Is Japanese canned sushi everything we ever dreamed of? We try it out

Of all the things that can be canned, is canning sushi worth it?

When it comes to canning things, Japan has it down. There are beautiful canned cakes, delicious canned curry, and even questionable canned railway stones. So when our resident foodie, and fan of all things canned, Mr. Sato found out that Japanese company Shugei had a line of what they call Sharican Canned Sushi, he had to try it out.

▼ He picked them up at a department store in Ikebukuro.

The three flavors of Sharican Canned Sushi that Mr. Sato picked out were mackerel (saba), eel (unagi), and Tajima beef (beef from Japan’s Kobe Prefecture). Each can cost him 1,100 yen (US$9.67) for a total of 3,300 yen.

He was curious about what the sushi would be like. Would it be the common nigiri sushi where the topping is placed on a block of rice, or would it be in a roll, like maki sushi? He had a hard time picturing either version in canned form.

▼ Mr. Sato started with the eel sushi. He carefully peeled back the aluminum tab, and…

▼ Ta-da!

It was…not like sushi! He was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t in nigiri sushi form like he’d hoped. On the other hand, it looked slightly more appetizing this way.

▼ And when he opened the mackerel sushi can, it was the same deal.

Last up was the beef one. Beef sushi isn’t the most common menu item, to be fair, but still…

▼ …isn’t this more like a beef bowl than sushi?

Mr. Sato lined them up and pieced his thoughts together. “These look more like takikomi gohan (cooked rice with different ingredients mixed in) than sushi”, he concluded.

Perhaps the flavor could help redeem the product’s name? When Mr. Sato took a bite, he found the sushi rice became sweeter and sweeter the more he chewed it.

▼ Similar to normal sushi rice? Not really, to be honest.

Coupled with the fact that the eel was cut into small pieces, he thought it tasted as much like takikomi gohan as it looked.

▼ But hey, it’s still good, especially the mackerel one!

He felt that especially with the beef one, to the point where he completely forgot it was supposed to be canned sushi.

▼ “Mmm, beef bowl…wait.”

So, was it worth the purchase? If you’re looking for actual canned sushi, absolutely not. But Mr. Sato would definitely recommend this to people who like trying strange canned foods or people who want to try a canned version of takikomi gohan. Either way, it’s back to the canned beef bowls for him.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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