Fermented & preserved
Ishiru
Noto's squid-and-fish fermented sauce
A fish sauce native to the Noto Peninsula, made mainly from squid innards on the inner-bay coast and from sardine or mackerel on the outer coast. Its year-plus fermentation technique is a registered Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and it is counted among Japan's three great fish sauces.
- Origin: Ishikawa Noto
- About 290 km northwest of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
A fish sauce made mainly from squid innards on Noto's inner-bay coast and from sardine or mackerel on the outer coast, with aroma and saltiness said to differ between the two areas. The longer it ages, the rounder its umami becomes, and used in the local dish ishiru-nabe, it layers with the broth from shellfish and vegetables into a complex depth of flavor.
How it's made
Squid innards or small fish are packed in salt and left to ferment and age for over a year. Breakdown proceeds slowly inside a wooden barrel or jar, and the liquid that results is strained off and used. Because the inner and outer coasts use different raw materials, even 'ishiru' from different districts can vary in aroma strength and saltiness.
Why it took this shape
It's said to have developed along the Noto Peninsula's coast as a way to use every part of the catch without waste. What each side of the peninsula happened to catch is thought to have directly shaped the difference in ingredients between the inner and outer coasts. Its year-plus fermentation technique is a registered Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and it is counted one of the fish sauces still made in Japan.
Dishes in the same style
- Achara ZukeWhite melon, eggplant, and lotus root are pickled in a sweet vinegar spiked with red chili — the name is said to trace to the Portuguese 'achar', carried in through Hakata Bay's old trade, and an odd number of vegetables is used for Obon hospitality.
- AhodakiOld takuan pickle, once its flavor and aroma have faded, is desalted and simmered again in soy sauce, a pantry staple from the Hokusei area. Its name — playfully self-deprecating, roughly "doing a foolish thing" — nods to eating it well past its prime, a frugal way to waste nothing.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Related lineage
- Ikanago shoyuA fish sauce fermented from sand lance and salt for six months or more, mainly produced in the Aji district of Takamatsu, Kagawa. It is said to have disappeared for a time before local volunteers revived production around 1998, and it is counted among Japan's three great fish sauces.
- ShottsuruA fish sauce made by fermenting local catch — chiefly hatahata (sailfin sandfish) — with salt for over a year. Home brewing is said to date back to the early Edo period, and it is counted among Japan's three great fish sauces, known above all as the seasoning behind the winter hot pot shottsuru-nabe.
Also from Ishikawa
- AimazeRoot vegetables from Noto's reddish soil are cut into thin strips and simmered with fried tofu — traditionally made ahead for New Year and other special days, with the choice of vegetables shifting from village to village.
- Beka NabeSardines pickled in rice bran are simmered with napa cabbage, mushrooms, and sake lees in this Noto winter hot pot, said to descend from a preservation method from before refrigeration — its name reputedly a nod to how commonly the cheap fish was eaten.
- Daikon-zushiA fermented sushi from the Kaga region layering daikon radish with dried herring in rice koji. Said to have taken root once herring carried by the Kitamae trading ships reached ordinary tables, it now sits alongside kaburazushi as a New Year staple.
- EbisuMelted agar is mixed with beaten egg, sugar, and soy sauce, then set — said to trace back to an egg-and-agar dish recorded in an Edo-period cookbook, nicknamed "berobero" for its glossy, slippery look, and served on festive occasions.
- Goshiki NamagashiFive kinds of mochi and buns, each representing sun, moon, mountain, sea, and village, are arranged in a lidded box — a Kanazawa wedding confection said to trace back to a gift prepared for a Kaga domain bride, still handed out as a return gift at celebrations.
- UFO RamenA bowl from Hakui, Ishikawa, a town known for its UFO-sighting lore, served under the local Hakui UFO Gourmet banner. Sushi shops and Western-style diners alike top a soy-based broth with saucer-shaped garnishes, each putting its own spin on the town's story.