Narutomaki

Narutomaki (鳴門巻き/なると巻き) or naruto (ナルト/なると) is a type of kamaboko, or cured fish surimi produced in Japan. Each cloud-shaped slice of naruto has a pink or red spiral pattern, which is meant to resemble the Naruto whirlpools in the Naruto Strait between Awaji Island and Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku Island in Japan.^[1]

Narutomaki

Narutomaki before slicing
Type	Kamaboko
Place of origin	Japan
Region or state	East Asia
Main ingredients	Surimi (ground fish)
Other information	Unicode emoji 🍥
Media: Narutomaki

Naruto is a common topping on Japanese noodles such as ramen and udon.^[2][1] In some regions of Japan, it is also used in oden and nimono.

Kamaboko has been known in Japan from at least 1115 CE; it spread among commoners during the Edo period (1600—1867).^[3] In 1823, steamed surimi with a spiral pattern was invented and named "naruto kamaboko", as opposed to "mushi kamaboko", which is now known as kamaboko proper.^[3] It became a common ingredient in ramen in the 20th century.^[4] In 1960s, hydrogen peroxide was used for bleaching the white surimi in commercially produced narutomaki, leading to public health concerns.^[5]

In the 21st century, narutomaki is usually made from frozen surimi.^[2] To make the pink spiral, a sheet of white surimi is covered with a thin layer of pink-coloured surimi and rolled up before steaming.^[4] In early versions of narutomaki, the spiral was made by putting a sheet of nori on top of white surimi.^[4] The city of Yaizu, Shizuoka is known for its production.^[6]

Narutomaki has its own emoji: 🍥 (U+1F365). The word is also used as a slang term for the at sign "@".^[7] Narutomaki also inspired the name of Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist of the Naruto manga series.^[8]

See also

• Food portal