ZAKKO CLUB
TAKO (OCTOPUS)
Long time ago, fishermen in Ijika were fishing octopus by using 'octopus pot'.
But now, they use large net baskets to get octopus. Fishermen in Ijika don't catch fish in summer because high temperature makes fish get bad faster than winter. But since octopus is quite a tough creature, it will be the only target and an important source of income for fishermen in summer here.
Locally, people enjoy eating octopus in a simple way. They boil octopus, slice it, and mix it with sweet vinegar with sugar and ground-up sesame seeds to eat.
When you have little appetite on a hot summer day, this simple dish will be your saver.
Tako Meshi
Octopus which are caught in
this area is tender and juicy.
'Tako Meshi' means
'octopus cooked with rice'.
It's easy and tasty!
Ingredients
2-3 octopus legs
300g uncooked rice
1/3 ginger, peeled and thinly shredded
1/2 carrot, peeled and thinly shredded
*seasonings*
20g dried kombu kelp
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
1. Cover uncooked rice in cold water and wash it thoroughly by rubbing between your hands until the water is quite clowdy. Drain and repeat the process 4-5 times.
2. Put octopus legs into boiling water, and blanch them for 5 minutes. Remove from water, and when cool enough to handle, cut octopus legs into bite-sized chunks.
3. Put all ingredients and seasonings into rice cooker, and add water until it reaches mark of "2" of "white rice".
4. Press "start". Rice will be cooked automatically.
5. When rice cooker finished cooking, stir the rice gently, and serve.