Protected local food
Wakasa Obama Kodai Sasazuke
若狭小浜小鯛ささ漬
Fillets of small sea bream from the Sea of Japan, lightly salted and cured in vinegar in Obama, Fukui. Pink-skinned, firm and close to raw in taste.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 10 November 2017
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 若狭小浜小鯛ささ漬
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 福井県小浜市
Cured, not cooked
Makers fillet small sea bream caught in the Sea of Japan, salt them lightly, marinate them in vinegar and pack them into small wooden barrels. Salt and vinegar let the fish keep, while it still tastes almost like sashimi. The skin shines pink, and the flesh is glossy, firm and pale amber to translucent white.
Made for Kyoto
Obama in Fukui has fished sea bream for centuries, and it sits close to Kyoto, a big market for fish. Makers here worked out this method in the Meiji era. Filleting and taking out the tiny bones is still done by skilled hands, as no machine can do it well.
How to eat it
Eat it as it is with a little soy sauce, on rice as sushi, or with sake. A little barrel is a classic gift from Wakasa.
Good to know
- Obama was a start of the old Saba Kaido road that carried fish to Kyoto. The town still has seafood markets and old streets.
- In Fukui, also look for Echizen crab in winter and Yamauchi Kabura turnip.
Questions travellers ask
Is kodai sasazuke raw?
It is not cooked. The fish is cured with salt and vinegar, so it keeps for a while but tastes close to raw.
Where is it made?
In Obama city, Fukui Prefecture, on Wakasa Bay.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Echizen-Fukui: 400 years of towns built in stone
- Esashi: the herring town that outshone Edo
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- The railway across the sea: Nagahama, Tsuruga and Imajo
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
- Wakasa and the Saba Kaido: the mackerel road to Kyoto
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.