Squid ika shiokara

Squid ika shiokara is a traditional Japanese preserved food made from salted, fermented squid: the cleaned squid is cut into pieces and matured in salt together with its own viscera, which supply the enzymes that drive the fermentation. The result is an intensely savoury, pungent delicacy prized as an accompaniment to rice or sake, eaten in small amounts like a condiment. As a raw fermented seafood product, its safety depends on heavy salting, cold maturation, and control of parasites, achieved through freezing of the raw material or through salt concentration and time. It is a connoisseur’s food with a powerful aroma.