Grandma's Recipes 
岐阜県 
* Photo is for reference 三重県 ⛄ Winter
Japanese Grandma's Round Herring Sushi (Urume-Zushi)
This elegant sushi featuring salt-and-vinegar-cured round herring (urume iwashi) was the crown jewel of a Mie grandmother's New Year's feast. She would prepare dozens of these by hand to feed the entire extended family -- a labor of love from a master of Japanese home cooking and hospitality.
🧂 Ingredients
servings
* In traditional Japanese grandma cooking, measurements are approximate — think of them as guidelines rather than exact amounts.
| Main Ingredients | |
| Urume iwashi (round herring) | a whole lot |
| Rice | a full rice cooker |
| For the Herring | |
| Salt | a lot (Enough to coat all the fish) |
| Rice vinegar | pour it on generously |
| Ginger | some |
| For the Sushi Rice | |
| Kombu (dried kelp) | 1 piece (Place on rice while cooking) |
| Rice vinegar | pour it on generously |
| Sugar | some |
| Salt | she'd put loads in the pot |
👩🍳 Instructions
- 1
Wash the rice and cook in the rice cooker with slightly less water than usual, placing a piece of kombu on top.
💡 Slightly less water prevents the sushi rice from becoming mushy.
- 2
Open the round herring by hand, removing the guts and scales. Coat generously with salt and let sit, then drain the liquid. Marinate in a mixture of vinegar and ginger.
- 3
Transfer the cooked rice to a wooden sushi tub. Pour over the mixture of vinegar, sugar, and salt, and fold in using cutting motions while fanning to cool.
- 4
Once the sushi rice has cooled, form small balls of rice and top each with a drained piece of vinegar-cured herring, wrapping it gently over the rice.
📖 Memories & Stories
Grandma was a great cook who loved making sushi and entertaining people. When the whole family gathered for New Year's, she'd be in the kitchen from early morning making enormous amounts of food from mountains of ingredients. Among everything, the round herring sushi was my absolute favorite -- the way the salt and vinegar firmed up the flesh with a slightly strong sour-salty punch paired perfectly with the sweet sushi rice. Even as a child, it was my top sushi.
Source: Learned directly from grandmaHeard from family members (Submitted by: 麻弥)
🍽 Cultural Background
Round herring (urume iwashi) gets its name from its large, moist-looking eyes ('urumu' meaning to well up). As a fish caught along the Pacific coast including Mie Prefecture, it spoils quickly, so salt-and-vinegar curing is a traditional preservation technique from coastal fishing towns. Serving homemade fish sushi at New Year's is a tradition that reflects gratitude for the ocean's bounty.
