Fermented & preserved
Seguro Iwashi no Goma-zuke
Seguro Iwashi no Goma-zuke — sesame-cured anchovy from Kujukuri
Anchovies from the Kujukuri coast — among Japan's biggest catches — are salted, then packed with toasted sesame, ginger, and chili, a way of keeping a fish that spoils fast even when it's landed by the ton.
- Origin: Chiba Kujukuri
- About 60 km east of Tokyo
What it's made of
Anchovies landed at Kujukuri Beach are cured with sesame seeds, ginger, and red chili pepper into a preserved dish. Locally called "seguro" with affection, it pairs the distinctive aroma of a blue-backed fish with the nuttiness of sesame and a sharp chili kick, making it well suited as a companion to sake. It is a dish unique to a beach where fish riding the Kuroshio Current alongside bonito and mackerel are landed in bulk, and it is also enjoyed as an everyday side dish.
How it's made
Fresh anchovies are cleaned of heads and innards and rinsed, then salted and weighted down so excess moisture is repeatedly pressed out. Once the moisture has fully drained, roasted sesame seeds and red chili are added, and after several hours of curing and two to three days of resting, the sourness and heat settle into the fish and the dish is ready. The ratio of vinegar used varies by household or shop, and in recent years it has also been sold frozen.
Why it took this shape
Anchovies carried in by the Kuroshio Current were landed in huge quantities but spoiled quickly, so curing them in vinegar and salt is said to have taken root as a way to make the catch last. Fishermen who settled from the Kishu region during the Edo period are said to have spread beach seine fishing, which quickly made the catch far larger than could be used fresh, and this cured dish is said to have been carried on as a way to avoid wasting the surplus.
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
Also from Chiba
- Arirang RamenA soy ramen said to have started at a single restaurant on a mountain pass in Chiba's Nagara. Named, it's said, for the legendary Arirang Pass of Korean folklore, its soy broth carries the sweetness of onion and pork, layered with house-made chili oil and grated garlic for depth and heat.
- Barappa ManjuFreshly milled wheat dough is wrapped around red bean paste and steamed on a leaf of catbrier, called barappa locally — a bun said to be made in Chiba's Hokuso area when people gathered for summer festivals or Obon, each bringing ingredients to share.
- Rakkasei MisoPeanuts too small or misshapen to sell are stirred into miso and sugar and toasted into a pantry relish — said to have started as a way for farm households to use up peanuts the market wouldn't take, in leaner years.
- SumitsukareDaikon and carrot, coarsely grated with a rough-toothed oni-oroshi grater, are simmered with leftover setsubun soybeans and sake lees — said to have traveled from Tochigi into Chiba's Higashikatsushika area, offered to the local inari shrine on the year's first Day of the Horse before being eaten. Ibaraki and Saitama carry dishes of the same name.
- Yude RakkaseiFreshly dug peanuts, still in their shells, are boiled whole in salted water — a taste unique to the growing region, since raw peanuts start hardening the moment they're pulled from the ground and need to be boiled almost immediately.