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Tennen Hoya no Sunomono ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

  • Iwate Prefecture

    Tennen Hoya no Sunomono

Tennen Hoya no Sunomono

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  • Main lore areas

    Sanriku Coast Area

  • Main ingredients used

    "Hoya" (=Sea squirt), Cucumber, Salt

  • History/origin/related events

    "Hoya" (=Sea Squirt) is called ‘Pineapple in the sea’, and is known as a food contains all five tastes; sweetness, sourness, saltiness, "umami" (=savoriness) and bitterness. It also contains plenty of nutrients like taurine, glycogen, zinc, vitamin E or vitamin B12. It is characteristic as well that it gets smelly and harsh taste when it is not fresh. It takes 3~4 years to grow. Its best season is summer, but from December to January, season for bearing eggs, is also great. People are aquafarming sea squirt in Iwate Prefecture, but nature sea squirts live at the bottom of the sea, 20~30m of depth, so the special technique is required to catch them. There is a diving technique called "Nambu Moguri", invented in Hirono Town (old Taneichi Town), located northern Sanriku Coast, more than 100years ago, and the divers used this technique to catch natural sea squirt one by one. That’s why natural sea squirt is very precious.

  • Opportunities and times of eating habits

    It is served mainly from May to August, the season of "Hoya" catching.

  • How to eat

    Remove shell and guts from "hoya" and cut into bite-size. Marinate with Nihai-zu (soy sauce and vinegar dressing) with cucumber and salt. As "hoya" has its unique flavor, vinegar salad is commonly popular. Natural one has richer flavor, and it’s also good to grill or to cook with rice.

  • Efforts for Preservation and Succession

    (Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches to commercialization)
    Natural "hoya" is rarely available in the market because it’s very precious. "Nambu Moguri" diving technique is required to catch natural one. This technique, involves wearing a thick helmet and diving suits can still be learnt at Taneichi Prefectural High School.

RECIPE

Ingredients (Easy-to-cook servings)

  • Hoya (=Sea Squirt) with shell 2
  • Cucumber 1
  • Nihai-zu (soy sauce and vinegar dressing) As needed
  • Salt A little

How to cook

  • 1. Remove shell and guts from "hoya", and cut into bite-size.

  • 2. Roll cucumber with salt on a cutting board, then finely chop it. Sprinkle salt over it.

  • 3. Place 1 and 2 in a small bowl. Add "Nihai-zu" (soy sauce and vinegar dressing) over it.

provider : Local Cuisine Researcher Sueko Umetsu

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

Contact

Food Cultures Office, Overseas Market Development and Food Cultures Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel:+81-3-3502-5516

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Address : 1-2-1,Kasumigaseki,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo 100-8950,Japan.

TEL : 03-3502-8111

Enterprise identification number : 5000012080001

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