Pop Japan

Chinmi is the Japanese term for "rare tastes." And shiokara is one of the more famous Japanese dishes that could give foreigners, who are looking for some thrilling adventure, the food trip of their lives. Shiokara is a Japanese cuisine made from seafood meat and from the seafood's visceral paste. Yes, that is a paste made from the fermentation of the sea animals internal organs. The paste is made with some salt and malted rice for the perfect 30-day fermentation. It is one of those Japanese food that has that "acquired taste" not only for tourists but also for the native Japanese as well. The one in the photograph is an ika no shiokara or a squid shiokara, made from the viscera of squid.

Photo by Okona. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en)

Tags: food, chinmi, rare tastes, acquired taste, shiokara, seafood meat, visceral paste, fermentation, internal organs, malted rice, salt, ika no shiokara, squid shiokara