# Teppai ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Teppai

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Entire prefecture

## Main Ingredients Used
Crucian carp (recently, gizzard shad, young Spanish mackerel, and mackerel are more commonly used), daikon radish, thin green onion, and red chili pepper

## History, Origin, and Related Events
The freshwater crucian carp found in reservoirs scattered throughout the Sanuki Plain are also referred to as teppo. Teppo-ae, or Teppai, is a salad consisting of chopped green onions mixed with crucian carp that is filleted, thinly sliced, sprinkled with salt and vinegar, then seasoned with a vinegar-miso sauce containing daikon radish and Sanuki white miso. This taste of Sanuki is an essential drinking accompaniment or side dish. Until recently in Kagawa prefecture, where rainfall is low, reservoirs were mainly used to supply irrigation water for agriculture. There are over 10,000 reservoirs in the prefecture, and it has the highest density of reservoirs in Japan relative to the total area of the prefecture (Kagawa prefecture website). These reservoirs are inhabited by crucian carp, and from autumn to winter, when the reservoirs are drained after the busy farming season, the carp begin to spawn and become firm and fatty, without the odor typically associated with freshwater fish. It is referred to as "Kanbuna" (winter carp), and has long been an valuable protein source in the diet of people in agricultural and rural areas far from the sea. Teppai is a dish that makes the most of the delicious flavor of winter carp. The season for crucian carp is winter. The fattiness, lack of odor, and firmness make is so delicious that it is given the name "Kanbuna" (winter carp). Even today, crucian carp are cultivated in about 300 reservoirs in the prefecture. With one of the highest production volumes in the country, they are not only sold within the prefecture as a regional cuisine, but also shipped outside the prefecture. The name "Teppai" is said to come from a regional pronunciation of the "Teppo-ae," with teppo being another name for crucian carp.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
t is a dish made by men with fresh crucian carp from reservoirs that are drained in the winter, and in the past it was often served as an essential winter side dish during religious ceremonies and gatherings.

## How to Eat
The crucian carp is filleted, sliced into thin strips, salted, and then soaked in vinegar. Daikon radish is cut into rectangular strips and rubbed with salt, then mixed with a vinegar-miso sauce made of white miso, chopped green onions, and chili pepper. Bitter orange juice is sometimes used in the place of vinegar. Thinly sliced yuzu peel can be mixed in to enhance the delicious flavor with the refreshing yuzu aroma.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)It is still made at home today, but can also be eaten at restaurants throughout the prefecture. It is more difficult to obtain crucian carp in recent years, so gizzard shad, young Spanish mackerel, and mackerel are often used in its place.

## Ingredients
- Crucian carp: 1 medium fish
- Daikon radish: 600g
- Red chili pepper: 1 piece
- Thin green onion: as needed
- Salt: as needed
- [Seasoning A] White miso: 100g
- [Seasoning A] Sugar: 60g
- [Seasoning A] Vinegar: 3 tablespoons

## Recipe
1. 1. Fillet the fish, remove the abdominal bones, slice into 0.5cm wide pieces, sprinkle with salt, set aside for about 30 minutes, then soak in just enough vinegar to cover it for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. 2. Peel the daikon radish, cut into rectangles about 4cm long and 0.5mm thick, rub with salt, set aside for 10 to 15 minutes until soft, then squeeze out the liquid.
3. 3. Remove the chili pepper seeds and slice into rounds, and slice the green onion into thin rounds.
4. 4. Thoroughly mix the white miso and sugar in a bowl, then add the vinegar a little bit at a time to thin it out.
5. 5. Add the ingredients from step 2 and 3 into the bowl from step 4, mix together, and mix in the fish from step 1 at the end.
6. 6. White miso is sweet to begin with, so adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.

## Provider Information
provider : Recipe source: Agricultural Production and Distribution Division, Agricultural and Fisheries Department, Kagawa Prefecture

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