Fried
Etsu no Nanban Zuke
Etsu no nanban zuke — a fried river fish found only at one estuary, marinated sweet and sour
Etsu — a fish found nowhere but the Chikugo River estuary — is fried and steeped in a sweet-and-sour marinade. Caught only during a short open season from May to July, it sets this dish apart from the more common mackerel or horse-mackerel version of nanban-zuke.
- Origin: Fukuoka Okawa
- About 910 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Etsu, a river anchovy said to be found nowhere else than the mouth of the Chikugo River flowing into the Ariake Sea, is prepared here in a sweet-and-sour marinade; the fish grows to about 30cm at maturity, and the young are said to stay in the river before moving into seawater. Its striking appearance has also earned it a nickname as a phantom fish, said to shudder its silvery scales as it expires once netted.
How it's made
Because it has many fine bones, it's finely scored with a knife before cooking. Young fish born that year are said to have softer bones, making them well suited to deep-frying, and the fish turns up in sashimi, salt-grilling, and this marinade alike. The fish is said to be delicate enough that a single leap once netted can be its last, and how finely it's scored is said to shape its texture.
Why it took this shape
Fishing is only permitted for a brief window from May to July when the fish swims upriver to spawn, making it a strictly seasonal catch. The fish is said to be sensitive to weather and water temperature, and fishermen reportedly head out en masse on warm days when a south wind blows. During the season, boat outings to watch the fishing and enjoy the fresh catch are said to be a cherished mark of summer.
Dishes in the same style
- Agemaki Yuba no NimonoFresh yuba sheets are layered, rolled into a log, sliced into rounds, and deep-fried before a slow simmer in a light broth — a Nikko dish built on the region's rippled yuba-making craft, served at New Year's and celebrations.
- Aji FryFilleted horse mackerel breaded in panko and fried. Chiba prefecture holds some of the richest mackerel fishing grounds in Japan, and frying is thought to have taken root as a quick way to eat regional brands like the oily 'golden aji' fresh.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Fukuoka
- 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.
- 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.