Ikameshi (Rice-Stuffed Squid)
Quick answer
- Active time
- 115 min
- Waiting
- See the steps
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Inside each squid body, glutinous rice and chopped tentacles absorb a simmering liquid of kombu dashi, sake, and soy sauce and turn dense and chewy.
Read more
Every sliced round shows white rice framed by a ring of squid. The bodies are only partly filled because the rice swells as it cooks, and overfilled squid split.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Rinse 200g glutinous rice, soak it in plenty of water for 8 hours, then drain in a sieve for 20 minutes.
- 2
Remove the tentacles and innards from 4 squid and rinse the bodies thoroughly, keeping each tube intact for stuffing.
If buying cleaned squid, choose intact tubes with tentacles rather than sliced rings. Cut the tentacles into 5mm pieces, simmer them for 5 minutes with 100ml dashi and 12ml soy sauce, then cool.
- 3
Mix the drained rice with the cooked tentacles.
Fill each squid body only halfway to 60 percent full, then close the opening firmly with a toothpick.
- 4
Pour 30ml sake and the remaining 900ml dashi into a wide pot and arrange the squid in one layer.
When it begins to boil, reduce to low heat, leave the lid slightly ajar, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- 5
Add 15g sugar, the remaining 60ml soy sauce, and 1g salt, then turn the squid.
Simmer for 25 more minutes, basting halfway through, and confirm that the rice is fully tender.
- 6
Turn off the heat and rest the squid in the broth for 10 minutes.
Remove the toothpicks, slice into 2cm rounds, and serve with 20g pickled red ginger.
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
「北海道の味」（南部 あき子氏） · Checked: 2026-08-11
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