🍱 Ruibe
"Ruibe" is local cuisine made by freezing fish like salmon or trout, then eating them as sashimi as it thaws out. It is characterized by its frozen texture and a taste that slowly melts in your mouth. It is said that "ruibe" is a food which began with the Ainu people. Hokkaido has an old tradition of salmon fishing and the Ainu used to catch salmon as a valuable source of protein. They say "ruibe" comes from the practice of burying salmon in the snow and freezing them to preserve them for the cold and harsh winters. They would then cut them into thin slices and eat them while still frozen. It was also effective against parasites, as those such as anisakis would sit inside the salmon's skin and would be killed by the freezing. The name is said to be derived from the Ainu word "ruipe," which is a combination of "ru," meaning "melt," and "ip ," meaning "food. The name is also said to come from the Ainu word "luipe," which combines "lu" meaning "melt" and "ip " meaning "food. Ruibe generally uses salmon or trout, but ruibe refers to the style of eating thinly sliced, frozen fish or shellfish, such as squid or trout.