Nezushi (Koji-Fermented Trout and Rice)
Quick answer
- Active time
- 60 min
- Waiting
- See the steps
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Rice koji and cooked rice slowly develop a mild sweet-sour character in the cold, and that flavor seasons pieces of salted trout, shredded daikon, and carrot.
Read more
This fermented New Year sushi comes from the Hida and Chuno areas of Gifu, especially around Gero, where it was traditionally started in December. The packed container rests for 14 to 20 days somewhere consistently cold, and the pace changes with the weather and the ingredients.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Remove every remaining pin bone from the salted trout and cut it into small pieces about 1 cm wide.
Chop the ginger very finely.
- 2
Shred the daikon and carrot into thin 3 cm strips.
Sprinkle evenly with salt, massage for 10 minutes, then drain and squeeze firmly by hand to remove the released liquid.
- 3
Rinse the rice and cook it normally with the measured water.
Spread it in a wide bowl until the steam subsides and it feels only lukewarm, then mix in the rice koji evenly.
- 4
Add the trout, daikon, carrot, and ginger to the koji rice and mix until evenly distributed.
Transfer to a clean, dry lidded container, press firmly with a spatula to remove air pockets, and level the surface.
- 5
Cover the container and rest it for 14 to 20 days in a cold environment with little temperature fluctuation, like Hida in winter.
Scoop the fermented koji rice, trout, and vegetables together into bite-size servings and serve cold.
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
岐阜県学校栄養士会 · Checked: 2026-08-11
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