is made from small fish caught nearby that are blended into a paste and then fried. It is a special product of

Uwajima 270px, Uwajma City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Uwajma city center 270px, Japan National Route 320 in Uwajma city center is a city located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 70,440 in 35429 households and a ...

in southern

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tok ...

. Jakoten has a long history, having been eaten since the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

History

According to the ''Jakoten Book'', jakoten was invented in 1614. Originally

Date Hidemune was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. He was the eldest son of Date Masamune, born in 1591 by Shinzo no Kata (a concubine). Coming of age while living with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he received a character from Hideyoshi's name and took ...

made his craftsman make steamed fish pastes in 1615.Yasuhiro Oka, ''Jakoten Book'' (Matsuyama: Ehime Shinbunsha, 2007) The craftsmen made steamed pastes of Uwajima fish. Hidemune was a ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' of Uwajima. He loved steamed fish pastes when he was in Sendai so he wanted to eat them in Ehime.

Process

Hotarujako, which are small white fish, are good for making jakoten. Hotarujako is the Japanese name for '' Acropoma japonicum'', a member of the bioluminescent fish family

Acropomatidae Acropomatidae is a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly known as lanternbellies. ''Acropoma'' species are notable for having light-emitting organs along their undersides. They are found in all temperate and tropical oceans, usually ...

, called glowbelly or lanternbelly in English. Hotarujako is also called haranbo in Uwajima. First, the heads,

viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...

and scales of the fish are removed. Then, the remaining parts are minced including the bones. Seasoning is added and the minced fish is ground into a paste. Next, it is shaped into rectangular patties by using a wood frame. The patties are fried for several minutes until they become brownish. The pieces of jakoten are now ready.

Eating

When jakoten is eaten, it should be broiled using a frying pan or

shichirin ] The ''shichirin'' (; , literally "seven wheels") is a small charcoal grill. Etymology ''Shichirin'' being a compound word made up of the characters 七 (''shichi'' or ''nana'', "seven") and 輪 (''rin'' or ''wa'', "wheel," "loop," or "rin ...

(portable clay stove). It should be eaten with soy sauce and grated

daikon Daikon or mooli, ''Raphanus sativus'' var. ''longipinnatus,'' is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, root. Originally native to continental East Asia, daikon is harvested and consumed ...

radish. Jakoten is used in

nimono is a simmered dish in Japanese cuisine. A nimono generally consists of a base ingredient simmered in ''shiru'' stock & seasoned with sake, soy sauce, and a small amount of sweetening. The nimono is simmered in the shiru over a period of time un ...

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

, salad, etc., and goes well with alcoholic drinks.

References

{{seafood Japanese cuisine Food paste