Mehari-zushi, Takana-Wrapped Rice Balls
Quick answer
- Total time
- 90 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 3 servings
- Ingredients
- 6
About this dish
Salt-pickled takana mustard leaves wrap each large rice ball completely, and every bite brings the salty leaf and soy-seasoned rice together.
Read more
In southern Wakayama these were a portable meal for forestry workers in the mountains and fishers at sea, easy to hold because of the leaf wrapper. Several explanations for the name survive: the mouth opening wide for a big bite, eyes widening at the taste, or the rice sealed with no gaps. Even the thick stems are used, chopped, seasoned, and mixed into the rice.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Rinse 300g short-grain rice until the water runs mostly clear and drain for 10 minutes.
Combine with 420ml cooking water, soak for 20 minutes, and cook using the standard white-rice setting or method.
- 2
Open 5 salt-pickled takana leaves and separate the broad leaves from the thick stems.
Give the leaves one quick cold-water rinse, press them dry between clean towels, and finely cut the stems into 5mm pieces.
- 3
Mix 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 0.5 teaspoon mirin, and 2 tablespoons rice vinegar.
Stir 1 tablespoon of this seasoning into the chopped stems and rest for 5 minutes; pour the remainder onto a wide plate and moisten both sides of the leaves.
- 4
Rest the cooked rice for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wide bowl.
Add the seasoned takana stems with their liquid, fold with a rice paddle for 1 minute, and cool for 10 minutes until comfortable to handle.
- 5
Divide the rice into 5 portions and shape large oval rice balls with damp hands.
Place each on a takana leaf, fold in the sides and ends, and enclose the rice with no gaps. Rest seam-side down for 5 minutes before serving.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
Checked: 2026-08-11
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