Shottsuru Nabe is a hot pot dish from the coastal area of Akita Prefecture, centered on the Oga Peninsula, that uses shottsuru — a fish sauce made by fermenting fish such as hatahata (sailfin sandfish) with salt over a long period — as its broth. Shottsuru is counted as one of Japan's three great fish sauces, alongside Noto's ishiru and Kagawa's ikanago shoyu. Since around the early Edo period, fishing villages in Akita, including Oga, have passed down the technique of salting the large hatahata catches in barrels and slowly fermenting them into fish sauce. The hot pot, in which hatahata, tofu, napa cabbage, mushrooms, and other ingredients are simmered in a shottsuru-based broth in an earthenware pot, is prized for the rich umami and distinctive flavor unique to fish sauce, and it is cherished as a signature winter taste of Oga.
Origin
The origins of shottsuru trace back to the practice, in fishing villages of Akita including Oga, of salting the large catches of hatahata in barrels and fermenting them. It is said that fish sauce made from locally caught hatahata was already being produced by the early Edo period, and the wisdom of preserving fish developed into a fermented seasoning.
History
The culture of salting and fermenting fish is said to date back as far as the Yayoi period through the Kofun period, and shottsuru is a traditional fish sauce that carries on this lineage. The traditional method — packing hatahata and sun-dried salt into barrels and aging the mixture for one to two years while stirring it with a wooden paddle — has been passed down and is still preserved today by brewers in Oga City.
Features
Using shottsuru as the base of the broth gives the whole pot the rich umami and distinctively salty aroma unique to fish sauce. With hatahata as the star ingredient, tofu, napa cabbage, long green onion, and mushrooms are added and simmered in an earthenware pot until the fish flakes apart tenderly.
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
The dish grew out of the wisdom of making full use of the large hatahata catches landed in winter, and in the fishing villages of Oga it has been cherished both as everyday home cooking and as a classic winter hot pot for entertaining guests.
How It Differs from Home Cooking
At home, the dish is typically prepared quickly using store-bought shottsuru, whereas specialty restaurants often use locally brewed shottsuru and serve a rich broth made using whole seasonal hatahata, resulting in differences in flavor intensity and the freshness of the fish.
Famous Shops
割烹かめ清 遊食さい賀
秋田県秋田市大町4-1-16
A long-established Japanese restaurant founded in 1886 (Meiji 19). Shottsuru Nabe costs around 2,580 yen.
View details →マルトミ水産（道の駅おが「オガーレ」内）
秋田県男鹿市船川港船川字新浜町1番地19
A set meal of Shottsuru Nabe made with Oga-caught hatahata is available for around 2,980 yen.