Narezushi1: A Taste of Ancient Sushi in Japan 品嘗日本古老風味——熟壽司

凱特·斯普林格

“I dont think we should open it here，” warns Kazuyuki Ohashi， the executive chef at Lake Biwa Marriott Hotel， as he motions2 toward a crowd of diners. “Its like blue cheese—some people like the taste， but it has a very strong smell.”

Ohashi is talking about sushi， but not the kind most of us are used to. Narezushi， the most primitive， earliest form of sushi， is a world away from your California rolls and sliced sashimi3.

Dating back to the 10th century in Japan， this fermented4 fish was preserved with salt and raw rice， eventually giving way to5 the nigiri6 （sliced seafood atop rice） we know and love today.

Sushis origin story

Narezushi is fermented fish pickled7 with rice—a practice common in much of Southeast Asia around the 2nd century CE. Its thought to have migrated to Japan around the 8th century， but written documentation of “narezushi” didnt appear until the 10th century. “Many people here consider this a family-style fish，” says chef Ohashi. “Most families had their own recipes， passed down from generation to generation.”

Around Lake Biwa—the largest lake in Japan， just north of Kyoto—narezushi was a household staple and an important source of protein. In a time before refrigerators， families relied on rice and salt to ferment and preserve the fish—usually stored layered in barrels—in the hope of saving it for as long as possible.

Narezushi can be made with yellowtail8， or ayu9， but the most common type in the Lake Biwa area is funazushi10， made from nigorobuna11 fish. Most families have their own distinct recipe， but all share a similar methodology.

First， the fish is scaled12， gutted13 and preserved in salt for a few months. Then， its combined with rice and left to ferment. As long as theres a dark storage space at room temperature， the fish can be left for a few months， years or even decades.

For many centuries， people ate only the fish and threw the fermented “stinky rice” out. But around the 1500s， people began consuming half-fermented fish and rice together—thus paving the way for modern sushi.

What does it taste like？

At first glance， narezushi looks nothing like modern sushi. Its usually sold as one whole fish， covered in a goopy14， yogurt-like sauce.

To serve， sushi chefs will slice the fish into thin layers and arrange them atop a bed of rice in a beautiful pattern. Sometimes， they prepare narezushi as porridge with hot tea （called ochazuke-rice15）， or even fry it up like tempura16.

But no matter how its prepared， narezushi is one of those divisive foods that will either make or break your dinner because of the sushis sewage-like aroma and mouth-puckeringly17 sour taste. Of course， for connoisseurs， the stinkier， the better.

“The people who love funazushi， they really love it. The first time I tasted it， I was actually in high school， around 16 or 17 years old，” says Ohashi. “I thought it was really gross. But my father， who was also a chef， enjoyed these things. He put it in a soup for me， which I enjoyed much better.”

While he couldnt quite stomach18 it at first， Ohashi says the taste has grown on19 him over time. “Now I enjoy it. Over time， the lactic acid20 and bacteria in the rice breaks down the fish and， if done properly， even the head can be fully consumed. Thats the sign of a good funazushi，” he adds. “The technique is a thing to be proud of—we are proud of making this sushi for 1，000 years. When you eat funazushi， you can feel the history.”

To Ohashis knowledge， the oldest funazushi has been fermented for a century. “If its 100 years old， its still not rotten because of the fermentation，” says Ohashi. “By that time， it wouldnt be much more than liquid.”

The older it is， the rarer it is—and old narezushi can cost hundreds of US dollars， though the most common types will have aged for about one year.

“咱們別在這里打開它。”琵琶湖萬豪酒店的行政總廚大橋和幸提醒道，他示意邊上還有一群食客。“它就像藍紋奶酪一樣，有些人喜歡它的味道，但它的味道很大。”

大橋說的是一種壽司，但不是我們大多數人吃得慣的那種。熟壽司是一種最原始、最古老的壽司，與我們平常吃的加州卷和生魚片相距甚遠。

這種用鹽和生米腌制的發酵魚始于10世紀的日本，但最終被今天為世人熟知和喜愛的握壽司取代。后者是一種將切片海鮮放置在米團上的壽司。

壽司起源

熟壽司是一種用米腌制的發酵魚。公元2世紀左右，這種制魚方法在東南亞大部分地區非常普遍。據傳熟壽司于8世紀左右便已傳入日本，但直到10世紀才出現有關“熟壽司”的文字記錄。“對許多日本人來說，熟壽司是一道家常菜品。”大橋說，“大多數家庭都有自己的熟壽司做法，世代相傳。”

位于京都市北部的琵琶湖是日本最大的湖泊。熟壽司是當地家庭的主食和重要的蛋白質來源。冰箱問世以前，人們依靠大米和鹽來發酵和腌制魚。魚通常分層存放在桶中，以期盡可能長期保存。

熟壽司可選用黃條鰤或鯖魚腌制，但琵琶湖地區最常見的熟壽司是用圓鯽魚做的鯽魚壽司。大多數家庭都有自家的獨門秘訣，但制作方法彼此類似。

首先將魚去鱗，去內臟，并用鹽腌制幾個月，然后將其與大米混合發酵。只要在室溫下避光儲藏，就可以保存幾個月、幾年甚至幾十年。

幾百年中，人們只吃魚，把發酵的“臭米”扔掉。但15世紀左右，人們開始一起食用半發酵的魚和大米，從而為現代壽司的誕生鋪平了道路。

味道如何？

乍看之下，熟壽司與現代壽司截然不同。熟壽司通常以整魚出售，上面裹著一層類似酸奶的黏糊糊的醬料。

上菜時，壽司廚師會將魚切成薄片，然后放在米飯上擺成精美的圖案。有時，他們也會將熟壽司做成淋以熱茶的魚粥（或稱茶泡飯），甚至像炸天婦羅一樣炸熟壽司。

但無論如何烹制，由于其污水般的氣味和酸臭刺激的口感，熟壽司都是一種令人非愛即恨的食物，要么合你口味，要么讓你倒胃。當然，對于行家而言，越臭越好。

“喜歡鯽魚壽司的人，是發自肺腑地喜歡。事實上，我第一次嘗鯽魚壽司時還在念高中，大概十六七歲。” 大橋說，“我覺得太惡心了，但我父親卻很喜歡。他也是一名廚師，他把鯽魚壽司做到湯里給我吃，我就覺得味道好多了。”

雖然起初不能完全忍受，但大橋說，時間久了他越來越喜歡這種味道。“現在我喜歡鯽魚壽司。隨著時間的流逝，大米中的乳酸和細菌會把魚分解。如果處理得當，連魚頭都可以吃得一干二凈。好的鯽魚壽司就是這樣。”他補充道，“這項烹飪手藝令人驕傲。我們做這種壽司已有1000年歷史，為此我們感到很自豪。品嘗鯽魚壽司時，你可以感受到歷史。”

據大橋所知，最古老的鯽魚壽司已發酵了一個世紀。大橋說：“發酵了100年還沒有腐爛，但恐怕也已經化成水了。”

熟壽司的年份越久就越稀有。盡管最普通的熟壽司要發酵大約一年，要品嘗古味熟壽司，依然可能花費數百美元。□

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）