Fermented & preserved
Kurozukuri
Kurozukuri — squid fermented in its own ink
Squid meat and liver are mixed with the squid's own ink and left to cure in the refrigerator — said to have once been presented to the shogunate by the Kaga domain's lord, and, compared with ordinary salted squid, milder in both fishiness and salt.
- Origin: Toyama Himi
- About 280 km northwest of Tokyo
What it's made of
A type of salted, fermented squid made by finely cutting squid flesh and curing it together with its own ink. The striking black sheen surprises many at first sight, but the taste carries little fishiness — the saltiness stays mellow, and the deeper it's chewed, the more a rich umami, drawn from glutamic acid, is said to seep through. Thicker and deeper than the common red version, it has long served as a favorite accompaniment to sake.
How it's made
The squid's body is skinned, salted, and left in the refrigerator overnight. The liver is salted on both sides too, drawing out moisture and easing any fishy edge. The body is sliced thin, the liver's contents pressed out and finely minced with a knife. Flesh and liver are mixed together, the ink stirred in, and the whole left to cure in the refrigerator — stirred once a day, it is said, so the flavor settles evenly.
Why it took this shape
Before refrigeration, curing the moisture-rich squid in salt together with its own organs is said to have developed as a way to keep it edible for longer. A coastal setting with easy access to fresh squid is thought to have shaped a dish that wastes nothing — flesh, liver, and ink all put to use — and its keeping quality is said to have made it a favorite alongside sake and a welcome gift as well.
Before you go
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
Contrast
- KobujimeSliced raw fish is sandwiched between sheets of kelp and left overnight — said to have begun as a way to draw out moisture and extend keeping time before refrigeration, most often with the marlin locally called "sasu," but also sea bream, white shrimp, or firefly squid.
- Ika to Satoimo no NimonoRings of squid and peeled taro are simmered slowly until the broth reduces — Toyama is said to land squid year-round, and pairing it with taro harvested in autumn and winter has made this a standard cold-season side dish.
Also from Toyama
- Bai no NimonoWhelks from the deep waters of Toyama Bay are simmered whole in their shells — said to appear at celebrations thanks to a play on words suggesting doubled good fortune, with smaller whelks simmered and larger ones eaten raw.
- BekkoMelted agar is seasoned with soy sauce and mirin, then set with egg trailed in like threads — its amber color flecked with egg said to resemble a tortoiseshell hair ornament, giving the dish its name; in the west of the prefecture it goes by "yubeshi" instead.
- BurishabuThin slices of yellowtail are swished briefly through kelp broth, said to cook only the surface while leaving the center rare — versions using Himi's branded winter yellowtail are considered a particularly luxurious cold-weather treat.
- Genge no MisoshiruEelpout, a deep-sea fish covered in a gelatinous layer, is cut into chunks and simmered into a miso soup — long treated as an unwanted bycatch of sweet shrimp fishing, its flavor has since been reappraised and spread beyond the fishing villages that first ate it.
- Himi UdonA hand-stretched udon developed in Himi, Toyama, in the mid-Edo period by adapting somen-making techniques from Wajima. It was once presented to the Kaga domain as tribute.
- Hoonko RyoriA catch-all term for the dishes served at houonko, the memorial gathering held on the death anniversary of Jodo Shinshu's founder — the season's better vegetables and wild greens are said to be set aside for it apart from everyday use, with the devout Gokayama area of Nanto known for hearty stews of dried greens and local tofu.