# Iwashi no unohana zuke(Pickled sardines with soy pulp) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Iwashi no unohana zuke(Pickled sardines with soy pulp)

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Northern region

## Main Ingredients Used
Sardines, soy pulp, yuzu

## History, Origin, and Related Events
While Ibaraki Prefecture is renowned as one of the most agricultural prefectures in Japan, it is also a fishery prefecture. The offshore areas of the prefecture are rich in fishing grounds where the Oyashio and Kuroshio currents intersect, and a variety of seafood is landed every season. The Otsu and Hiragata fishing ports in Kitaibaraki City catch a large amount of mackerel and sardines, and the Otsu fishing port is the largest net fishing port in the prefecture, boasting an annual catch of several tens of thousands of tons. The mackerel and sardines are caught and eaten fresh as sashimi or grilled and are also processed into dried and canned fish.In Ibaraki Prefecture, which is blessed with such seafood, one of the local dishes that has long been popular is pickled sardines with soy pulp. The fresh sardines, which are abundantly available, are preserved for a long time by marinating them in a mixture of vinegar and soy pulp, therefore the dish has been valued locally as a preserved food.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Since pickled sardines with soy pulp was also eaten as an Osechi (New Year's Day) dish, each household used sardines harvested in November to make this dish. It is also has been eaten as a daily preserved food in addition to the Osechi dish.

## How to Eat
Remove the head, entrails, and bones from fresh sardines, rinse in cold water, sprinkle with salt, and let it rest for several hours. Then, remove the salt with water and soak the sardines in vinegar for at least 10 hours; after 10 hours, soak them in vinegar with sugar added for another 10 hours. The preservation power is increased by soaking the fish in vinegar. On the other hand, soy pulp is also roasted with vinegar and sugar, then cooled to allow the flavors to blend. Finally, mix the sardines with vinegared sardines, soy pulp, yuzu peel, red pepper, sesame seeds, and salt. This dish can be served as a snack with sake or with rice.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)It can be purchased in stores in the city.

## Ingredients
- sardines: 9
- salt: 100 g
- vinegar (A): 100cc
- soy pulp: 100 g
- shredded carrot: 30 g
- sugar: 3 tablespoons
- vinegar (B): 3 tablespoons
- yuzu: 1／2 piece
- red hot pepper: A little bit

## Recipe
1. 1. Wash sardines well and open them by hand to remove the middle and belly bones. Wipe dry, sprinkle with salt, and marinate for about 30 minutes. Divide the vinegar into two parts and wash the salted sardines in one part. Prepare a bat, lay out the sardines, pour the remaining vinegar into the bat, and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. 2. In a saucepan, dry roast the soy pulp, sugar, vinegar, red hot pepper, and carrot strips until the water evaporates, then stir in the yuzu strips and allow to cool completely. Squeeze the juice from the remaining yuzu and mix it into the soy pulp.
3. 3. Open the sardines from step 2, wipe off the vinegar, and lightly grip them between the soy pulp to give them proper shapes. Sprinkle the skin with the soy pulp as well.
4. 4. Serve in bowls. This recipe does not keep well in storage, so eat as soon as possible.

## Provider Information
provider : "A Taste of Ibaraki: A Menu of Local Dishes, Shoku, Sai, Hyakkei” (Support from Ibaraki Prefectural Dietary Life Improvement Promotion Council

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