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Pouring broth over rice topped with funazushi
Pouring broth over rice topped with funazushi

Funazushi is a fermented sushi found throughout Shiga: crucian carp from Lake Biwa, salted and then layered with cooked rice in a tub to ferment for more than half a year. Egg-bearing nigorobuna carp are usually used, and it has long been eaten on festive days such as New Year and shrine festivals. In 1998 it was selected as one of Shiga's intangible folk cultural properties of food. This time I sliced it thinly over rice and poured broth over it for ochazuke.

Ingredients

  • Cooked rice
  • Funazushi
  • Green onion
  • Dashi broth

How I made it

  1. Lay thin slices of funazushi on the rice
  2. Scatter chopped green onion on top
  3. Pour hot dashi broth over everything

Sources: maff.go.jp

This moment in the journey

Ochazuke with funazushi

Breakfast was ochazuke made with funazushi, a Shiga specialty. Thin slices of the fish go on the rice with a scattering of chopped green onion, and hot broth is poured over the top.

Funazushi is an old style of fermented sushi: crucian carp from Lake Biwa, salted and then packed in rice for more than half a year. Its mature, rich sourness slowly unfolds in the broth.

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Holding the bowl of funazushi ochazuke in both hands
Holding the bowl of funazushi ochazuke in both hands