From the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | |
| Yellowtail (or “gando”) | 1 to 1.5 kg |
| Weight stones | as needed |
| Large turnips (kabura) | 10 to 13 |
| Carrot | 1/2 |
| Yuzu peel | as needed |
| Koji | 1 sheet |
| Rice | 2 cups |
| Seasonings and liquids | |
| Natural salt | as needed |
| Red chili pepper | 1 to 2 |
| Hot water | 2 cups |
Kaburazushi is made by placing salted yellowtail between pieces of salted turnip. It is a fermented food, a kind of narezushi, closer to a pickle than to sushi with vinegared rice.
Where it started is uncertain. One story is that fishermen at Kanaiwa in Kanazawa began to eat it as a New Year dish to pray for a big catch and safety. Another is that it was served at a hot-spring inn visited by a Maeda lord. It was eaten at least in the Edo period.
Fish sellers and greengrocers took handmade kaburazushi as a gift when they visited customers at the end of the year to renew their account books, and this helped it spread.
Yellowtail is one of the main foods of the Noto region. Fatty winter yellowtail tastes good raw, simmered or grilled. In the Edo period, fresh “goyo-buri” (yellowtail for the lord) was first presented to the lord before it could go on sale in the castle town.
In early winter, thunder called “buri-okoshi” rumbles in the Hokuriku region, and the fixed-net fishing for yellowtail begins in earnest. The fishing union of Ishikawa brands yellowtail of 7 kg or more caught in this season as “natural Noto winter yellowtail.”
Yellowtail changes its name by size, such as “kozokura,” “fukuragi” and “gando,” and has long been a lucky food, also given by the Kaga domain to the Tokugawa shogun’s family.
Of all the yellowtail dishes, kaburazushi is regarded as a luxury. Some local people say that “the New Year does not begin without kaburazushi.” Near the end of the year, supermarkets and department stores begin to sell it.
The flavor and texture differ with the kind of turnip, how far it has aged, and how much salt is used. Making it depends on the temperature and takes experience and skill.
Salted yellowtail is sandwiched between salted turnips, topped with amazake made with koji, and left for about seven to ten days. When it has aged enough, it is eaten as it is, with nothing added.
As the New Year approaches, local producers and supermarkets begin selling it, and cooking schools and workshops often make it.
There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.