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Kabura zushi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

  • Toyama Prefecture

    Kabura zushi

Kabura zushi

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  • Main lore areas

    Western part of the prefecture

  • Main ingredients used

    Turnip, yellowtail (and mackerel, etc.), carrot, amazake malt

  • History/origin/related events

    Kaburazushi is a type of narezushi with a perfect balance of sourness and flavor, made by cutting into salted turnips and sandwiching yellowtail or other fish between them, and slowly fermenting them with malt. It is a winter delicacy and an indispensable New Year's dish. It is a familiar local dish in Ishikawa Prefecture, where it has been passed down from generation to generation since the days of the Kaga Clan, but the western part of Toyama Prefecture was once part of the Kaga Clan and has many similarities with Kaga culture.
    There are various theories about the origin of the dish, but it is said that it was one of the dishes offered to the lord of the Maeda Clan when he visited Fukaya Onsen (Kanazawa City) for a hot-spring cure, or that it was first eaten by farmers who hid yellowtail, which was only available to samurai at the time, in a turnip so that it would not be found by farmers. The Tonami Plain, which straddles Tonami City and Nanto City, is famous as a production area of turnips, and the cultivation of turnips starts after rice cultivation is finished. Large turnips weighing more than 1 kg are harvested in late October every year. In addition to yellowtail, mackerel, salmon, and trout are also used in Toyama.

  • Opportunities and times of eating habits

    After the turnip harvest is completed, the making of "kaburazushi" (pickled turnip) begins in earnest at manufacturers and households around the end of November. The large turnips harvested in Toyama during this season are characterized by their freshness and concentrated sweetness due to the cold weather. It has long been served in many households as a special dish for New Year's Day. Kabura-zushi is a winter delicacy, but there is also daikon radish sushi, which can be enjoyed year-round, using daikon instead of turnips.

  • How to eat

    Peel the turnip thickly and use the soft part in the center; slice into round slices about 2 cm thick, cut a slit in the center, sprinkle with salt and leave overnight. Cut the mackerel into shaved pieces and place them between the salted turnips. Prepare a barrel and put amazake koji, turnips with mackerel, carrots, yuzu, and ginger slices alternately. After about two weeks of aging, the fish is ready to eat.

  • Efforts for Preservation and Succession

    Although fewer households are making kaburazushi by hand in recent years than in the past, the food culture itself is still passed down through the generations as various manufacturers sell kaburazushi in the winter. In addition, an increasing number of people give kabuzushi as gifts during the year-end and New Year's holidays. There are also efforts to pass on the local taste to the younger generation by offering hands-on Kabuzushi making workshops, and convenient Kabuzushi ingredients are also available for home cooks.

RECIPE

Ingredients (For 4 persons)

  • turnip 5 pieces
  • shime saba (pickled mackerel) 1
  • salt 3g
  • Rice malt 100g
  • Rice 1 gou
  • Carrot 1／2
  • ginger As needed
  • yuzu As needed

How to cook

  • 1. Cut turnips into 2 cm thick slices, cut a slit in the center, sprinkle with salt, and let sit overnight.

  • 2. Mix rice with rice malt and let sit overnight.

  • 3. Cut the shime saba into thin slices and place between the slices.
    Cut carrot, ginger and yuzu into thin strips.

  • 4. Arrange the rice malt, shime saba, carrot, ginger, and yuzu slices alternately in a vat, cover with a lid, and place a weight on top.

  • 5. Allow to mature for about 2 weeks.

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

Contact

Food Cultures Office, Overseas Market Development and Food Cultures Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel:+81-3-3502-5516

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