Kanzuri
Paste
Quick answer
A fermented red chilli paste from Myoko, in the snow country of Niigata. Salted chillies are laid out on the snow for a few days, then ground and fermented with rice koji, yuzu and salt for three years. A little is stirred into hot pots and noodles or set beside sashimi and grilled chicken.
In essentially every version: Red chillies, salted and exposed on snow, Rice koji, Yuzu, Salt.
What goes into it
What essentially every version is made from, with what each ingredient is there to do.
| Ingredient | Role | How essential |
|---|---|---|
| Chilli flakesWhole local chillies, not flakes; SpiceHQ records the chilli generically. They are salted after the harvest and laid on the snow in January and February before they are ground. | heat | defining |
| RiceRice grown through with koji mould, mixed in with the ground chillies for the fermentation. | savoury depth | defining |
| Yuzu | primary aromatic | defining |
| SaltThe maker’s outline printed by the ministry gives salt at 11 per cent. | salt | defining |
Little that can be documented. The ministry’s page gives one list of ingredients, chillies, koji, yuzu and salt, and credits its outline of the process to one company. It adds that at first the paste was made simply, by grinding chillies and mixing in miso. No household or rival version is described in what was read, so what is said here of how it is made is one maker’s account.
The versions
Each attributed to whoever describes it. The sources say what goes in and how it is made and give no amounts, so none are shown.
No attributed version has been written up yet.
Using it
A seasoning added in small amounts: as a hidden flavour in hot pots, ramen and pasta, set beside sashimi, or added to grilled chicken and dipping sauces. The ministry’s page describes it as used in homes and restaurants across Niigata, in summer for dishes meant to restore the appetite and in winter to warm the table.
The ministry’s account says the snow draws the harshness out of the chillies and brings out savouriness, and that fermenting them with koji gives a deep flavour. The prefecture’s page says the snow softens the fibre and makes the heat milder. Both are descriptions; no measurement was read.
Hot, and used in small amounts.
- Hot pots (nabe)
- Ramen
- Pasta
- Beside sashimi
- Grilled chicken skewers (yakitori)
- Dipping sauces
What to use it on
Soup
StrongThe Japanese agriculture ministry’s register of local dishes lists hot pots and ramen first among its uses, as a hidden flavour stirred in. A little gives a broth heat, salt and the savouriness of the long fermentation.
How: Nabe; Ramen
Chicken
GoodThe ministry’s register names grilled chicken skewers among the foods it is added to, in small amounts.
How: Yakitori
Kanzuri compared
Direct comparisons with the blends and spices it is most often taken for.
Allergens and safety
Not among the substances that must be declared as allergens under EU Regulation 1169/2011 Annex II or under the United States major food allergen rules. That is a statement about labelling law and not about whether allergy occurs: allergic reactions to spices are documented in the clinical literature and are simply not a labelling category. Where a ground spice presents an allergen risk it is usually through adulteration or shared processing equipment rather than through the plant itself.
Culture and origin
Myoko, formerly Arai, in the Joetsu district of Niigata Prefecture, next to Nagano and in an area officially classed as one of especially heavy snowfall. The agriculture ministry’s register of local dishes gives Joetsu as the district where it is handed down, and a paper on Niigata’s local cooking lists it among the dishes particular to Joetsu.
Joetsu, Niigata
Joetsu, Niigata, Japan.
The work begins around the coldest point of the calendar, about 20 January, when the salted chillies are spread on fresh snow in fine weather for three or four days. The prefecture’s page offers visitors the chance to help scatter them and to dig them out again, which it calls heavy work. The ministry describes the paste as a souvenir of Niigata and as sold abroad.