Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi Tom Schiller Kitashina’s signature dish is a platter of funazushi made from roe-laden female carp served as fanned slices of the whole fish on a bed of sake lees For the past 18 generations, one family has preserved a 400-year-old recipe showing how sushi once tasted, and it doesn't use raw seafood, but fish aged for three years. Tom Schiller Kitashina’s signature dish is a platter of funazushi made from roe-laden female carp served as fanned slices of the whole fish on a bed of sake lees Carp is the king of freshwater fish in Japan, with the most prized being Japanese crucian carp, which is the original type of carp used to make funazushi and the kind Kitashina features. Tom Schiller Kitashina's funazushi is now featured on the menus of some of the most exclusive restaurants in Kyoto and Tokyo Compared to narezushi's millennia-old history, the sushi we eat today is a mere footnote. Ruben Earth/Getty Images The sushi we eat today is called hayazushi and was created as a fast-food version of narezushi for Tokyo's busy people Currently, the pendulum is swinging backwards, and sushi chefs in Japan are now aging their seafood toppings for days, weeks and even months to give all kinds of fish the creamy texture and savoury richness of funazushi.