Rice is one of the world’s most important food crops. I do not know how about you, but most of the Asian people depend on rice for their food. I find there’s something interesting about rice in the Tohoku area, Japan, and I want to share with you the story of Inawashiro Rice, starts from how it is grown and how it is produced. Inawashiro itself is a town located in Yama District, Fukushima Prefecture, in northern Honshu, Japan. It’s the area where the rice is growing at 500 meters above sea level.
The rice is grown only by the authorized farmers, using guidelines that carried out by the municipal administration of Inawashiro. It explains why the result of the Inawashiro Rice is based on high-quality standards. As I read from the Tohoku Facebook page, Rice Inawashiro is a new type of rice developed through fifteen years of natural trials, with distinctive characteristics as regards to the greatness and the width of the Chicco itself, which makes it ideal for the preparation of the renowned Sushi.
As you can see in the above image, we can see the amazing rice field in Inawashiro and also one of the processes to produce the Inawashiro Rice. “Inawashiro Tenno-tsubu” literally means “grains of rice sent from heaven”. We can see it as a further demonstration of quality and the attention to the process of production that the Tohoku reserve to this important product.
Of course, rice quality is influenced by numerous factors and key to determining the price a grower will receive for the harvested crop, but I will not talk details about it. However, the Japanese people believe that Inawashiro Rice in Fukushima is perfect to make sushi and riceball, and do not hesitate to cook it as a Risotto, as in the Italian recipe. To find out more about Inawashiro Rice and Tohoku, please check out their Facebook Fan Page.
