There are many variations of Hitsumabushi ekiben available at Nagoya Station, and you can choose from a variety depending on your mood and hunger that day. Among them, we would like to introduce the Hitsumabushi Musubi + Tenmusu version wrapped in nori (seaweed). When you open the package, you will find five pieces of Hitsumabushi wrapped in nori, three with kabayaki visible and two with tenmusubi. There are no side dishes, just a simple configuration.
Let’s start with the kabayaki rolls. The combination of rice cooked with kabayaki sauce and kabayaki is matched by the flavor of nori (seaweed). The flavor is relatively light, and while it is of course delicious eaten as is, I personally preferred it sprinkled with the accompanying sansho (Japanese pepper). I thought the combination of the light taste, the flavor of sansho, and the seaweed was quite a good match.
Next was tenmusu. I bought this ekiben thinking that tenmusu = shrimp tempura, but when I tried it, I found that the tenmusu contained eel tempura. In other words, it was an ekiben where you could enjoy two kinds of eel rolls. But when I tried it, I realized that it was an ekiben in which I could enjoy two different kinds of unagi rolls.
I had two pieces, so I ate one as it was and the other with the attached green tea salt. The matcha salt went very well with the eel tempura, so I recommend this way of eating it.
The author sometimes wonders whether or not to use the soy sauce, sauce, pepper, and other condiments that come with ekiben, and if so, how much to use, but in this case, the two small sachets greatly enhanced the appeal of the bento.
The description of the Hitsumabushi musubi says, “First, eat it as it is,” “Second, eat it with condiments (sansho),” and “Third, eat it with ochazuke (rice with green tea),” which suggests that it is supposed to be taken home and eaten. Even so, Matsuura no Hitsumabushi Tenmusu, which is easy to eat in the train and offers a variety of simple flavors, was an ekiben with a strong sense of individuality among the many other Hitsumabushi ekiben available.
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