Nasu no Hana-zushi
Quick answer
- Active time
- 95 min
- Waiting
- See the steps
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 12 servings
- Ingredients
- 10
About this dish
Halved eggplants layered with sweetened sticky rice, yellow chrysanthemum petals and sliced red chili show stripes of yellow and red when cut.
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In southern Akita it has long been set out at New Year and on celebration tables, and it is called sushi because the pickle is built on rice, not fish. Sugar, salt and sake are mixed into the rice, which becomes the pickling bed: the eggplant comes out more sweet than salty, with soft rice clinging to it. Alum, chrysanthemum and bamboo leaves all have to be food-grade, with no decorative flowers or unidentified leaves. The container stays at 4°C the whole time, and any mold or rotten smell means it is not eaten.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Rinse 150g glutinous rice until the water runs mostly clear, soak for 30 minutes, and drain for 10 minutes.
Combine with 210ml cooking water and cook fully using a standard white-rice setting.
- 2
Spread the cooked rice in a wide clean container and cool for 10 minutes.
While still warm, mix in 175g sugar and 60g salt for 2 minutes. Cool completely for 30 minutes, then mix in 50ml sake.
- 3
Wash and dry 1000g eggplants completely, then divide 1 teaspoon food-grade alum among them and rub each surface.
Trim the stem and base thinly and halve lengthwise. Wash and thoroughly dry 100g edible chrysanthemum petals and 12 food-safe bamboo leaves; cut 5 dried chilies into 3mm rings.
- 4
Pack one tight layer of eggplant into a sanitized, completely dry 3L container, alternating cut sides up and down.
Spread part of the cooled rice over it and scatter chrysanthemum petals and chili. Repeat in the same order until all the eggplant, rice, chrysanthemum petals, and chili are used.
- 5
Cover the top completely with bamboo leaves and add a clean pressing plate and a 1kg weight.
Cover and cure in a 4°C refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. When the eggplant is seasoned through and the rice clings softly, remove with clean tongs and serve cold.
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
『あきた郷味風土記』（秋田県農山漁村生活研究グループ協議会） · Checked: 2026-08-11
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