Chinmi: How to Make Shiokara 珍味: 塩辛の作り方



Shiokara is made of salted squid semi-fermented in its own guts and is a kind of chinmi, literally ‘rare taste’. Japanese like shiokara on rice or with sake. Shiokara is one taste that you might want to miss when you visit Japan, but we show how to make it in this article.

Making Shiokara

Shiokara, like other chinmi in Japan is popular among drinkers, Miwa, a salt devotee loves shiokara on rice. To make ika-no-shiokara, you just need a fresh squid (ika) and salt (shio). The amount of salt can be varied depending on your taste. Here are the main steps that are required.

Clean the squid saving the kimo ‘liver’ (digestive gland) from the internals. Remove ‘skin’ and slice squid body (and legs if desired). Sprinkle with salt and leave over night. Pass guts through sieve. Add sliced squid to pressed salted guts and leave over night. If available, add thin sliced kombu (dried kelp) as well. Add a small amount of sake and mirin for fragrance. Allow to ferment for several more days.

Be sure to check out our shiokara series:

How to Clean Squid

How to Make Shiokara (this article)

How to Eat Shiokara

Shiokara: Squid Digestive Gland Ready for Salt



Shiokara: Sprinkling Salt



Shiokara: Sprinkling Salt



And Then the Telephone Rang

We suddenly got ordered over to Kichisen for Christmas Cake, on the telephone before we left, Miwa asked Mr. Tanigawa about his shiokara recipe. He told her that he doesn’t have any recipes and to just bring over her salted squid and guts and he would check it.

When we arrived, Miwa took out two plates, one of salted sliced squid and the other of salted ‘liver’ (actually a kind of intestine) which she had dutifully wrapped in furoshiki. Mr. Tanigawa ordered a disciple out of the kitchen to turn the shiokara ‘inside out’.

The technique here is to put the salted ‘liver’ on some kind of wire mesh and push the liquid part into a bowl below with the gland sac remaining on the mesh.

Amount of Salt: Miwa had intended to remove a lot of the salt, the amount shown in the photo below is far too much. There are two approachs to salting; sprinkle on a little salt and pass through the sieve or cover the glands in salt, let rest over night, wipe away most salt and then pass through the sieve.

Mr. Tanigawa, who has no recipes, recommends using a small amount of salt to start with (see second photo above) and add more later to taste. With salt, you can always add it, but you can never remove it. If you can use the salt content of dried kombu, that will give a more mellow and complex taste. This is a very ‘Kyoto’ approach.

Shiokara: Passing Through a Sieve



Shiokara: Passing Through a Sieve



Shiokara: Passing Through a Sieve



Shiokara: Passing Through a Sieve



Shiokara: Passing Through a Sieve

Shiokara: Adding Sliced Squid



On a towel, remove blot off the salt.

Shiokara: Adding Sliced Squid



Shiokara: Adding Sliced Squid



Shiokara: Adding Sliced Squid



Add and stir well.

Shiokara: Adding Sliced Squid



Shiokara: Adding Sliced Squid



Shiokara: Adding Strips of Kombu



Add kombu to mellow and add complexity.

Shiokara: Adding Strips of Kombu



Shiokara: Kichisen Uses French Salt



So, Does Shiokara Taste Good?

Well, Peko, a devotee of most Japanese chinmi, is actually not a big fan of shiokawa. So, let’s wait a few days and get a report from Miwa.

Shiokara: Leftover Digestive Gland Membrane (Gore)



They cut up the gore and added it to the shiokara too. You might skip that step.