Japanese Food Tips

Sukeroku sushi is a package of two types of sushi - rolled maki slices and inari sushi. (In Japanese sukeroku sushi, maki sushi and inari sushi are pronounced sukeroku-zushi maki-zushi and inari-zushi.) Recently, maki sushi is often made by spreading sushi rice seasoned with vinegar and sugar on a sheet of nori (seaweed) and rolling it up after placing ingredients on the top. The ingredients are usually cucumber, egg and simmered dried gourd strips (kanpyou). In very traditional maki sushi, only kanpyou is used. Inari sushi is deep-fried tofu (age) pouches cooked in sweetened soy sauce and filled with sushi rice. It is said that the name sukeroku-zushi came to be used in the middle of the Edo period (1603-1868). At the time, ordinances were issued in Edo prohibiting extravagance, and inexpensive inari sushi and maki sushi were popular instead of nigiri sushi, which is made with seafood. Eventually, sushi packages were introduced that combined these two items. The name "age-maki" came from the combination of "age" meaning deep-fried tofu and "maki" meaning rolled sushi. The reason why it is called sukeroku-zushi is because Sukeroku is one of the most popular classic Kabuki plays of the Edo period (1603-1868). The name "Sukeroku" comes from a story called "Sukeroku Yukari no Edozakura," in which the main male character, Sukeroku, falls in love with a woman named Agemaki. So, the name sukeroku-zushi came to be because it contains both age-zushi and maki-zushi. Sukeroku-zushi can also be enjoyed by those who cannot eat seafood. If you are interested, you can buy it at Japanese supermarkets or sushi specialty stores, or please try our recipe site for age-zushi and maki-zushi.