to “Narezushi”, “Hannare” retains the texture of both the fish and the rice, so the sour rice itself becomes more palatable. From this trend, the prototype of “Hakozushi” was born, which consisted of putting salted fish and rice in a sushi tub or wooden box, covering the lid, placing a weight on top, and letting it ferment for several days. Later, with the invention of kasuzu (sake-lees vinegar), "Hakozushi" with a variety of ingredients was created in many places. In the past, when there was not enough rice available, "Hakozushi" which required large amounts of rice, was a great luxury. “Hakozushi”, which is mainly eaten in the Owari and Nishimikawa areas, is also called “Kirizushi”, and is characterized by the diagonal arrangement of ingredients such as shrimp, conger, dried shiitake mushrooms and thin strips of egg. This was designed to ensure that everyone can enjoy a variety of flavors equally. The box is a special wooden one with five or six tiers stacked on top of each other. Stack the wooden box with the sushi rice and ingredients and wedge it together from the side to apply pressure. Many families used to have wooden boxes, but nowadays the number is decreasing.