Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Masu no sushi, a specialty of Toyama

I don`t usually write about store-bought food, but this one is an exception. A huge one. Because I am truly in love with this sushi and I knew it from the very first bite. Last summer, I vividly remember how I was amazed by a pack of sushi my labmate brought from her grandma`s town, Toyama prefecture. It was "masu no sushi" or "masu sushi" and although I`ve honestly thought the fish was salmon, my friend who brought it told me it was trout. 
Having lived in Japan for 6.5 years now, you probably can imagine how my life here is surrounded with so many varieties of sushi. But eating sushi brought as a souvenir? Obviously last summer was my first time. And since the masu sushi has impressively wowed me with its presentation and delicacy, this year, I specifically (and politely, of course) asked her if she could bring me that sushi again from her hometown. And she said, no problem. She even asked me which grade I wanted. I didn`t even know they have grades! But I simply asked for the affordable one.

Anyway, she was finally back to the lab, with this delightful box. I was so ecstatic I felt like I had to hug her!
Have you ever seen sushi in a box like this? At a glance, I wouldn`t know it was sushi inside. 


Inside the box, there is a round flat-bottomed wooden container with a lid tightly pressed over it. It`s like a miniature of hangiri, a wooden rice bowl used for preparing sushi rice.


And inside the box there comes the next wrapper, bamboo leaves. Oh, so exciting!


And beneath the leaves, there is a beautiful peachy orange color filling up the whole space. 


The package comes with a set of plastic cutter, chopsticks, and soy sauce. Perfect.
Look at this. A cake. Last year, I seriously thought it was a cake. Covered with fish.


So, a slice for me with wasabi on top. I mean, the first slice. Trust me, you won`t stop with one slice.
Unlike regular sushi where the rice is considerably fluffy, the rice in this masu sushi is really dense and sticky with stronger sweetness, hence the thought of cake, or probably sticky sweet rice cake. You might think that sweet rice with fish won`t do well, but believe me, this one works just wonderful.


And the second slice to come soon.


If you are a sushi lover and in Japan,  I beg you to try this masu sushi. You just have to. But if you are outside Japan, err...what can I say..enjoy the pictures? I`m sorry. Please don`t hate me.

13 comments:

  1. 美味しそう!日本のこういうもの、食べれなくて残念だわ・・・。Thanks for sharing!!

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  2. Glad to share! この寿司を食べたら、おいしくておいしくて、本当に感動しました。

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  3. awwww! seriously this looks sooooo yummy! i have to go get sushi tonight.

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  4. I've never tried Masu sushi but have heard of it. Would definitely try it if I would be given the opportunity to :)!

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  5. Ooooh, it looks so good, I am so jealous. I want some Masu sushi too, not just for the fish, but for the packaging also!!

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  6. i'll try not to hate you hehehehe...that looks so gorgeous and i've never seen anything like it despite hong kong's rather comprehensive japanese foodage...

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  7. Iis: So did you have your sushi there??

    CG: Come here for your Xth honeymoon! :D

    Still Traveller: Hi there! I love the packaging too!

    Rita: With your lumpia and bakso goreng there, this one should work for my "revenge", hehehe

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  8. I have already seen it somewhere... It looks so fabulous, I will try having it as soon as I go to Japan! In the meantime I prefer having a visual feast than no feast at all ;-) so thank you for sharing the lovely photos.

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  9. Sissi: Are you planning to visit Japan? In case you are, then you should really get this sushi. And please let me know if you like it too :)

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  10. Arudhi, I have been planning a trip to Japan for the last year, although I still don't have the precise date. I have even started to learn Japanese. A good teacher wasn't easy to find, but I think I have found the real jewel :-)

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  11. Masu sushi (also called masu no sushi or masu zushi) is very popular.

    Now that a nephew of mine has started living in Toyama, I get a lot of Tomaya specialty from him. Masu sushi is, of course, one of them, as I mentioned here:
    http://hiro-shio.blogspot.com/2011/02/masu-no-sushi-trouts-sushi.html

    (Sissi, do you remember that post of mine? (laugh)

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  12. Sissi: Good for you that you are learning Japanese! Don`t forget to make the to-eat and to-visit lists, but I`m sure you are preparing this already :)

    Hiroyuki san: Ah, now I just noticed that I missed the "の" on the packaging! Thanks for the link to your post. I hope I can try the shiro ebi senbei someday!

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  13. I am i Toyama no and just had it. DELICIOUS!

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