SABA

Tokyo: this world-class metropolis is a veritable gourmet wonderland.

Discover the stories behind the ingredients that make this city so delicious - so "oishii."

Today is all about saba, or mackerel.

It's eaten all over the world, and has firm roots in Japanese tradition as well.

Canned saba is also gaining traction, especially for use in home cooking.

"Oishii!"

In Kyoto, Japan's old capital, saba is a key part of local tradition.

This is salted saba.

Discover ancient routes that connected landing areas to the inland capital.

And see how fishers are using aquaculture to put Wakasa Bay back on the map.

Take a dive into the vast world of saba.

Trails to Oishii Tokyo.

Alright, so this is my first time coming to the Toyosu fish market since it moved to this area.

I'm here to find all about Japanese saba, or mackerel.

Let's go check it out.

Ah! I can smell the fish already.

Let's get going!

Our American reporter Michael is at Toyosu Market in search of saba.

He visits a wholesaler established in 1863.

Saba connoisseur Kato Satoru is here to tell us more.

This is "ma-saba."
This is "goma-saba."

What's the difference?

At first glance, they have different patterns.

The two types mainly caught around Japan are ma-saba and goma-saba.

Goma-saba prefer warmer waters.

Goma means sesame - you can see they have a lovely spotted pattern.

Ma-saba are the most common.

They have softer lines, with a light-green back.

Saba are caught all over Japan, from
Hokkaido all the way down to Kyushu.

The whole country.

They're mostly caught in the fall.

What's different about fall saba?

- Fattiness.
- I see.

Saba eat a lot to nourish their eggs.

They keep eating after they spawn
to re-energize and fatten up.

Ma-saba swim north in the spring,

and then south in the fall.

They return nice and fat, making them tastiest in the fall.

Saba are nutritious, right?

Yes. It's a great fish.

- I want to try some.
- You can't here.

Not only healthy, saba have been easy to come by for ages - it's no wonder they're popular.

According to a document on medicinal herbs and ingredients dating back to the Edo period,

saba wasn't supposed to be eaten raw, but pickled in salt.

Fatty meat tends to spoil quickly.

So in the past, saba was often grilled with salt or cooked in miso.

Michael's off to the historic capital, Kyoto.

He's here for a history lesson, and to eat something special!

This traditional home unique to Kyoto is an Important Cultural Property.

Hello.

Hi. We're here.

Sugimoto Setsuko is an expert on Kyoto tradition.

Her family opened a kimono business here in the mid-18th century.

Now open to the public, the building, that's been preserved for over 150 years, keeps Kyoto tradition alive.

- This is the kitchen.
- I see.

It has a special name in Kyoto.

This hearth is called "kudo," so we
call the room "o-kudo-san."

We add the honorifics "o" and "san"
to each end of the word.

It's a polite name that shows our affection.

This is cool.
I want this at home.

- May I touch it?
- No way.

This written record has been passed down through the family.

Michael gets to see a page about saba.

This was written by our ancestor
in 1841, during the Edo period.

It's a memorandum.

This says, "During Shinto celebrations,
salted saba is sent to the following."

This says "shio-saba," or salted saba.
"Shio" in kanji and "saba" in hiragana.

Salted saba was sent to relatives
during festival season.

This is a list of those relatives.

In Kyoto, it's custom to eat
saba sushi on festive occasions.

The Gion Festival is one of Kyoto's largest annual celebrations.

It's been held for over 1,000 years.

Floats are paraded around to ward off disease.

The family document mentions the festival in the part about sending saba to relatives.

Salted saba came all the way from Wakasa Bay in Fukui, which was known as a "miketsukuni" -

a province that provided high-quality food to the imperial court.

Kyoto residents got their fill as well -

loved ones enjoyed salted saba together during festive occasions.

Time to make festival sushi.

Saba was preserved in salt to keep it from spoiling on its way to Kyoto.

This was then seasoned with vinegar before use.

Vinegar is also added to rice, the age-old food that invites good fortune.

After cooling, the rice is shaped and put over a cut of saba.

This is then wrapped in a bamboo leaf.

Such a beautiful presentation. Wow.

Let the flavors settle for about 12 hours.

And saba sushi - an old-school party food.

- "Itadakimasu."
- Enjoy.

