Japanese flying squid

The surumeika (Japanese flying squid) to bring out its umami and sweetness.

“Ika Itozukuri” is derived from the Aomori regional dish called “Ika no Sushi,” where the body of boiled surumeika is filled with squid legs, salt-pickled cabbage, carrots, pickled ginger, and other vegetables, creating a vinegar-pickled dish.

“Ika no Sushi” used to be made as a preserved food throughout various areas in Aomori Prefecture. However, around the 1980s, when the Ohata Fisheries Processing Cooperative started making ready-to-eat meals, the dish underwent a transformation.

The preparation evolved to include stuffing vegetables inside the squid, and the seasoning underwent improvements, gradually taking on its current form.