View source for Karasumi

{{Short description|Japanese fish-based food product}}
{{Infobox
| above    = Karasumi
| image    = [[File:Karasumi.jpg|200px]]
| caption  = Mullet roe drying. The roe sac is deveined, and progressively pressed, dehydrated and salted until the desired firmness or texture is achieved. Mullet roe is considered a delicacy in Taiwan as well as in Japan.
| data1    = {{Infobox East Asian name/Japanese|
| img      = 
| katakana = カラスミ
| kanji    = 唐墨, 鱲子
| romaji   = karasumi}}
}}

'''Karasumi''' is a food product made by salting [[mullet (fish)|mullet]] [[roe]] [[Fish_reproduction#Ovaries|pouch]] and drying it in sunlight. A theory suggests that it got its name from its resemblance to the blocks of ''sumi'' ([[inkstick]]) imported from [[China]] (''[[Names of China#Names in non-Chinese records|Kara]]'') for use in [[Japanese calligraphy]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Sanmi Sasaki|author2=Shaun McCabe|author3=Satoko Iwasaki|title=Chado: The Way of Tea|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|year=2002|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6OUXvqSHSboC&pg=PA571 571]}}</ref> Karasumi is a high priced delicacy and it is eaten while drinking [[sake]]. It is a softer analog of Mediterranean [[Bottarga]].

[[File:Fish liver or something, drying in the street outside restaurant in Azabujuban, close-up.jpg|thumb|''Karasumi'' drying]]

It is a speciality of [[Nagasaki]] and along with salt-pickled [[sea urchin]] roe and [[Konowata]] one of the "three ''[[chinmi]]'' of Japan". 

The town of [[Donggang, Pingtung|Donggang]] in [[Taiwan]] specializes in the delicacy, called '''wuyutsu''' ({{Lang-zh|t=烏魚子}}). Mullet fishing in Taiwan can be traced back to when the island was under [[Dutch colonial rule of Taiwan|Dutch colonial rule]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=186453&CtNode=429|title=Mullet roe brings gold to Taiwan's fishermen|work=Taiwan Today|date=February 19, 2012|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bottarga]]
* [[Eoran]]
* [[Delicacy#Risks And Harm Associated with Delicacies|List of delicacies]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Roe}}
{{Dried fish and seafood}}
{{Japanese food and drink|state=collapsed}}
{{Fishing industry topics}}

[[Category:Japanese cuisine]]
[[Category:Taiwanese cuisine]]
[[Category:Roe dishes]]