Heshiko
town and culture 2.1.2022
Heshiko is a traditional local delicacy in the Tango region, mainly in the town of Ine, Kyoto Prefecture. Heshiko is made by fermenting mackerel in salt and rice bran, and is then often sliced and lightly roasted before being served with a variety of foods as it pairs well with freshly made rice and ochazuke (tea poured over rice). I spoke with two groups, the Ine branch of the Kyoto Prefectural Fishermen's Cooperative Association (Hirata, Ine), which has been making heshiko in the traditional way for over 50 years, and Heshiko Kobo HISAMI (village of Taiza in Tango, Kyotango City), which has developed a new spin on this traditional food. As such, Ine's heshiko preserves the original flavor and recipe, while Hisami’s heshiko has evolved to complement a more modern palate. Both are representative of Tango's rich food culture.
｜Ine's heshiko: preserving tradition
(left) Staff in Ine showcasing their heshiko. (right) processing facility where they make their heshiko.
Heshiko is a local dish from the Tango region and the Wakasa region of Fukui Prefecture. Heshiko is a preserved food made by marinating mackerel in salt and rice bran for about a year, and in the past, most families kept it as a "taste of home.
At the Ine branch office, which has a processing facility dedicated to heshiko, fatty Norwegian mackerel is used. The mackerel are then salted for about a week to remove the water, and then each fish is coated with rice bran and salt. The fish are then placed in a large container called a "dumbe," weighted down, and marinated for about a year.
Naoko Ohkita, who has been involved in making heshiko for 17 years, says that she is very careful about the freshness of the mackerel, sorting them strictly and using only those without flaws. Naoko Ohkita says that she is very careful about the freshness of the mackerel. The salty taste is what makes Ine's heshiko so good, and it tastes really good when you remove some of the bran and fillet it before grilling," says Ohkita. Currently, Mr. Ohkita and his four staff members produce 35,000 fish a year, mainly in the winter.
Kazuhiro Yagi speaks to me about heshiko
How did heshiko come to be made in the Tango region? The history of heshiko is a bit murky, but Kazuhiro Yagi, who has served as an employee of a fishery cooperative, as the head of the Ine fishery cooperative, and as a board member of the prefectural fishery cooperative, says, "In the old days, every family made heshiko from locally caught fish like mackerel, horse mackerel, sardines, and flying fish. And those days, we used to pickle yellowtail in salt and preserve it. When people started eating white rice, rice bran was produced as a by-product. Fermenting fish with the bran and salt made the fish taste even better, which is probably how heshiko came to be made.
The fishermen's cooperative started to make and sell heshiko commercially in 1961, when a production plant was built. They believed that selling heshiko would add value to fish, and sold it under the slogan, “preserved food that can be eaten anytime.” And is sold so well that they even built a heshiko warehouse. In the past, they used to use local mackerel, but as the hauls and fat content of the fish decreased, they started using Norwegian mackerel. Ine's heshiko is sold at the fishermen's cooperative, as well as at local supermarkets and gift shops.
Lightly pickled heshiko is in
Tango is gaining notoriety for being the place to go for heshiko. And it’s thanks to Heshiko Kobo HISAMI, produced by HISAMI, a family-owned business with heshiko production, restaurant, and café. They make their heshiko using a unique method that lightly pickles the mackerel to reduce the salty taste, giving it a wider appeal than traditional heshiko. Mr. Ryu Imade, who runs the business, told me, "Since heshiko is only available in Japan, I think this type of heshiko will be the best-selling heshiko in the world!”
｜Fighting for a spot as a “local specialty product”
The foundation of Hisami’s heshiko was built by Mr. Imade's grandmother, who made this lightly pickled heshiko by herself while peddling fish after the war. When she would go to Kyoto City, she gave it away as gifts to people working at Nishiki Market. It was very well-received even though it was not for sale at that time.
