Matsumae-zuke Dried Squid and Kombu Pickle
Quick answer
- Active time
- 65 min
- Waiting
- See the steps
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Fine strips of dried squid and kombu cure in soy sauce, sake and mirin until the kombu releases its sticky body, with salted herring roe mixed through.
Read more
The dish is said to have begun in the Matsumae domain of southern Hokkaido. As roe grew expensive, squid and kombu took over a larger share, but it remains a winter and New Year staple.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Desalt 3 herring roe pieces only in a refrigerator at 4°C or colder, following the package time and method.
Remove the thin membrane, pat dry with clean paper towels, and separate into 1cm pieces. Do not soak for long at room temperature.
- 2
Cut 1 dried squid along the grain into strips 5cm long and 2mm wide.
Wipe 60cm kombu with a dry cloth and cut to matching thin strips.
- 3
Bring 200ml soy sauce, 60ml mirin, 60ml sake, and 2g salt to a full boil and hold 1 minute.
Stir the pan over ice water and cool below 10°C within 2 hours.
- 4
Put squid, kombu, and roe in a glass container sanitized with boiling water and dried completely.
Pour in cold seasoning, mix with a sanitized spatula, and fit a sanitized weight so the ingredients stay submerged.
- 5
Cure immediately at 4°C or colder for 7 days.
Once daily, turn with a sanitized spatula, press down again, and return promptly to refrigeration. Do not cure or thaw at room temperature.
- 6
On day 7, when kombu viscosity is distributed and squid has softened, finely chop 5g yuzu peel and garnish.
Discard without tasting if there is mold, abnormal gas or bubbles, putrid slime, yeasty odor, or foul odor.
- 7
Use clean tongs for every serving and consume within 10 days from the start of curing.
On day 7, freeze any longer-held portion immediately; thaw in the refrigerator and consume within 24 hours.
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
「北海道の味」（南部 あき子氏） · Checked: 2026-08-11
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