Karasumi (からすみ)

Slice a piece of karasumi paper-thin, put it on your tongue, and wait a second. The salt hits first. Then something richer arrives, closer to aged cheese than to fish, and it lingers well after the piece has gone. Quick answerKarasumi (からすみ) is dried, salted mullet roe, often described in English as Japanese bottarga. Producers cure whole roe sacs of grey mullet in salt, then sun-dry them for several weeks until they turn amber and firm. Nagasaki is the most famous source, and karasumi counts as one of Japan’s three great delicacies. Most people eat it sliced thin with sake, or grated over rice and pasta. The name itself is a small puzzle. Written 唐墨, it means “Chinese ink stick,” and the accepted explanation is simply that the dried slab looked like one. Before refrigeration the surface darkened over time, which made the resemblance stronger still. This guide covers what karasumi is, how producers make it, what it actually tastes like, and how to eat it without wasting an expensive ingredient. We also compare it with Italian bottarga, since the two are closely related yet not identical. TOCWhat Is Karasumi? Karasumi is a preserved food made from the ovaries of grey mullet, cured w...