It's beautiful.

I'll eat it whole.

The vinegar just really kicks in and brings out the flavor of the saba.

And it's also... it's got a really creamy texture to it.

It just melts in your mouth, but still the rice has got a nice chewy bit to it.

My ancestors also made this,
to celebrate the same festivities.

Saba sushi keeps us connected to our past.

It's like we're communicating
with our ancestors.

It's a special food in that way.

A food with a storied past continues to warm hearts.

Inland trade routes leading to Kyoto and surrounding areas were known as the Saba Kaido.

Michael heads to the starting point - Wakasa Bay.

Welcome to Obama.

The city once landed a large amount of saba, giving birth to a rich food culture

with many recipes that have lasted generations.

"Heshiko" is saba pickled in brine and fermented rice bran.

This is "nare-zushi," heshiko that's fermented longer with rice and "koji."

These are two examples of how saba can be enjoyed all year round.

Michael heads to a local fishing port.

Okay, so it's first thing in the morning. A bit crisp out here.

I heard that close by they're doing aquaculture - raising fish close to the ocean.

So, I'm gonna go check it out.

Floating rafts are set up in a nearby inlet.

Michael will help with unloading and feeding today.

The port started aquaculture about six years ago.

Saba caught in nature are raised in enclosures until they're ready to be shipped.

Nets are raised to bring up the fish.

A light-green color on the back means the saba are healthy.

Full of energy.

They're moved to ice water to keep them fresh.

Saba of a certain size are collected until the quota is met.

That'll do.

Time to feed the fish.

They're fed by hand every day to keep them healthy.

Feeding takes about 20 minutes.

They learn quickly.
They know food is coming.

Wow!

They must be hungry.

What's the food made of?

It's made by a compound feed manufacturer.

It has a good balance of nutrients.

We add minced yellowback bream head,
small shrimp, also minced, and sake lees.

- Does it smell sweet?
- It does.

A bit like strawberries.

Yeah, it's a fruity smell.

The feed gives the meat aroma
along with extra nutrients.

Sake lees are yeast deposits left over from sake brewing.

Rich in proteins, amino acids, and vitamins from rice malt and yeast, it's commonly used in Japanese cooking.

Here, they use sake lees from Kyoto - at the other end of the saba highway!

The saba seem to enjoy the stuff, earning them a nickname to be proud of: Obama drunken saba.

Hey, alright, here you go.

I think they like it.

I'm happy they gobble it up.

So, why do aquaculture?

The saba population is greatly decreasing.

Sardine and horse mackerel hauls are down too.

We need to raise saba so that
they're good enough to eat.

Catch numbers in Obama, once massive, have been dropping since around 1990.

Global warming and a decline in saba seine net fishing are just two possible reasons.

In 2016, Obama began its current saba cultivation project.

This port was big for saba.
Farming will revive that.

That could also revive the community.

Within five years, we hope to
be able to raise them directly from birth.

To achieve this, saba research is underway in a local facility.

Healthy parents are raised by retrieving and incubating eggs.

And feed that fosters growth is being developed to shorten the overall raising process.

Born and raised in Obama.

The environment is always changing,
and saba adapt to those changes.

That makes it difficult to choose
the right conditions for them.

Giving them an ideal environment
requires a lot of trial and error.

The future of Obama's food culture lies on their little shoulders.

Time for some drunken saba!

Michael heads to a seafood restaurant near the port.

They get fish straight from the Sea of Japan.

This is my first time eating raw saba.

It looks great. Beautiful fish.

It's best to prepare and eat it
the same day it's caught.

This saba is fresh.

Delivered the same day, the saba is truly farm-to-table.

And since it's farmed, it's safe to eat raw.

Wow. The texture, it's just so tender, yet chewy.

And the flavor's so mild, but it has a...

the oils start coming out, start sweetening as you chew it.

Very tasty.

I was expecting a fishier flavor,
but this is very refreshing.

The fat has a sweetness to it.

Next, the skin is flame-seared.

Juicy cuts are placed over a bed of rice with a Japanese herb called "shiso."

How do I start?

With a pinch of salt. That'll
bring out the saba's umami.

It retains its true flavor,
with an added smokey aroma.

To shake things up, he adds a special miso vinaigrette.

