Funazushi · Southeast Asian Roots of Sushi |Tony Johor Kaki Travels for Food · Heritage · Culture

I encountered pekasam in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia and was fascinated by the dish which in Malaysia is mainly confined to the northern Peninsula states of Perlis and Kedah i.e. the rice belt.

This is not surprising as pekasam's main ingredients of freshwater fish and rice are abundant in Malaysia's rice belt. Pekasam's peculiar salty sourish taste didn't travel well to other regions of Malaysia 🤔 For example, most people in Johor and Singapore would not have heard of, let alone eaten pekasam.

Pekasam is sold in Alor Setar's historic Pekan Rabu market and a must buy for visitors 😄 (There are also other varieties of pekasam made with beef, mutton, chicken, etc.)

Anyway, there are similar fermented river fish and rice dishes, for example nonsom from Sabah (East Malaysia), burong isda from Pampanga (Philippines), ngashi pongtsung from Manipur (India) and funazushi from Shiga (Japan).

I want to trace the origins of the fermented fish and rice dish which foot prints stretched from India to Japan. Who invented this dish and how did it migrate across the region? What does it tell us about the rise and fall of kingdoms?

Let's start with funazushi and see where it leads us.

Funazushi is made with nigorobuna carp from Lake Biwa in Japan's Shiga prefecture.

Shiga prefecture is just east of Kyoto and Lake Biwa is Japan's largest lake.

They use roe laden carp which they scale, gut through the head and clean thoroughly. The prized roe is carefully kept intact. The fish is packed and coated with salt, then left to ferment in barrels or tubs for one to two years.

Rice comes in the next stage of preparation.

The salt is washed off and the fermented fish sun dried. The fish cavity is repacked through the head with boiled rice. The fish is then packed in layers interlaced with boiled rice into a barrel. The fish and rice are compacted and weighted down with heavy rocks. The barrel is closed and its contents left to ferment for another one to two years i.e. at least 1,000 days of fermentation.

When ready the fermented rice would be a wet, somewhat watery lumpy gruel smothering the fermented fish.

When ready the fermented fish is sliced and eaten as a side dish with fresh boiled rice. In the past, the fermented fish was also eaten together with the fermented rice which is called hon-nare style sushi (fermented sushi).

Funazushi has a funky fermentation smell and tastes like blue cheese with mild umami saltiness and a dominant sourness which fades.

Due to its long production time, funazushi is naturally scarce and inaccessible to most people (unaffordable). It is also an acquired taste.

Funazhusi later evolved into the haya-nare (fast) form of unfermented sushi with fresh raw fish / seafood over rice commonly seen today. Haya-nare sushi (fast sushi) first appeared in Tokyo in the 1700s. Quick to make and versatile (in terms of topping), fast sushi soon became one of Japanese people's staples and culinary icon.

Today, there are less than five (5) traditional funazhusi makers left in Japan. The oldest still operational funazushi maker Kitashina in Takashima city on the shores of Lake Biwa was established in 1619, over 400 years ago. (Actually, Kitashina closed between 2012 - 2017 until it reopened with the support of confectioner Kano Shojuan.)

Origins

This salt and rice fermentation technique did not originate in Japan. Funazushi is said to come to Japan over 1000 years ago from Southeast Asia and / or China. No one is sure of the details as there is lack of documentation.

Contact between Japanese and Indians / Southeast Asians go back to 300 BC (2,300 years ago) based on glass beads buried in Yayoi era tombs (300BC - 300AD) found in Tokyo. (The same type of beads are found in Bujang Valley in Kedah, Malaysia.)

The Indians also brought Hinduism and later, Buddhism to Japan. What culinary legacies did Indians leave in Japan?

The Chinese have a dish known as peony fermented fish 牡丹鲊 from the Five Dynasties 五代十國 period (907 - 960) that seems related to funazushi. The river fish is fermented with salt and red yeast rice, hence the reddish hue.

There's also a theory that fermented fish technology came to Southeast Asia from the Mediterranean, the Romans specifically. But, interlacing fermented fish with rice is likely a rice country i.e. Indian / Chinese / Southern Asian innovation. More research work is required 😄

Researching the origins of food always bring me to unexpected places. The journey of discovery continues 👣 Please help me with my journey with your insights 🙏

Written by Tony Boey on 9 Sep 2023

🎗 This research is powered by voluntary contributions from appreciative readers to Tony Boey Johor Kaki PAYNOW 96888768 in Singapore $.