Shoyu-meshi (soy sauce rice)” has been a longtime favorite as a specialty ekiben at JR Matsuyama Station. Although it has been sold at Matsuyama Station since 1955, it disappeared for a time when Suzuki Bento, the company that manufactured it, ceased operations. However, Miyoshino Honten, an ekiben manufacturer in Okayama, took over the recipe and revived it. It is still sold today with the same old taste.
On the wrapping paper of the bento, the dialect of Ehime Prefecture, Iyo-ben, is introduced. I am from the neighboring Kagawa Prefecture, but I was a bit surprised at the difference in language, most of which I did not know.
When the wrapping paper is removed, the delicious contents are revealed. Shoyu-meshi is rice cooked with soy sauce flavor, and has been a popular local dish in Ehime Prefecture since long ago. In the ekiben, however, the shoyu-meshi itself is almost invisible, covered with a broiled egg and other delicious-looking ingredients. The colorful and appetizing appearance of the dish is also very appealing.
First of all, I stirred up the ingredients and tried the shoyu-meshi. It looks like ordinary takikomi-gohan, but it has a much stronger flavor of soy sauce and less sweetness, making it aptly named shoyu-meshi.
However, the impression changes dramatically when eaten with the ingredients laid on top of the soy sauce rice. When eaten with the broiled egg, which is quite sweetly seasoned, the flavor of the dark soy sauce is subdued, while the depth of flavor is enhanced, and the deliciousness of the dish is instantly enhanced.
Other ingredients include shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, wild vegetable stew, and chicken stew, all of which are relatively sweet in flavor and go well with the soy sauce rice, making the chopsticks go down a storm. It is no wonder that the soy-sauce rice is covered entirely with these ingredients.
Although it is a very simple ekiben, it is valuable as an ekiben that allows visitors to enjoy the local flavor of Ehime Prefecture. The fact that the traditional taste has been passed on to the next generation, even though the manufacturing company has changed, is also a very welcome aspect of this ekiben, and I hope they continue to sell it for many years to come.
© Source travel watch