Kanpyo-maki ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

1. Boil the dried bottle gourd. Wash the dried bottle gourd in plenty of water and rub with salt. Let stand for 10 minutes, then boil for 10 minutes.

2. In a pot, add water, sake, sugar, soy sauce, and mirin. Simmer the gourd over low heat. When the liquid has evaporated, remove from the pan.

3. Make the vinegared rice. Add the sushi vinegar to 2 cups of freshly cooked, rather firm white rice. Using a rice scoop, stir the rice in a cutting motion. When each grain is shiny and the sushi vinegar has been absorbed, cool it to body temperature with an uchiwa fan.

4. Spread out the sushi mat, top with the nori cut in half, and spread the sushi rice evenly, leaving about 2 cm of the top.

5. Line up two pieces of kanpyo slightly above the center of the rice. Lift them all the way up to the other end of the sushi rice (the blank part of the seaweed). Roll it over the sushi roll. While holding down the bottom part of the sushi roll, use your other hand to pull the sushi roll along with the mat towards you. Tighten the roll to make it complete.