Kanpyo Maki (Pickled Gourd Roll)

Serve when

The second beat of the finale, right after the sea eel — a small, sweet roll to close the meal.

In the movie

Theatrical

01:01:44 Narration describes the tasting menu's structure: 'In the third movement, sea eel, kanpyo, and egg comprise a traditional finale.'

Kanpyo is the finale's quiet middle beat — sandwiched between the sea eel that opens the closing stretch and the sweet tamagoyaki that ends it. The narration groups all three together as the traditional close to Jiro's tasting menu, the "resolution," in the film's own concerto framing, after the improvisational middle movement of daily seasonal catches.

Ingredients

2 oz dried kanpyo (gourd strips)
Salt, for softening the kanpyo
1/2 cup dashi stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon mirin
3 cups cooked, seasoned sushi rice (shari)
2 sheets nori

Method

Rub the dried kanpyo strips with salt and knead briefly to soften, then rinse and soak in warm water until pliable.
Simmer the softened kanpyo in the dashi, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin until tender and deeply seasoned, about 20–25 minutes. Let it cool in the liquid.
Lay a sheet of nori shiny-side down on a bamboo mat, spread a thin, even layer of sushi rice over it, and lay strips of the seasoned kanpyo down the center.
Roll tightly using the mat, seal the edge with a few grains of rice, and slice into rounds with a wet knife.

Beyond the recipe

Watch & shop

Dried kanpyo (gourd strips)

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