For visitors to Ehime Prefecture, we recommend you tasting the local specialty dish, “Tai-meshi”. Tai-meshi is a dish of rice cooked with a whole fresh sea bream and seasonings. Despite its simplicity, the dish is characterized by the depth of flavor and umami that seeps from the sea bream.
Ehime Prefecture, facing the Seto Inland Sea and the Uwa Sea, is abundant in fresh seafood. Especially, the sea bream caught in the prefecture is known for its high quality, which enhances the deliciousness of Tai-meshi. In Ehime Prefecture, you can enjoy Tai-meshi in restaurants and inns. Also, with the Tai-meshi ingredients are sold in local supermarkets and souvenir shops, so you can easily make Tai-meshi at home. These products are great as a souvenir from Ehime.
In addition to Tai-meshi, which is cooked with sea bream and rice, Ehime Prefecture also offers “Uwajima Tai-meshi,” which is eaten in raw sea bream. Uwajima City is in the southern part of Ehime Prefecture, and the Uwa Sea is a ria coast with complex inlets. Sea bream farming is thriving, and Ehime Prefecture boasts the highest production of sea bream in Japan. The sea breams raised in the nearby sea are very fresh and firm. This is why the sea breams on Tai-meshi in Uwajima City are eaten by sashimi.
Uwajima Tai-meshi, with sea bream sashimi marinated in sauce placed on hot rice, mixed with green onions, nori, and broth, is exquisite with its deliciousness spreading throughout your mouth. It is said to have originated when the Iyo Navy, based in the Uwa Sea of Ehime, began eating it on board. Be sure to savor the unique deliciousness of fresh sea bream.
There are also restaurants in Ehime Prefecture that offer a set of both types of Tai-meshi. Please compare the two types of Tai-meshi and taste the recomennded Ehime’s local dish.
Tai-meshi is not only delicious, but it also symbolizes the nature, culture, and lifestyle of Ehime. It embodies the Japanese food culture of valuing fresh ingredients and pursuing a simple yet deep flavor. When visiting Ehime, be sure to taste Tai-meshi and feel the blessings of Ehime’s rich sea along with its flavor.
