【Reading】つめ / にづめ

【English Name】Boiled down sauce

Tsume is a kind of sweet-and-salty sauce prized in the world of sushi, a shortened name for "nizume" (boiled-down).

The basic preparation follows the procedure of slowly boiling down the simmering liquid of seafood, kelp, or shiitake, and adjusting the taste with soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sake, and the like. The finish develops a thickness, with a sweet-and-salty flavor close to that of tsukudani standing out.

The general way of using it is to carefully brush it on to finish simmered-style nigiri such as conger eel (anago) and clam (hamaguri). Custom-making a dedicated tsume for each topping is a technique handed down in Edomae sushi: for anago, a stock drawn from the bones is used as the base, and for hamaguri, its boiling liquid—such selective use suited to the nature of the ingredient is where the artisan's skill shows.

It is also sometimes used for eel (unagi), mantis shrimp (shako), and simmered squid (ni-ika), playing the role of drawing out depth and richness in light-flavored sushi ingredients. Because each shop prepares it with its own blend, the flavor of the tsume is regarded as one important element reflecting that shop's individuality.