After the post-war turmoil settled down, Mr. Imade’s grandmother opened a restaurant called "Hisami" in the fishing village of Taiza (town of Tango, Kyotango City). Mr. Imade, for his part, worked as a chef elsewhere and eventually came back to take of Hisami around 1993. It was at that time he started thinking about whether there could be another local specialty popular enough to supplant Taiza Crab (famously rare and expensive crab caught in the same village). He saw his grandmother’s specialty as the answer.
｜Heshiko for the masses!
Mr. Imade learned how to make heshiko from his grandmother. And she learned from her grandmother. And since it’s easier to eat for people unfamiliar with similarly salty dishes, Mr. Imade thought it would appeal on a larger scale and started to commercialize it. He tweaked his grandmother’s recipe a bit about ten years back as well, reducing the salt content further to make it gentler on our stomachs and taste buds, selling it as lightly pickled heshiko.
｜The modern fishmonger
Heshiko KOBO Hisami
In 2014, Hisami’s heshiko won first place in the Kansai Television's information program "Yoi Don!” during their product ranking project. In 2017, Heshiko Kobo HISAMI opened next to HISAMI restaurant to serve as a production and sales base, accelerating the heshiko business. In addition to heshiko prepared with black pepper and curry, they are also creating other heshiko based foods like pasta sauce.
｜Still evolving
The evolution of Hisami’s heshiko continues. In November 2021, a new heshiko-based pickled vegetables was released. Made by maturing and fermenting fish in a rice-bran paste combined with white wine and yogurt, it offers a mild yet flavorful entrance into the world of heshiko.
｜The Next Generation of Rice Bran
Originally, heshiko was created as a way of preservation. But now, when you can get nearly anything you want year-round, the amount of salt used in the original recipe is perhaps unnecessary, as the shelf-life of the product is less important. Hisami has created umai zuke, rice-bran pickled products using their original recipe that uses less salt. This recipe adds to the process of fermentation, leading to a more mature umami that brings out the flavor of the fish even more.
In addition to mackerel and salmon, they also have Kyoto Spanish mackerel (over 1.5 kg of Spanish mackerel caught in Kyoto). In the future, the company plans to expand the range of these products further by using local ingredients. Hisami has brought heshiko to the attention people all around the country, and Mr. Imade’s next hope is for the world to catch on.
Cooking with Heshiko
Heshiko is usually grilled and served on rice or as ochazuke. Here are two recipes from a collection of heshiko-based recipes.
Heshiko Fried Rice
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 large bowls of rice
30 grams heshiko
2 eggs
50 grams green onions
2 tbsp. ground sesame seeds
2 tsp soy sauce
a little sake
a little chicken soup stock
Cooking
1) Heat a wok thoroughly, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add a beaten egg and mix vigorously, then add sesame seeds and fry further.
2) Add grilled and deveined heshiko and rice to the frying pan and mix the ingredients well, pressing down on the top of the mixture with a ladle intermittently.
3) Add 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and a little bit of sake. Then add chicken stock and continue to stir-fry the mix. Finally, add the sliced green onions, mix briefly and turn off the heat.
Heshiko Croquette
Ingredients
heshiko (as much as desired to make the patties)
7 medium potatoes
1 onion
3 tablespoons butter
A little milk
A pinch of salt and pepper
as much as necessary of the following: flour, egg, breadcrumbs, oil for frying
Cooking
1) While grilling the heshiko break it up into smaller pieces.
2) Boil and mash the potatoes. （steaming or microwaving also works to soften them)
3) Finely chop the onion and fry it in a pan with butter.
4) While the potatoes are still hot, add the onions and mix, then add milk (or cream) and season with salt and pepper.
5) Divide the croquette mixture into the number of croquettes you want to make, and roll them into a round or oval shape. Then add the desired amount of grilled heshiko flakes to the center of each of the formed croquettes.
(6) Dip the formed croquettes in flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs, and then deep-fry them in oil until crispy.