Kasuzuke, or kasu-zuke, is a versatile, delicious base for marinating meat and vegetables. Black cod kasuzuke is very popular, as is salmon, pork and cucumber. Kasuzuke is made using sake lees, which is a by-product of the sake production process.
Wikipedia says this stuff has been used for over 1200 years, created by monks as an imperishable wartime food. Traditionally, kasuzuke is made using sake lees, mirin, salt and sugar, but this can be expanded on in many other ways by adding chili pepper, ginger, citrus, shoyu… the list is endless. I love marinating cucumbers in kasuzuke, as well as the already mentioned black cod above, which I will focus on in upcoming recipes.
Find sake lees either at your local Asian market or, if possible, a local sake brewery. I bought mine at Uwajimaya in Seattle.
For now, this is just a basic recipe for kasuzuke itself, so here we go!
What you need
- Ingredients
- 1 lb sake lees (neri-kasu)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1-2 Tbsp sugar (I put 1-2 because you may adjust this for sweetness according to what you use it for)
- 2 tsp mirin
What to do
Step 1 – Mix all the above ingredients together well and refrigerate. That’s it! You can use it to rub on vegetables or fish before baking them and it keeps for a long time. I always manage to use mine up fairly quickly – we love kasuzuke a lot.
What now?
Stay tuned for forthcoming recipes using this incredibly delicious and useful marinade. In the meanwhile, experiment! Let me know in the comments section if you’ve used kasuzuke in any of your recipes.
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[...] International District years ago and I fell in love with it. We are going to need some of that kasuzuke I showed you guys how to make a week or so ago, and a couple other ingredients. This is actually a [...]
Help! Mitsuwa, who I buy from online, does not have kasu-neri. Where do you buy it?
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Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
February 9th, 2012 at 12:15 am
I buy mine at Uwajimaya, in Seattle. Where are you located … perhaps I can help track some down for you?
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Bad call! Mitsuwa came through for me. UPS Air just dropped off 5 lbs. Thanks for the offer of help, though.
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