🍱 Kasube-ni

"Kasube-ni," is a dish of Dried Stingray, (dried Kasube) cooked in a sweet and spicy sauce. In Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, there has long been a tradition of skillfully cooking and eating Stingrays, which have a somewhat peculiar taste. Dried kasubes originated in Hokkaido and were brought to the ports of Noshiro and Tsuchizaki by the Kitamae-bune, which sailed around the Sea of Japan from Hokkaido to Osaka in the days when refrigerators were not yet widely available. It has been valued as a preserved seafood. "Kasube-ni," is characterized by its softly simmered Fish flesh and crunchy cartilage. It tastes good even when cold, and is resistant to damage even in hot seasons, so it was once a valuable summer treat with few fish. It was also an indispensable dish at festivals, weddings, funerals, and when entertaining guests. In the old days, “Kasube”, was called “Kasu”, meaning "scum" of fish, but nowadays, the amount of catch and the frequency of fishing have decreased, and “Kasube”, is considered a rare and high-class fish. Still, people in the Tsuchizaki area use a lot of dried” Kasube,” every year to make it with vigor in order to preserve the traditional taste of” Kasube-ni”, that has been handed down from generation to generation. The annual "Hikiyama event of the Tsuchizaki Shinmeisha Festival (Tsuchizaki Port Hikiyama Festival)" held in the Tsuchizaki district is commonly known as the "Kasube, Festival" because it is customary for each household to make "Kasube-ni", and entertain guests during the festival.