I love the smell of beef sushi in the morning – it smells like victory.

The Japanese holiday of Setsubun is once again around the corner. It’s a traditional festival full of fun activities like scaring small children and eating beans thrown to you by Robocop. But by far, my favorite things are the ehomaki sushi rolls that come out for one day only.

There are a wide variety of sushi rolls sold and in my many years in Japan, I have yet to eat one that wasn’t spectacular. It seems that stores and other establishments all over Japan are in a sushi arms race to make even more decedent and elaborate ones too.

In that spirit, Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu is preparing a truly beefy ehomaki that contains a 150-gram (5.3-ounce) cut of slow-cooked sirloin beef rolled up in rice seasoned with sweet & sour ginger, mibuna greens from Kyoto, and yuzu kosho citrus pepper paste, all covered in a sheet of seaweed.

Perhaps the only thing higher than the calorie count of this beast is the amount of wordplay that goes into it. First off, the palindromic name of the vendor, Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu is made up of the word “gyu” for cattle or beef and “katsu” which can mean both “cutlet” and the verb “to win” so the business’s name is essentially “Beef Cutlet Kyoto Winning Beef.”

▼ It’s hard to argue with that name.

That particular sushi roll is also called a Katsumaki which again has the double meaning of a “cutlet roll” and a “winning role.” This is in comparison to an ehomaki whose name means “lucky roll” because winners make their own luck.

The package also has a space on the label where you can write a message of support and give the Katsumaki to anyone taking an exam, about to play in a pivotal sporting match, or struggling to decide which ehomaki to choose this year. The space is shaped like a wooden ema plaque that people write their wishes on and hang at shrines for good luck. 

One Katsumaki will sell for 1,690 yen (US$11) but is only available by reservation either at your local store or online before 28 January. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be offered at their international locations in countries like Korea, Indonesia, and Canada.

But for those of us in Japan, the field of ehomaki choices may be a vast one but you’d do well to choose a Katsumaki from Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu. It’s literally a win-win proposition.

Source: Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu, PR Times
Images: PR Times
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