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Food & Beverage

Japan's home of vegetarian sushi seeks global profile

Long before Beyond Meat craze, bamboo shoots, taro and ginger featured instead of fish

Unlike regular sushi, inaka sushi uses plant-based toppings and rice seasoned with both vinegar and yuzu citrus. (Photo from Kochi East Tourism Association's Facebook account)

KOCHI, Japan -- With the world quickly developing a taste for plant-based alternatives to everything from burgers to dumplings, one region in Japan wants everyone to know that it has made vegetarian sushi for ages.

Inaka sushi -- literally "countryside" sushi -- has been a staple at celebrations in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kochi for generations. Instead of fish, it features such vegetables as myoga ginger, bamboo shoots and taro stalks, many of which grow wild across the mountainous region.

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