🍱 Koi no Ito-zukuri

Shinjiko is a brackish lake with a mixture of freshwater and seawater, connected to Nakaumi between the Shimane and Tottori prefectures. It is home to an abundance of marine life, including basket clams, pond smelt, ice fish, sea bass, greasyback shrimp, carp, and eel, which are known as "Shinjiko Shicchin," or the Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji. Shinjiko's relatively low salinity enables a large catch of freshwater carp, some of which are said to weigh nearly 20 kg. They are generally eaten in "Koikoku (miso soup)" or as Arai (sashimi). "Koi no Ito-zukuri" was a noble cuisine eaten by emperors and shoguns from the Kamakura period to the Meiji period. Today, it is a winter regional cuisine of Matsue City, which gained prosperity as a castle town. The carp is divided into three pieces and cut into long, thin threads, then sprinkled with roasted carp roe. This technique is said to have been learned from the "Shijo-ryu," a school of Japanese cuisine dating back to the Heian period. It is served by sprinkling roasted carp roe on top of long, thinly sliced pieces of carp sashimi.