Karasumi

Karasumi is a gourmet delicacy made by salting mullet roe and then drying it under the sun. Its name is believed to originate from its resemblance to the ink sticks used in Japanese calligraphy. This luxurious treat is often enjoyed with sake and is considered a milder counterpart to the Mediterranean Bottarga.

Karasumi is a specialty of Nagasaki, Japan, and is one of the "three chinmi of Japan" along with salt-pickled sea urchin roe and konowata. Interestingly, the town of Donggang in Taiwan is also renowned for producing Karasumi, owing to a mullet fishing tradition that dates back to the period of Dutch colonial rule.