Ingredients
100 g raw squid
100 g sake lees
1 cucumber
1 myoga ginger (optional)
3 tbsp water (approx.)
1/4 tsp salt (approx.)
How to Make
1. Boil the raw squid and while hot, sprinkle both sides with salt. Cut the cucumber into fine rounds, add 2 pinches of salt (not in recipe), and mix. Let each sit for about 10 minutes. Cut the myoga ginger into fine rounds. Pour the sake lees into a bowl, combine with water, and knead into a paste. (If the mixture doesn’t blend well, try warming in the microwave.)
2. Cut the squid into thin slices. Squeeze the cucumber to remove the moisture.
3. Mix all ingredients and serve. Add sugar if desired.
On a visit to a grocery store in Takayama City, Gifu, I found a plump whole squid boiled and stuffed with salt. Shio-ika—literally “salted squid”—was originally made before the invention of refrigerators. The salt helped to preserve the squid so that it could be distributed from the Hokuriku region, facing the Sea of Japan, to inland areas like Takayama, parts of Yamanashi, and the prefecture of Nagano. I learned how to prepare shio-ika dishes from a local mom in Takayama.
Takayama is home to sake breweries, which supply a creamy sake lees paste (a by-product of the sake production process) to the local market in the summer. Desalinate a shio-ika for about an hour, rub a cucumber with salt, and add a dressing of sake lees. The subtle flavor of the sake lees transfers to the ingredients makes for a delightful delicacy. Shio-ika can also be combined with wakame kelp in a vinegar-based salad. This time, I substituted the real shio-ika with boiled and salted squid. Enjoy this summer treat from Takayama!
minokamo | Cookery expert / Photographer
Gifu Prefecture native minokamo’s culinary adventures were inspired by her fond childhood memories of cooking with her grandmother. She researches, writes about, and arranges regional dishes that capture, through their preparation and presentation, sensory enjoyments inspired by local climate, history, and lifestyles. Her book, Ryori tabi kara tadaima is a collection of recipes from minokamo’s visits to homes up and down Japan.
