SUSHIKO

It is a local dish that has been eaten especially in the Northwest region on the Sea of Japan side of the Tsugaru region. It is a very unusual and unique dish that should be called “rice pickles,” so to speak, is made by steaming glutinous rice and lactic fermentation in combination with red shiso, cabbage, and old pickled cucumbers. The northeastern region of the Tsugaru region is a rice cultivation that was cultivated on a large scale during the Edo period, and it is said that any household marinated it in one to make it a side dish of rice as a preserved food during the winter. Also, I took it to the rice field when I needed physical strength, and ate it in between to add strength recovery. It is also called “red rice.”
It is made by adding lightly pickled red shiso, cucumber and cabbage to steamed glutinous rice and fermented with lactic acid. The color of red shiso is vivid and has a refreshing taste.
It is said that in the past, it was soaked in a barrel and eaten every day during rice harvesting and farming times that required physical strength, and strived to restore physical strength.