The oldest reference to shiokara is seen in "Konjaku Monogatari " (The Tale of Times Now Past), but it cannot be confirmed that it is the same as the shiokara which was eaten during and after the Edo period and the age of konjaku Monogatari was historically isolated from other ages, so it would be appropriate to determine that shiokara appeared in "Nippo jisho" (a Japanese-Portuguese dictionary) for the first time.
古くは『今昔物語』に塩辛との文字が現れるが、江戸期以降の塩辛と同じものと確認できないことと、時代的に孤立していることから、初出は『日葡辞書』とするのが妥当と考えられる。