【Reading】このしろすし

【English Name】Konoshiro-sushi

Konoshiro-zushi, handed down for generations in Kumihama-cho, Kyotango City, Kyoto Prefecture, is a regional dish classified as sugata-zushi (whole-fish sushi). Its outstanding individuality is that it uses a whole konoshiro (gizzard shad) of 20–25 cm in total length, and instead of ordinary vinegared rice, it fills the inside with unohana, i.e., okara (soybean pulp).

As for the cooking flow, first a fatty konoshiro is opened from the back (sebiraki) and cured with vinegar and salt. Meanwhile, to okara finished in a sweet-vinegar style by adding sugar, mirin, and vinegar, onomi (i.e., hemp seeds) and yuzu peel are added, and this is packed generously into the konoshiro and shaped. Each fish is wrapped individually, placed in a cool dark place, and once the flavor has permeated throughout, it is divided into 4–5 slices to serve.

Originally it was a preserved food of each household timed to the winter season when konoshiro fishing in Kumihama Bay was active. Today only about 1–2 shops in the town continue handmade sales limited to around November to March; fishing is sometimes impossible depending on the weather, and there is also an upper limit on production volume, so it is highly difficult to obtain.

A konoshiro-zushi utilizing okara is also handed down along the Yatsushiro Sea coast of Kyushu, where it is enjoyed under the names yoshino-zushi and unohana-zushi.