# Hokki meshi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Hokki meshi

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Soma City

## Main Ingredients Used
Rice, Hokki-gai (shellfish)

## History, Origin, and Related Events
Soma City has long been active in rice production. Even today, varieties such as Koshihikari and Hitomebore are produced, and the city is said to have the largest amount of shipments among the city's agricultural products (according to the Soma City website).In addition, Hokki-gai (shellfish) are often caught mainly in Matsukawaura, the only lagoon in Fukushima Prefecture. Fishing for hokki-gai has been conducted in the waters off Soma and Futaba since the Meiji era (1868-1912), and the area has long been known as a famous producer of hokki-gai. The mineral-rich seawater off the coast of Soma and Futaba influences the growth of hokki-gai, allowing them to be caught relatively large, with a sweet taste and soft texture.A local dish made by combining these two specialties is "hokkimeshi. The rice absorbs the broth from the hokki-gai and becomes rich in umami.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Hokki-gai dishes are most commonly eaten from June to November. It is widely served at restaurants, lodging facilities, and homes. Originally, hokki-gai was also popular as fisherman's rice for busy fishermen to eat on board their boats, but it gradually came to be eaten on land as well.

## How to Eat
Boil water, soy sauce, sugar, sake, and salt in a pot and cook hokki clams. Once the shellfish are removed from the pot, add rice to the pot, and when steaming, mix in the hokki-gai. Finish by sprinkling shiso leaves. When adding the hokki-gai shellfish, shredded ginger will reduce the smell of the shellfish and give the dish a refreshing taste. Carrots and hijiki are sometimes added in addition to hokki-gai.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
It is made at home and served at restaurants. When the season of hokki clams comes, restaurants serving hokki-meshi around Matsukawaura put up banners to advertise their products. In addition, Fukushima Prefecture has published a recipe for hokki-meshi online. The prefecture also provides the recipe online so that people outside the prefecture can easily prepare it.

## Ingredients
- White rice: 3 cups
- Scallops: 4 to 8 pieces
- Water: 3 cups (as you cook rice)
- soy sauce: 4 tbsp.
- Salt and sugar: A pinch
- sake: 1／3 cup

## Recipe
1. 1. Wash rice and drain.
2. 2. Remove hokki-gai from the shell, cut open, remove the guts, rinse in salted water, and cut into 4 to 6 pieces.
3. 3. Combine water and seasoning liquid, bring to a boil, add hokki-gai clams, turn off the heat when they turn red, and remove the clams.
4. 4. Add the juice from 3 and rice and cook.
5. 5. When steaming the rice, add the removed shellfish.Add shredded ginger to the rice to remove the fishy smell. Sprinkle with shiso leaves (not included in the quantity) if desired.

## Provider Information
provider : Mihoko Hiraide

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