# Uri no Teppo Zuke ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Uri no Teppo Zuke

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Narita City, Katori City

## Main Ingredients Used
Gourd

## History, Origin, and Related Events
The inside of the gourd is hollowed out like a gun barrel, stuffed with chili peppers wrapped in perilla leaves as gunpowder, and marinated in a seasoning solution consisting mainly of additive-free soy sauce and mirin (sweet rice wine). The chili peppers make it spicy and crunchy. It is a dish that can be eaten as a side dish with rice or as a snack with sake. The name "Teppozuke" comes from the fact that a gourd with a hole in it looks like a cannonball and a green chili pepper looks like a bullet. The ingredients are carefully selected and include white gourd, chili pepper, and perilla leaves grown in Chiba Prefecture. The flavor of soy sauce and the crispy texture of the gourd are generally enjoyed. It is also famous as a souvenir from Naritasan Shinshoji Temple. Each of the many pickle stores in Narita has its own unique combination of flavors and ingredients, and it is up to you to choose which one you like best. Walking around and comparing them from store to store in Narita is one way to enjoy them and taste the many different flavors for yourself. A brand of cucumbers called "Hagurauri," which are so soft that even people with wobbly teeth can eat them, are also produced.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
In the old days, it was made in the Narita area as a preserved food for the winter when crops were scarce. Chiba Prefecture has long been a major producer of melons, and even today, "Uri no tepponzuke" is made in the prefecture because of its high production of shirouri (white gourd).

## How to Eat
Soak the salted gourd in salt for about 2 days, changing the water from time to time, and drain well. Boil the seasoning, let it cool down, soak the water melon, and cover it lightly with a drop-lid (a special pot lid that is smaller than the pot and keeps the ingredients submerged) . On the next day, take out the water melon, boil the seasoning again, let it cool down, resoak the water melon again, and cover with the drop-lid. Repeat this process for 4 to 5 days, and it will be ready to eat in about a week. Be sure to boil the seasoning and let it cool before use.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches to commercialization)Teppozuke was originally only eaten as a home-cooked dish and was not distributed as a product. However, local pickles makers began to pay attention to this unique pickle and commercialized it, and today, many pickles makers in Chiba Prefecture produce and sell Teppozuke.

## Ingredients
- Salted gourd: 1kg
- Coarse soybeans: 200g
- Soy sauce: 2 cups
- Sake: 1／2 cup
- Mirin (sweet rice wine): 1／2 cup
- Vinegar: 1 tbsp.
- Green Shiso: 10 leaves
- Green chili pepper: 3 to 5

## Recipe
1. 1. Soak salted gourd in salted water for 2 days, changing water from time to time, and drain well.
2. 2. Boil seasonings, cool, soak gourd and cover lightly with a lid.
3. 3. On the next day, take out the gourd, boil the seasoning again, let it cool down, soak the gourd again, and cover with a drop lid (a special pot lid that is smaller than the pot and keeps the ingredients submerged).
4. 4. Repeat the above process for 4 to 5 days.
5. 5. It is ready to eat in about one week.
6. 6. Squeeze the salted gourd well until all the water is removed and no excess moisture remains.Be sure to boil the seasoning and let it cool before use.

## Provider Information
provider : "Chiba no Furusato Ryori" (Chiba Prefecture)

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