🍲 Suno Shui (Sardine Vinegar Soup)

"Suno shui" is a hot vinegar soup made with grated daikon radish and sardines simmered in vinegar and soy sauce. In Japanese, "shui" means soup. Other names for this dish are "sun shui" or "su no shiru." It is eaten on days when freshly pound "mochi" (=rice cake) is made. It is the perfect soup to make during cold winter days. Vinegar is said to have antibacterial properties and is also known to relieve fatigue. Rice vinegar was produced in large quantities from the Edo period and people began to use vinegar widely. "Namasu" (=vegetables/seafood marinated in rice vinegar) is typically a cold dish but "suno shui" is a type of namasu that is served hot and as a soup. The main vegetable used is daikon radish because a wild type named "Minohara daikon" grows in Miyakonojo city of Miyazaki. Sometimes, seasonal vegetables such as "Sadowara eggplant," a traditional vegetable of Miyazaki, is used to make "suno shui." Sardines cut into chunks or fish balls made with minced sardines is used to make "suno shui." Sardines are caught in the northern parts of Miyazaki using purse seines. The type of sardines caught are Japanese pilchard, which are decreasing greatly in number recently, big-eye sardines, and Japanese anchovies. Sardines are rich in unsaturated fatty acids such as EPA and DHA and contain five times the daily requirement of vitamin D for an adult. It has been considered a healthy fish for longevity for a long time.