Fried ── Fried dishes
Kogyo no Tempura
Kogyo no tempura — tempura of Lake Biwa's small native fish
Small fish native to Lake Biwa — koayu, isaza goby, or smelt — are battered and deep-fried. Because each fish has a different season, some combination is available almost year-round, and freshly fried, the fish loses the aroma freshwater fish are sometimes known for.
- Origin: Shiga
- About 360 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Kogyo no tempura is small lake fish, including koayu, isaza, and pond smelt, fried tempura-style. Freshly fried lake fish reportedly loses any fishy smell and tastes especially good. Koayu is a small ayu only about seven centimeters long with a tender bite, isaza has a distinctive flavor, and pond smelt is said to be a fish that took up residence in Lake Biwa only later, each bringing something different to the tempura plate, making it a Shiga staple.
How it's made
Koayu are washed, drained, and salted. Egg is beaten well with cold water, sifted flour is worked in, and more egg mixture is added to make the tempura batter. Oil is heated, and the koayu, first dusted with potato starch, are then coated in batter and fried. Freshwater shrimp are reportedly prepared the same way, either as individual tempura or mixed into a fritter, and the dish is said to be best eaten straight out of the oil.
Why it took this shape
Koayu run from around May through early August, isaza from September through April mainly in the deep waters of the Hokubu area, and pond smelt from late November through late January, so with each lake fish in season at a different time, tempura made from them is said to be enjoyable across nearly the whole year. Exactly why pond smelt, not originally found in Lake Biwa, began to establish itself there isn't clear, but catches are said to have grown since.
Before you go
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 Shiga
- Aka Konnyaku NiKonjac dyed reddish with iron oxide, a specialty of Omi-Hachiman, is pan-simmered with bonito flakes and soy sauce. The color holds even after cooking, and the dish is a fixture at ceremonial meals and school lunches alike.
- Amenoio GohanA whole Lake Biwa trout, migrating upstream to spawn, is set atop rice and cooked together; "amenoio" means "rain fish," a name tied to the trout's autumn run after rainfall. The flesh and roe are flaked and mixed through the rice, traditionally made in large pots for gatherings.
- Biwamasu SashimiBiwamasu, a trout found only in Lake Biwa, is filleted and served raw as sashimi. The fish grows richest from early to midsummer and is prized locally as "the jewel of Lake Biwa" — a fish so scarce that it rarely reaches markets beyond the lakeshore.
- Chojifu no Karashi AeChojifu, a square baked wheat gluten unique to Shiga, is paired with cucumber and dressed in mustard-miso vinegar. The gluten also appears in Buddhist vegetarian meals, and its chewy texture with a refreshing tang makes the dish a staple at family gatherings.
- Dongame JiruEggplant scored with a crosshatch pattern is simmered in dashi, then finished with miso and ground sesame. Said to originate in the merchant town of Gokasho, the name compares the muddy look of the sesame in the broth and the eggplant's scored skin to a turtle's shell.
- Ebi MameFreshwater shrimp from Lake Biwa are simmered sweet-savory with soybeans. Inexpensive and long-keeping, the dish is eaten as everyday fare, but is also served at New Year's with a wish for long life — that one might live, like the bent-backed shrimp, into old age.