Gomokuzushi (ごもくずし)




 Do you happen to know “Gomokuzushi (五目寿司・ごもくずし)?” This is one of festive foods, but is cooked quite often at home. The sound “zushi” comes from “sushi.” When you combine “sushi” with some other words to make one word, “su” sound turns into “zu” sound. So, you are supposed to call this kind “Gomokuzushi,” instead of “Gomokusushi.”

 As you see in Kanji, if you can read kanji, “gomoku” means “5 items.” Since this is a home cooking item, each household has its own recipe. In other words, each household use different ingredients for thier own “Gomokuzushi.” What matters most here is you are supposed to use 5 different colored ingredients For example, I use carrots (orange), eggs (yellow), chicken (tan), shiitake mushroom (brown), and snowpeas (green). Total number of ingredients is 5! Usually, Japanese adults prefer to have red ginger (red), which will be 6th color, or you can say the color of chicken and shiitake mushroom is very similar (brown), which counts red ginger as 5th color.  

 Anyway, you basically make vinegard rice (su: vinegar) while cooking all 5 ingredients separately, which are to be mixed together. One rule of thumb – Don’t start cooking from the scratch when you are hungry. It takes at least a couple of hours to get it done. Most important part of cooking “Gomokuzushi” is “mixing vinegared rice and 5 cooked ingredients.” If you are very hungry, you don’t have enough patience until you complete mixing all of them. You will end up with some part of sushi left “white (vinegared rice with no ingredients).” You ruined the whole process of “Art.” Awful!

 So, I’d suggest you start cooking rice right after you finish doing the dishes from lunch. By the time “Gomokuzushi” is done, you will be hungry enough to eat dinner! Enjoy!