Shiokara is a favorite of Miwa and she made some recently and it is ready for eating. Shiokawa 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

Miwa, with some help from Kichisen, made her first shiokara. It came out very well, she reports. Here are a few photos of it served. (I took some photos of her happy face eating the shiokawa on rice, but she absolutely would not allow me to put them up on this article.

Miwa says the following about shiokara:
Shiokara on shinmai, new rice, like in the photos on this article, is a simple meal but the most luxurious meal to Japanese. Yum, yum, yum!

Even though we thought that it would be too salty, the taste definitely got more and more mild over the passing days and it is very nice now. The progression of the taste with time is something I like very much. I think Mr Tanigawa’s tip of adding high quality kelp helps a lot.

Shiokara lasts just a few weeks but you can freeze it too.

I have not tried this, but heard that you can eat on pasta too, as sauce. I am going to try this soon.

Paku says:
Please pass the karasumi.

Be sure to check out our shiokara series:
How to Clean Squid
How to Make Shiokara
How to Eat Shiokara (this article)

Squid Shiokara Served

The dark strip on the top is kombu, of kelp. Kombu is naturally salty and softens and adds complexity to the flavor.

Squid Shiokara Served – detail

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.

1. Clean the squid saving the kimo ‘liver’ (digestive gland) from the internals.
2. Remove ‘skin’ and slice squid body (and legs if desired).
3. Sprinkle with salt and leave over night.
4. Pass guts through sieve.
5. Add sliced squid to pressed salted guts and leave over night. If available, add thin sliced kombu (dried kelp) as well.
6. 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.

Itadakimono (a gift humbly received): Squid
Yesterday morning I had a chance to go to the Kyoto Central Wholesale Food Market with the Iron Chef defeater Yoshimi Tanigawa, the owner of Kichisen. (also known as Kisen). Kichisen is among the best of the best for Kyoto Kaiseki cuisine. Mr Tanigawa gave me several of the squid that he bought and told me to make shiokara with it. Shiokara is a side dish not for the faint hearted that combines sliced squid body and legs with some squid entrails and is pickled in salt.

To make shiokara, the squid first must be cleaned. But how do you clean a squid? Well, it is not that difficult and requires little technique. It does involve getting your hands dirty.

Cleaning Squid: the Squid

The Main Steps of Cleaning a Squid

1. Separate the legs and entrails out from the body by gently pulling the legs away from the body.
2. Remove the ‘cuttlebone’, the transparent cartilage spine of the squid by gently pulling.
3. Clean out remaining tissue, innards and so on from body (split body if not making rings).
4. Peel away spotted brown outer membrane from the body.
5. Cut the legs away from the ‘head’ from the entrails.
6. Remove orangish-brown gland from guts for shiokara (if you are brave).
7. Wash body and legs thoroughly.

The squid body can be stuffed, sliced into rings or split and sliced into strips. For shiokara, you want to split it down the middle, wash well and slice into strips. The legs can also be used for shiokara but removing the tentacles and and skin membrane requires some technique. The legs with skin attached can be used for other dishes.

Be sure to check out our shiokara series:
How to Clean Squid (this article)
How to Make Shiokara
How to Eat Shiokara

Cleaning Squid: To Start, Just Pull

Gently pull the legs away from the body. No cutting should be required, but you can use your finger to tear the connective membrane if need be. The orangish-brown part is the digestive gland, something like an intestine. It is called kimo, or liver in Japanese, but properly it is not a liver. This gland is essential for making shiokara.

Cleaning Squid: Removing the Guts

Cleaning Squid: Guts and Digestive Gland Removed

Cleaning Squid: Eggs and Ink

Attaached to the head arethree mains parts; the egg sac (left, white), ink sac (middle, blackish) and digestive gland (right, orangish-brown). Be careful not to break the ink sac as you will have quite a mess. Squid ink easily washes away with water though.

Cleaning Squid: Removing the Cuttlebone

Cleaning Squid: Removing the Cuttlebone

Cleaning Squid: Split and Remove Remaining Viscera

If you want to cut into rings, just wash out the body thoroughly with running water.

Cleaning Squid: Split and Remove Remaining Viscera

Cleaning Squid: Peeling Away the Skin

A quick slice with the knife will make it easier to ‘get an edge’ on the skin to peel away. For cooking preparations using high heat such as deep frying, this step may be skipped.

Cleaning Squid: Peeling Away the Skin

Cleaning Squid: Peeling Away the Skin

Cleaning Squid: Done!

Cleaning Squid for Shiokawa: Digestive Gland

Simply cut away the base of the digestive gland from the head.

Cleaning Squid for Shiokawa: Digestive Gland

If you are making shiokara, remove this dark strip of viscera that is attached to the digestive gland

Snapshots from Kichisen Kitchen
Kichisen is not your garden variety ‘best of the best’ restaurant. Mr. Tanigawa runs a ‘dojo’ training school with Marine bootcamp level severity for aspiring Kyoto cuisine chefs. Here are a few survivors. They are not students or kitchen staff, but disciples.

Pro Squid Cleaning

Pro Squid Cleaning

Pro Squid Cleaning

Pro Squid Cleaning