【Reading】しおから

【English Name】Shiokara

Shiokara is a Japanese fermented preserved food in which the flesh and innards of squid or fish are pickled raw in salt and aged by the action of the ingredient's own digestive enzymes and symbiotic microbes. As aging progresses, proteins are converted into amino acids, producing a deep umami. The high salt content suppresses spoilage and supports long-term preservation.

The oldest example in the literature is "funabishio" (fermented crucian carp), seen on a wooden tablet (mokkan, c. 694-710) excavated at the Fujiwara-kyo site in Nara. The word "shiokara" appears in the late-Heian-period Konjaku Monogatari, but its spread in today's usage is said to date from the mid-Edo period onward. In the Okinawan dialect it is called "~garasu."

The most representative shiokara today is squid (ika) shiokara, but there are also regionally distinctive varieties passed down across the country, such as shuto made from bonito (katsuo) innards, uruka prepared from sweetfish (ayu) innards, mefun using salmon kidney, and konowata pickled from sea cucumber (namako) intestine.

There are broadly three kinds of squid shiokara: "shiro-zukuri" (white-style) made with skinned white flesh and liver; "aka-zukuri" (red-style), made with the skin left on together with the liver, which turns reddish-brown; and "kuro-zukuri" (black-style), finished black by mixing in squid ink (a specialty of Toyama). Japanese flying squid (surume-ika) is the most common raw material. With traditional methods, a salt concentration of about 8 to 15% allowed distribution at room temperature, but with the spread of refrigeration, low-salt types of 4 to 8% have also become widespread.

At sushi restaurants and izakaya it is often served as an accompaniment to sake, with grated daikon as a standard garnish. It is also prized as a companion to plain rice, or slipped in small amounts into hot pots to add richness.