Shutō (fermented bonito viscera) ✦

Shutō

What it is

The name means sake thief: the salt is so insistent that a cup vanishes beside it, and Kochi has sold it under that name for a couple of centuries. It is bonito stomach and gut, heavily salted and left to break down for months until it is dark, sticky and closer to a seasoning than a dish.

In the kitchen

Treat it as salt with an opinion: half a teaspoon melted into butter will season a whole plate of pasta or a pan of clams. If a piece is too fierce to eat straight, chop it with spring onion and a drop of sesame oil.

Goes with

Junmai sake Butter Cucumber Rice Negi Toasted sesame oil Koikuchi shoyu

Same species

Bonito (katsuo) Honkarebushi Katsuobushi (dried bonito)

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