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Processed mackerel
KyotoProcessed mackerel
Classification (Large)
Seafood products
Classification (Small)
Other seafood products
Main ingredients used
Mackerel, salt
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Region of inheritance
All of Kyoto Prefecture
Product overview (special characteristics and types)
In Kyoto, various processed products made of mackerels are produced, as typified by saba-zushi, saba nare-zushi, heshiko, and Tango bara-zushi. Saba-zushi is made by salting mackerels caught in Wakasa, transporting them to Kyoto, lightly pickling them in vinegar, placing them on vinegared rice, and forming them into a rectangular bar. It is known as a special dish eaten at celebrations. It is customarily eaten during the three biggest festivals in Kyoto (the Aoi Festival, the Gion Festival, and the Jidai Festival) and autumn festivals held across the prefecture. Saba nare-zushi is made in some parts of the Tango region and the Keihoku region mainly in winter. It is made by wrapping cooked rice and a salted mackerel in bamboo grass leaves and leaving them to ferment by the action of lactic acid bacteria, and it is eaten at autumn festivals and on other occasions. Heshiko is made by pickling mackerels pickled in salt in rice bran for a long time to mature them. This makes it very salty so it keeps for a long time. Tango bara-zushi is a kind of sushi made by colorfully sprinkling mackerel oboro (mushed mackerels) flavored with sugar and soy sauce over vinegared rice laid in a wood box together with other ingredients. It is made for festivals or family gatherings.
History and culture
Wakasa had served as a miketsukuni, which is a province that had supported the diets of the imperial court, by supplying abundant marine products caught there, and mokkan strips (narrow strips of wood on which an official message was written) unearthed in Heijo-kyo contain records saying nare-zushi was delivered to the imperial court from Wakasa. In Wakasa Bay, large volumes of mackerels had been caught, but there was no means of refrigerating the fish back then and it loses its freshness very quickly. Thus, they were commonly transported as salted mackerels with the heads and internal organs removed. Because of this, the route used to transport marine products from Wakasa to Kyoto is commonly called "Sabakaido," which means mackerel road. In particular, the Wakasa Kaido, the route that goes from Obama, Fukui Prefecture to Ohara, Kyoto Prefecture through Kumagawa, Kutsuki, Gifu Prefecture, and Hanaore Toge (mountain pass), was used most frequently to carry goods, and it said that salted mackerels brought the approx. 70 km from Wakasa to Kyoto by walking for 24 hours became firm and properly seasoned with salt when they arrived in Kyoto. In the surrounding area, various dishes using these salted mackerels were created. These dishes were considered delicacies and were commonly made for festivals, family gatherings and other special occasions.
Production method
Saba-zushi is made as follows. Cut a salted mackerel into three fillets, wash them with vinegar water, and soak in vinegar for approx. 30 minutes. Then, remove the fillets from the vinegar, put bar-shaped vinegared rice on them, form them into a rectangular bar with a rolling sheet, wrap in a bamboo sheath, and gently put a weight on the bar. When the ingredients blend together the next day, the sushi is ready to serve. Gari (thin ginger slices pickled in sweetened vinegar) may be sandwiched between the mackerel and vinegared rice. Saba nare-zushi is made as follows. Put a mackerel dipped in vinegar on a mass of rice, place bamboo grass leaves on them, and layer these same ingredients on the first layer. Repeat this several times. Finally, put a weight on them and leave them to ferment for one week to 10 days. Heshiko is made by pickling salted mackerels in rice bran, powdered red pepper, and other ingredients and leaving them to mature for six months to one year. Tango bara-zushi is made as follows. Lay vinegared rice in a wood box called a matsubuta and colorfully sprinkle it with mackerels mashed into an oboro consistency, sauteed, and boiled with sugar and soy source and other ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kinshitamago (thinly shredded egg omelet), boiled fish paste, and red pickled ginger. Previously, oboro made of baked mackerels was used, but canned mackerels is now used instead. This sushi is not pressed with a weight, but cut and divided with a spatula and eaten soft.
Conservation and succession efforts
Different companies and stores have been making these mackerel-based products. Tango bara-zushi is often introduced in dietary education at schools and cooking classes run by promoters of healthy eating habits, and is made in many households still today.
New ways of eating heshiko, such as heshiko burgers, have been developed.
Main consumption method
Saba-zushi is eaten plain but may be eaten with soy sauce. Saba nare-zushi is eaten plain. Heshiko may be put on cooked rice or ochazuke (cooked rice with tea poured over it), baked, or eaten as an accompaniment to alcoholic beverages. Tango bara-zushi is divided and eaten as-is.
At-home recipes:Canape of heshiko
Ingredients
Heshiko
6 slices
Cream cheese
As needed
Oba (beefsteak plant leaves)
3 leaves
Crackers
6 pieces
How to make
Spread cream cheese on crackers, put heshiko on them, and garnish with Oba (beefsteak plant leaves).