Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto)
Ehōmaki
Fat sushi roll with simmered mushrooms, omelette and cucumber — eaten whole
60 min·4 servings
Sakura denbu (pink fish flakes)
Cooked white fish, finely shredded, dry-roasted with sugar and salt and tinted pink, sweet, light and flaky.
Sakura denbu is a Japanese fish floss made from cooked white fish, usually cod or something similar, which is shredded, stirred dry in a pan with sugar, salt and often mirin, and tinted pink. It tastes distinctly sweet with only a faint fishiness, and the texture is dry, fine and almost cotton-like. It works less as a main ingredient than as a sweet accent and a touch of colour, for example in thick sushi rolls, on chirashi sushi or over rice in a bento box. It is sold in small bags or jars in well-stocked Asian shops, especially Japanese ones, or by mail order; once opened it keeps for a few weeks in the fridge.
Substitute:
There is no ready-made substitute, but it is easy to make: finely shred cooked white fish, stir it dry over low heat with sugar, a little salt and mirin, and tint it with a little beetroot juice, which comes very close to the original. Leaving it out mainly costs the colour and the sweet note; the dish still works.
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