Toyama Prefecture

[torakris]

any favorite regional foods from the Toyama area?

look here for some descriptions:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...07entry757107

[torakris]

how about masu no sushi, probably one of the most famous eki-ben (train station bento box) in Japan?

http://ekiben.or.tv/cb-toyama1.htm

masu is trout.

[Hiroyuki]

Oh, yes, I like it. In fact, I was thinking of posting about it after dinner.

I have a minor question: Which is correct, masu no sushi or masuzushi?

I did some google searches and found that masu no sushi seems to be a product name of Minamoto http://www.minamoto.co.jp/ . But I can never be sure. Suffice it to say that both masu no sushi and masuzushi are acceptable.

I think it's rather expensive like so many other ekiben. Don't you think so?

[torakris]

I always called it just masuzushi, but everything I was looking at was calling it masu no sushi, I thought I was wrong.... thanks for that info.

I normally buy it through my co-op, I just looked at the catalogue and they are selling it this week for 598 yen (for 330g), closer look at the fine print says it is made with fish from Norway and rice from Okayama prefecture

When they sell it in the stores around here it is normally over 1,000 yen....

[Hiroyuki]

When they sell it in the stores around here it is normally over 1,000 yen....

←

1,100 yen to be exact.

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/masunosusi/412021/422678/

The same goes for sasa dango. At souvenir shops, they are over 1,000 yen a pack (containing 10 pieces), but at local supermarkets here, they are about 680 (when on sale) to 780 yen.

[torakris]

.

I normally buy it through my co-op, I just looked at the catalogue and they are selling it this week for 598 yen (for 330g), closer look at the fine print says it is made with fish from Norway   and rice from Okayama prefecture

←

I bought it! and ate it!

[sk_ward]

I ate this in an izakaya in Tokyo rather than in Toyama, but I think that it's a Toyama specialty, so I decided to add it to this thread. Hotaru ika (firefly squid) is an acquired taste, I think! Maybe there are other ways to prepare it, but this particular dish was very salty and the squid was really slippery. I felt like if I wasn't careful, it would just slide right down my throat! It has been awhile since I took this picture, but I don't remember it being as chewy as other squid I've eaten. It went very well with beer, and despite it's different taste and feel, I was intrigued enough to go for seconds. I'm still not sure if I would ever order it on my own, though. Apparently in Toyama, you can go on boat sightseeing tours to see the hotaru ika lighting up. That would be neat to see!