Azara (Fish and Aged Cabbage Sake-Lees Stew)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 70 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 5
About this dish
Azara comes from Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture, where it was eaten in spring, once cabbage pickled since winter had turned deeply sour.
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That cabbage simmers with the flesh, head and bones of menuke, a fatty white-fleshed fish, in sake lees and miso, and the lees thicken the sour broth as they dissolve. No salt or soy sauce goes into the pot; the salt left in the pickle and the miso do all the seasoning.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Cut the aged pickled cabbage into bite-size pieces.
Parboil it briefly, then rinse lightly in cool water without washing away all of its saltiness.
- 2
Place the ocean perch flesh, head, bones, and other scraps in a pot and add 5 cups of water.
Bring the liquid to a full boil over medium heat.
- 3
When the broth boils, add the parboiled pickled cabbage.
Once the pot returns to a simmer, lower the heat and cook gently until the cabbage absorbs the fish broth.
- 4
Ladle out some warm broth and use it to dissolve the sake lees and miso until smooth.
Return the mixture to the pot and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally so the bottom does not catch.
- 5
Turn off the heat when the cabbage is tender, the fish reaches at least 63C at the center, and the sake lees thicken the broth.
If cooling for storage, refrigerate within 2 hours and reheat throughout to at least 74C the next day.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
Checked: 2026-08-11
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