Fermented & preserved
Nosaba
Nousaba — sun-dried shark cured in a New Year marinade
Star-spotted smooth-hound shark is opened up, sun-dried for weeks, then steeped in a seasoned marinade before New Year — said to have once stood in for herring roe when it was scarce, and still known in Kanezaki as 'Kanezaki herring roe'.
- Origin: Fukuoka Munakata
- About 870 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Star spotted dogfish is sun-dried and then steeped in a seasoned liquid; the fish is locally called nousaba, distinguished by star-like white spots on its back, and its meat is considered relatively mild for a shark. It's been cherished in an area known as a landing port for wild pufferfish, and its local name is said to derive from a fishing-line term slurred together with a word for shark.
How it's made
The dogfish is gutted, hung on a string, and left to dry for several weeks in cold, dry wind. Before eating, it's soaked in hot water to soften, scrubbed with a metal scourer to work the tough skin, and then steeped in a seasoned liquid, with the soaking time and seasoning said to vary by household taste. Once the skin turns smooth to the touch, it's cut into easy-to-eat pieces, the drying process itself said to extend how long it keeps.
Why it took this shape
When herring roe for New Year's osechi wasn't available, it's said locals steeped this fish in the same seasoning liquid meant for the roe instead, which is how it picked up an alternate name tied to that dish. It's thought to have become a local food because it's often caught in the same nets used to land pufferfish, and rows of it drying along the coast ahead of year-end preparations are described as a mark of winter.
Before You Go
- Osechi and zoni for the New YearA guide to the meaning behind osechi's tiered boxes, the regional differences in zoni (square vs. round mochi, clear vs. miso broth), and the nanakusa-gayu custom.
- Setsubun: ehomaki and lucky beansA guide to ehomaki, the uncut sushi roll said to be eaten facing a lucky direction on Setsubun, and to mamemaki, the bean-throwing custom with roasted lucky beans.
- Food for Hinamatsuri and Tango no SekkuA guide to the chirashi sushi and hina-arare eaten at Hinamatsuri, and the kashiwa mochi and chimaki eaten at Tango no Sekku — festivals wishing for children's healthy growth.
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
- Tohei NabeBones from a giant conger eel called touhei flavor a miso broth for cabbage and other vegetables — said to have begun when fishermen potted a fish too bony to sell, and now kept alive only on Oshima island off Munakata.
- Abutte KamoSmall damselfish are salted overnight, then grilled whole, scales and innards left on — a bony fish often passed over elsewhere, but said to have caught on in Hakata Bay after a Meiji-era glut led someone to salt and grill the excess.
Also from Fukuoka
- 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.
- Amagi no KawatakeA rare wild freshwater algae, found only in the Kogane River in Asakura, is dressed with sweet or three-flavor vinegar — said to have once been presented to the shogun, and now conservation efforts continue as it's listed as endangered.
- Beta MochiWheat dough is flattened, steamed, and topped with soybean flour or sweet red bean paste — named, it's said, for its resemblance to a flat local sole called 'beta', and tied to the feast marking the end of rice planting.
- Kabocha no Dango JiruA giant local pumpkin from Buzen's Mikkado district is simmered soft, then torn wheat dumplings are dropped in — the pumpkin, said to trace some 450 years back to Portuguese traders, was once a lifeline in leaner years.
- ChanraaA noodle dish said to have started at a diner in Moji, Kitakyushu. Chanpon-style noodles go into a Japanese dried-sardine broth closer to udon than to the original pork-and-seafood soup, devised, it's said, for a student who wanted Nagasaki champon but couldn't afford it.