Regional food and famous sweets of Shiga

Funazushi is Shiga's fermented nare-zushi: salt-cured crucian carp is layered with cooked rice and lactic-fermented. Unlike modern vinegared-rice...

Umoregi wraps smooth white-bean paste in soft gyuhi and coats the small piece with matcha blended into wasanbon sugar.

Okoko no jako-ni soaks and parboils over-aged salty or sour takuan, then simmers it again with dried fish, soy sauce, mirin and chilli. Okoko is a...

Koayu sansho-ni simmers small Lake Biwa ayu whole with soy, sugar, sake, mirin and aromatic sansho berries. The concentrated glaze balances the fish's...

Yakisaba somen simmers grilled mackerel in a sweet soy broth, then cooks somen in that broth until the noodles absorb most of it.

Hinona-zuke pickles the long, slender Hinona turnip native to Hino, Shiga, using salt, vinegar or rice bran.

Aka konnyaku is Omihachiman konnyaku colored vivid red-brown with food-grade ferric oxide. The color does not come from chili, so the plain product is...

Miidera Chikara Mochi from Miidera Chikara Mochi Honke places three soft white mochi pieces on each skewer, brushes them with a proprietary syrup and...

Ebi-mame simmers small Lake Biwa sujiebi with soybeans in sugar, soy, sake and mirin, sometimes with a little vinegar.

Kamo nabe in northern Shiga traditionally simmers winter wild mallard from Lake Biwa with leek, tofu and greens.

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Ubagamochi are tiny pieces of mochi made with Kusatsu rice, wrapped outside in smooth koshi-an and topped with a small white nerikiri made from white...