Mar 20, 2007
Kusaya (“Smells bad” fish)
Kusaya, which literally translates as “smells bad”, is a type of preserved dried fish.
During the Edo period, when salt was much more scarce, the people of Japan’s remote Izu Islands would save salt by preserving the fish they caught in a salty soup (kusaya-eki). The fish would then be laid out to dry in the sun.
When bigger catches came in, the same solution would be used salt to preserve multiple batches of fish. Although odorous, the smelly fish it produced came to be highly valued, and the same batch of kusaya-eki can be used for centuries, increasing in flavour and odour over time.
- Kusaya (Wikipedia)
- Kusaya
In Japanese only, but plenty of pictures
- Niijima Kusaya
Japanese only
6 Comments, Comment or Ping
Charles F. Sommers
They have a very stinky fish in Sweden which is supposed to be one of the World’s worst smelling foods. I would really like to try Kusaya and the Swedish fish. I once ate a can of sardines that were spoiled, I was very hungry. The can was swollen and squirted when opened. They were very smelly but had a good taste and did not make me sick.
Sep 3rd, 2007
Anonymous
Thats just nasty, Charles.
Apr 9th, 2009
Anonymous
Agreed, I can’t believe it took 2 years for anyone to mention that!
Jul 12th, 2009
Queer Face
I met a girl at a party a while back, and took her home with me. She and I were both very drunk. That night, I can assure you, I ate something a lot stinkier than Kusaya.
May 19th, 2010
Anonymous
I cant believe it took 6 years to find this off beat comment and say, “Queer Face, you never said if you got sick from it or not…”
Dec 11th, 2016
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