Seasonings of Hiroshima

On Kamikarikashima, seawater is poured over hondawara seaweed to concentrate it, then boiled down into salt. The method was reconstructed from archaeological findings, and the salt carries an umami that comes from the seaweed itself.

In town, meanwhile, it is okonomiyaki. The Hiroshima build stacks batter, cabbage, and noodles, and with that much on the griddle the sauce has to be thick enough to cling. Island salt on one shore, city sauce on the other: two separate tastes grew up on either side of the Seto Inland Sea.

• Moshio, seaweed salt made by an ancient method reconstructed from digs
• Layered okonomiyaki calls for a thicker sauce