Harako Meshi (はらこ飯) is a local salmon and rice dish from Miyagi Prefecture (Tohoku Region).

It consists of cooked salmon, and salmon roe served over rice.

“Harako” (はらこ) means fish eggs (i.e. roe); “meshi” (飯） simply means “rice” or “meal” in Japanese.

Read on for more interesting info about harako meshi:

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Ingredients

harako meshi salmon and roe — All you need is salmon, salmon roe, and rice

The main ingredients of harako meshi are:

Rice
Salmon
Salmon roe

Soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake are typical seasoning ingredients.

The rice is sometimes cooked in a salmon broth (instead of just plain water).

One important note is that the salmon fillets must be cooked. If raw salmon is used (i.e. salmon sashimi), then the dish would be referred to as “sake ikura don” (鮭いくら丼).

Location

watari town miyagi — Watari Town in Miyagi — best known for harako meshi

Harako meshi is a local dish of Miyagi Prefecture, which is famous for its wild salmon.

The dish is popular all across the region, and is commonly sold as an ekiben (i.e. lunchbox bought at the train station) at major train stations.

The original harako meshi is said to be from Watari Town, where it has been eaten since ancient times. See below for more about its interesting history:

History / Origin of Harako Meshi

Harako Meshi is originally from Watari Town, which was a major salmon fishing spot located at the mouth of the Abukuma River. The dish has been eaten since ancient times in Watari, and was originally created by local fishermen who ate it after celebrating a large catch.

One day, during the Edo period, the famous lord of the time called Date Masamune visited the town. He was presented with a dish of harako meshi by the locals, and absolutely loved it. After returning home, he continued to praise the dish to his friends/followers/colleagues, and its popularity grew from there.

Fun fact: Date Masamune was reportedly a “foodie”. He is also the founder of modern day city of Sendai.

Harako Meshi Recipe

Harako Meshi is not TOO difficult to make. If you’re outside of Japan, the hardest part would probably just be finding some salmon roe to use

If you can, I would also suggest buying salmon roe that is already prepared/seasoned/marinated (i.e. いくらの醤油漬け). This will save you a lot of time.

If you are in Japan, you can buy prepared salmon roe at the supermarket or online.

Here’s a simple recipe to follow below from Kurashiru: