Top Page Japanese
Kusaya is one of the great tastes of the
It has riches given by the sea and the
sunshine and has been a natural food for many years.
Kusaya, the traditional natural
Because of demand, Kusaya is hard to get in Tokyo and
other major urban centers. It is generally
popular because of its storong taste and smell, but Kusaya has
detractors, too, "Smells bad and looks
bad, too" they say.
Well now, as lovers of Kusaya, it's hard to understand how
anyone can say that. those who know
how Kusaya is prepared will know that the fresh fish is washed
in clean water over and over before dipping
in a salt dip and being laid out to dry in the sun.
A flavor borne of
About 300 years ago, those Japanese citizens living in the Izu
island chain, just south of Tokyo, were
engaged in salt making. On many islands such as Niijima, the
villagers toiled away drying salt to pay as tax
to the Government. Taxes
were high and they couldn't afford to waste a grain. But, ironically that
that when fishing catches were big, there wasn't enough salt to
properly cure the fish before storage.
Need is the mother of invention, and in this case, the
villagers learned to use dips with a lower salt
concentration, until the fish cured in this fashion began to
acquire a taste of its own.
Such are the roots of Kusaya tradition.... saving salt and
introducing a wonderful new taste.
Kusaya dip can't be made in a
The secret that gives the Kusaya its distinctive taste and
smell is the salt dip the fish are cured with.
This mixture is called Kusaya-eki. For regular curing of fish, a
dip having a salt content of 18 to 20% is
normal. But for Kusaya-eki, the concentration is a modest
In terms of physical ingredients, only salt gose into the
making of Kusaya-eki. But the taste is also a result
of other efforts. For example, the preparation of Kusaya-eki
taste a long time, with the necessity of
careful handling, and interior dips do not produce the same rich
smell and deep flavor - a point that has
been proven in many tests.
Niijima is the home of
On Niijima every family maintains its own pot of
Kusaya-eki.-often for generations. It becomes a source
of pride and the recipe is never allowed out of the house excpet
when a daughter gets married. She takes
some with her, to start up her own pot. Amongst the commercial
maker's, too, resipes of Kusaya dips
are a jealously guarded secret.
Ksaya is made from shark or horse
we recommend that you compare the
The reson why Niijima kusaya is excellent
is that the things used to make it,such as the
kusaya dip, the processing facilities and the natural
environment are of the best quality.
Niijima devotes its industries to
With a proud tradition to live up to, much of the industry on
Niijima is oriented around the harvest of
Kusaya. As the island moves further forward into the 1990's,
the tradition will be maintained thanks too:
* Plentiful supply of fresh fish
* Fast, bulk processing
* Well-controlled time schedule for curing
*Drying in natural sunshine and wind
Niijima is Number One for Kusaya, and proud of it !
Natural conditions and modern
In addition to an ideal climate,
Niijima's own high quality Kusaya is the result of:
islands many pure water wells
* The vast quantities of white sand, which become open drying
fields during the season. Dust-free,these
fields reflect the heat and dryt ness onto the fish, so that
both sides of the fish cure at roughly the
* The island is flat, which makes air flow across the island
* The extensive facilities and equipment are kept cleaner due
to the cleaner air.
The dip for curing Kusaya can last up to 300years. In some
families, even the aged grandparents can't
remember who prepared the initial dip. No where else do they
keep it so long - and no where else do
the Kusaya taste so good ! We try to keep things that way, by
realizing that the Kusaya dip is our
livelihood and our tradition, and as such represents
It's easy to tell the difference
You may think that something as natural and simple as genuine
Niijima Kusaya is the result of the
particularly good quality of Ao-muro fish found near the
island, and once you get started, you may want
to put off making a decision until you've enjoyed more of that
Niijima-kusaya gose well with cooked rice
and/or sake .
We do hope you enjoy eating
Begin by grilling
The best way to taste the true flavor of the Kusaya is to
grill it. Place the fish on a well-heated grill net,
with the grill turned to low heat. The back of the fish should
be cooked first and will take about 8 minutes.
The front will take about 2 minutes. After finishing grilling,
you should be able to tear the fish into portions
with your fingers, and serve. One tip, if you brush vinegar on
the grill net before cooking, it will be difficult
to burn the fish.