How is funazushi made?

While sushi can be made from nearly any fresh, edible fish funazushi is traditionally made with a kind of Japanese goldfish called nigorobuna, unique to Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.

Originally a food preservation method to fortify rice farmers’ food stores through the rainy season, the fish is pickled in salt to draw out moisture, then compressed with steamed rice to seal out air and encourage fermentation. The resulting product, harvested several months later, evokes strong, tangy blue cheese, feet and perhaps a whiff of ammonia.