title: Hokuriku Tales vol.3

Summary

A book of five stories about Fukui, Ishikawa and Toyama with useful data vol.3

Kurozukuri literally means blackIshiru-no-Kai-yaki is a blessing fromthe natural beauty of Notocommon. There is no squid fishing town in Japan that does notproduce squid Shiokara. Toyama, however, has produced arather unique squid Shiokara called Kurozukuri.As the name suggests (“kuro”means black), it is a blackShiokara because it has squid sepia in it. It is prepared more orless in the same manner as standard squid Shiokara. Pretreatedsquid skin (meat) and viscera are mixed with sepia, and themixture is left to ferment for about a week. The squid sepiacontains umami components such as glutamic acid and aminoacid. Accordingly, Kurozumi provides a more profound richnessthan common squid Shiokara, which attracts a number ofKurozumi enthusiasts. One bite, and you will be able to feel thegorgeous flavor of fully-matured umami fill your mouth, fromquality squid. Watch out, it is“addictive.”The natural wealth ofthe Japan Sea and the wisdom of our ancestors have workedtogether to bring about this blessing.Another fermented food that has the honorable reputation asone of the three exquisite delicacies of Japan is Konowata, thesalted intestines of sea cucumber. Nanao Bay on the NotoPeninsula in Ishikawa hosts a good number of sea cucumbersand the area is famous for Konowata production. The intestinesof sea cucumbers that are caught in winter are taken outcarefully. They are washed thoroughly until the sand is removedand are then salted and left to ferment for about one week.Konowata thus produced is a mouth-watering delicacy for sakelovers, as the salty air of the sea that brings Konowata luresthem to ask for another cup.And that’s not all. Gyosho (fish sauce) is a seasoning made bythe fermentation of fish. While you may have heard of Shottsurufrom Akita and NAMPLA from Thailand, the fish sauceHokuriku is proud of is Ishiri from Noto. Squid guts or fish suchas sardine or mackerel are salted and are left to ferment forabout nine months to make the sauce. The local people tend tocall it Ishiri or Ishiru if squid guts are used and Yoshiru if fish isthe raw material, but the distinction is not necessarily clear.According to a study, the umami components contained in Ishiriare twice as strong as those of standard soya sauce. Ishiri adds adeep taste to dishes. One typical dish for which Ishiri is famous is Ishiru-no-Kaiyaki(shell baked with Ishiru sauce), that is, fish and other seafood placed on alarge seashell with mushrooms and cooked over an open fire. Ishiri is howevernot reserved to such local fancy dishes. Many people use it in their normal mealsof curry rice or fried rice. More recently, some use it in the cooking of Italian orFrench foods. Its uses are unlimited.Blowfish ovaries, an amazing food that detoxifiesOvaries with roes are toxic organs in blowfish, but you can enjoy them thanksto the magic of fermentation here in Hokuriku. In fact, Fugu-no-Ko-no-Nukazuke(rice bran paste-based salted blowfish roe) has almost no parallel among thefermented foods of the entire world. It is the ultimate fermented food involvingsalt, rice bran paste and Ishiri all at work together. Microorganisms areconsidered to detoxify the blowfish organ in the course of fermentation, althoughthe detoxification mechanism has not been clearly understood. This delicacy is22 Hokuriku Tales vol.3