Japanese Nara Cuisine Kakinoha-Zushi and Yoshino Tradition

Ingredients

• For the fish cure
• 2 mackerel fillets, skin on, pin-boned, very fresh
• 30 g fine sea salt, for light salt cure
• For the sushi rice
• 400 g Japanese short-grain rice, rinsed until water runs clear
• 500 ml water
• 80 ml rice vinegar
• 20 g caster sugar
• 8 g fine sea salt
• For wrapping and pressing
• 20 persimmon leaves (kaki no ha), fresh or salt-preserved and rinsed; wiped dry

Method

1. 1
   Lay the mackerel fillets skin-side down. Distribute the 30 g of fine sea salt evenly over the flesh. Place on a rack, cover, and refrigerate for 2–3 hours — the Saba Kaido tradition of light preservation. The fish is ready when the surface feels dry to the touch and the flesh has firmed perceptibly under gentle pressure.
2. 2
   Rinse the salt from the mackerel under cold running water. Pat completely dry. Remove the transparent outer skin by lifting it from the tail end and peeling steadily forward. Slice the fillet on the diagonal into pieces approximately 3 cm wide. The flesh should show a faint, even blush of cure — pale rather than raw, without grey edges.
3. 3
   Combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and 8 g of salt; stir until fully dissolved to make the sushi-zu. Cook the rinsed rice with the 500 ml of water. While still hot, turn into a wide, shallow vessel and fold through the sushi-zu in cutting strokes — do not stir. Fan the rice as you fold. The rice is ready when each grain is glossy, separate, and just cooled to body temperature.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Form the rice into compact oblongs of approximately 25 g each. Lay a slice of cured mackerel, flesh-side down, on each rice portion. Place each unit at the stem end of a persimmon leaf and roll the leaf firmly around it, tucking the sides. The wrapping must be snug — any looseness prevents the tannic compounds of the leaf from making full contact with the fish and vinegared rice during the rest period. The finished parcel should yield no movement when held between two fingers.
5. 5
   Arrange the wrapped parcels in a single layer in a deep tray or wooden press (oshibako). Place a flat board or second tray directly on top and weight it evenly with approximately 2–3 kg. Refrigerate. The minimum rest is 24 hours; 48 hours develops the full meld of persimmon tannin, vinegar, and cured fish. Do not open before 24 hours have elapsed.
6. 6
   To serve, unwrap each parcel at the table or just before. Lift the leaf and smell it before setting it aside — the persimmon fragrance, now carrying the scent of the fish and vinegar, is part of the intended experience. The rice should hold its pressed form without crumbling; the mackerel surface should be matte, lightly tacit, and faintly aromatic of the leaf.