🍱 Tsumire Ni

Shimane Prefecture has a coastline 1.026 km (637 miles) long, the 10th longest in the country. Offshore, the Tsushima warm current flows toward the northeast, providing an ideal environment for fishing. Fishing methods are diverse, including seine, trawl, set-net, and single-line fishing. The offshore smelt, horse mackerel, and flying fish harvested by these fishing methods are made into surimi, which is then made into tsumire (fish ball) with gobou(=burdock) and green onion, and eaten as tsumire-ni (stewed fish ball) or tsumire-jiru (soup with tsumire). In particular, "tsumire-ni" (simmered offshore smelt) is recommended by the locals. One piece of Okigisu, which is not so big (about 20 cm in length), is not so satisfying to eat. If you mince several of them together and make tsumi-ni, you can save time and effort in cooking. Okigisu is the local name for the fish, and its official name is "Nigisu". In some areas, it is also called "Tonkoro iwashi" . Okigisu are readily available throughout the year. A long time ago, a familiar sight at fresh fish stores was a box full of okigisu lined up on the shelves. Because they are relatively inexpensive, they are often served at the dinner table. The fish is fatty all year round, and some locals say that it is "as good as Saury”. It is a white-fleshed fish with no peculiarities.