# Tai no Karamushi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Tai no Karamushi

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Around Kanazawa City

## Main Ingredients Used
Red seabream, okara (=soy pulp), carrots, “gobou” (=burdock)

## History, Origin, and Related Events
“Tai no karamushi” is a classic Kaga dish made with red seabream stuffed with okara, vegetables and other ingredients. This traditional dish is symbolic of samurai culture. Two red seabreams are stuffed and steamed and served on a platter with their stomachs facing each other.It is often served at weddings and other celebrations. It is said that the dish was born during the Edo period and influenced by Shippoku from Nagasaki, a type of cuisine with Chinese characteristics.Red seabream is a popular ingredient used for many recipes such as “kombujime” (curing raw fish with kelp), “ara daki” (=simmered dish using the entire head of the fish), and a salad using the skin of the fish.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
At a traditional Japanese wedding, the bride’s family would send a bottle of sake and a large red seabream to the groom’s family. The groom’s family makes “tai no karamushi” using these two ingredients. The dish is served as one of the main dishes of the wedding menu. It is a special dish which has been enjoyed in the region for many generations. The soft flesh of the fish is served to the wedding guests and the remainder of the fish with the bones was shared among servants and neighbors.Two red seabreams are placed on a large platter with their stomachs facing each other. This is called “nirami dai” or “tsurukame tai”. The reason why the red seabreams are cut in the back is because if their stomachs are cut open, people would be reminded of “harakiri” (=suicide by cutting one’s own belly) and this would be considered bad luck for a wedding. These small details are symbolic of samurai culture. The fish are stuffed with plenty of the okara mixture with hopes that the new couple will have many children together. Nowadays, this dish is eaten on special occasions and celebrations. In December when the Ebisu-ko festival is held to wish for a prosperous business year, “tai no karamushi” is prepared using the red seabreams used as an offering to the god, Ebisu.

## How to Eat
Red seabream is cut open in the back and stuffed with stir-fried okara (soy pulp), carrots, “gobou” (=burdock), lotus roots, shiitake mushrooms, ginkgo nuts and jelly ears. The dish is seasoned with “dashi” (=Japanese soup stock), soy sauce and sugar. Smaller seabream should be steamed with the stuffing for 40 to 50 minutes. For bigger seabream, steam for over an hour and a half. The steamed fish is served on a colorful Kutani-yaki platter for special occasions.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of traditions, preservation societies, social media use, modern approaches for commercialization etc.)“Tai no karamushi” is not an easy recipe to make and so most people do not make this at home anymore. The dish is often ordered at high end restaurants for celebrations and special occasions. Some restaurants have a waitress go around the table serving each customer the freshly made steamed red seabream.

## Ingredients
- Red seabream: 2
- Okara (=soy pulp): 2 cups
- Cooked bamboo shoots: 20g
- Gobou (=burdock): 1／2 piece
- Carrots: 20g
- Jelly ears: 6 pieces
- Ginkgo nuts: 8 pieces
- Hemp seeds: 1 tsp.
- [A] Dashi (=Japanese soup stock): 1 cup
- [A] Sugar: 6 tbsp.
- [A] Sake: 4 tbsp.
- [A] Soy sauce: 4 tbsp.
- [A] Salt: a little

## Recipe
1. 1. Julienne the cooked bamboo shoots, “gobou” (=burdock), carrots and jelly ears (after soaking them in water). Remove the shells from the ginkgo nuts and cook. Remove the thin skin of the ginkgo nuts after cooking.
2. 2. Remove the scales of the red seabream. Cut the fish open from the back of the dorsal fin and remove the entrails. Wash the fish and then soak for about an hour in some salt water with a salt level similar to seawater.
3. 3. Stir fry the ingredients from step 1. Add the seasonings in [A] and the okara. Cook without burning the ingredients. Turn off the heat and add the hemp seeds.
4. 4. Put the mixture from step 3 inside the red seabream. Steam the fish for 40 to 50 minutes. The cooking time will differ depending on the size of the fish.

## Provider Information
provider : “Kanazawa, Kaga, Noto: Home Cooking of the Four Seasons” (Author: Etsuko Aoki)

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