Gansu

gansufish cakeKurelocal snacksurimi

Hiroshima · Kure

34.2466°N, 132.6095°E

Gansu is a fish cake that has been breadcrumbed and deep fried. White fish surimi is worked with a lot of onion and chilli, pressed into a thin rectangle, coated in panko and fried in rapeseed oil, and it comes out somewhere between a fritter and a cutlet. It is eaten as a snack, with beer, in bento boxes and in school lunches.

The name is a joke about dialect. Hiroshima speech ends sentences with gansu, and the kamaboko makers of Kure chose it in the early Showa period because they wanted something that sounded local. The company that started it, Miyake Suisan of Kure, registered the name as a trademark and still makes it. You find it in supermarkets across western Hiroshima, Kure and Osakikamijima rather than in restaurants, which is the most honest thing about it.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Varies by retailer

Closed: Varies by retailer

Entrance Fee

¥100–300 per piece in supermarkets

Best Season

Year-round

Visit Duration

15 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Made in parts of western Hiroshima City, the Hiro district of Kure and Osakikamijima, and sold chiefly in local supermarkets, fish-cake shops and department store food halls rather than restaurants. Miyake Suisan in Hiro, Kure, originated it in the early Showa period and holds the trademark on the name. Shelf life is short — typically around a week. Some izakaya in Hiroshima serve it hot as a side dish.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Buy it in a supermarket.** This is not restaurant food. Any supermarket fish-cake counter in Hiroshima or Kure has it, usually next to the chikuwa. **Eat it the day you buy it.** Around a week of shelf life and it is much better fresh. Reheating in a toaster oven restores the crust. **The name is dialect.** Gansu is the Hiroshima sentence ending, chosen in the 1930s because the makers wanted something that sounded like home. There is nothing descriptive about it. **Onion and chilli are the signature.** Not just fish paste in breadcrumbs. The onion sweetness and the chilli edge are what make it a Hiroshima thing rather than a generic fried cake. **Some izakaya serve it hot.** Ask for it as a side dish. In a small Hiroshima bar it is a completely ordinary order and marks you as someone who has done their homework.

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