After that, bonito and "kombu dashi" broth.

Very nice.

The oils come out in the broth.
It's yet another way to enjoy saba.

How has the availability of drunken saba
changed things for you?

I'm grateful to get such good saba.

Saba is a tourist attraction for Obama.

Repeat visitors are increasing too.
It's a chance to promote drunken saba.

This makes it very luxurious.

It rivals the sea bream.

Obama's future is bright with its new brand of saba.

Back in Tokyo, Michael stops by Shinbashi, a business district.

This shop opened in March 2022.

They specialize in canned goods, and the saba section keeps growing.

The canned saba is here.

Nowadays, canned saba production is
higher than canned tuna.

It keeps growing.

Ones with Western seasonings
are particularly popular.

Where is saba canned?

Usually close to landing and production sites.

Canning means you can enjoy saba
of a certain season at any time.

That's a key point.

Also, it's heated after it's canned.
That reduces the need for preservatives.

That's a big advantage.

They have cute designs.

Right. That helps them fly off the shelves.

I could see myself buying
one just for that reason. Impactful.

New canned saba flavors are popping up left and right.

Michael picks a few to take home to his outdoor kitchen.

Alright, so I picked up a couple different flavors that I'm gonna give a try.

We've got chocolate, habanero, and black pepper, which is one of my favorite spices.

So, let's just open these up and see what we've got.

Oh, wow.

It does have like a cacao color to it.

I cannot imagine what the flavor of this is.

Wow, that's remarkably delicious, but not like anything I've ever had before.

For anyone who likes dark chocolate,

if you let the dark chocolate melt in your mouth and kind of slowly build up,

and the flavors spread out...

You don't get any of the fishiness, but it backs up the saba with just a really light coating of your palate.

Surprising.

I love spice. Ooh, that looks really delicious.

That looks like it could also be good for using in cooking.

You can see the red oils from the habanero coating this saba.

Let's give it a try.

Oh, wait for it, wait for it! Wow.

At first I was just tasting those rich flavors of the saba, but then slowly that heat started building up.

I'm gonna need a glass of milk.

But that's great. It's a great way to have this canned saba.

The soft punch of black pepper goes great with a cold drink.

Excited to cook up some saba, Michael picks organic veggies from his farm.

Let's see what he makes!

So I like to try to use as many different color vegetables as possible.

Just, you know, it looks much nicer that way.

Give this a little... just let this go for a little bit.

Now I've got my two cans open with the juices inside still.

One of the great things about the saba-can is that the juices inside,

you can put them in there and you don't need to add any other flavors, any other...

like consommé or some type of fish stock.

This is just enough to add all the flavor that you need for it.

Afterwards, you just kind of add a little bit of salt and pepper and finish it up that way.

As you can see, it's not like a flake,

the actual mackerel is in these - it's a crosscut, and it's still in full form there.

So, it makes it really easy to work with.

Just add the juice first.

First, he only adds the juice.

Once the veggies have cooked a bit, the saba meat goes in.

He then adds basil and other seasonings, and lets it simmer for about five minutes.

Wow, look at that.

All the vegetable juices and the saba juices have come out and they're dancing together.

Smells so good.

Perfect for a cold evening - it's basically umami soup!

Next, Michael will integrate saba into a special recipe.

He uses saba in tomato sauce.

He sautes garlic in olive oil before pouring in the saba.

I'll add my saba and break that down.

He adds home-dried tomatoes and chilies to taste, and tops it off with salt and pepper.

I got my tasty salt from Noto Peninsula.

It cooks for five minutes.

I've chosen penne this time.

Mix in boiled penne noodles, and it's ready.

As we say in Japan...
"Itadakimasu."

Get some of this soup.

That is to die for.

It's got just a deep... that deep mackerel punch to it.

And they just slowly melt to the rest of your mouth.

And the sweetness from the vegetables comes out.

Oh, my goodness. What a wonderful medley.

Using canned saba cuts the cooking time in half.

But the flavor has depth,
like using fresh saba.

That is so good.

Now for pasta, almost from the can...

This is a much different...

It's got that salty punch that saba also brings.

This makes me want to drink so red wine.

Oh, this is so good.

This is heaven.

Canned saba could turn you into a bona fide chef!

Saba has been bringing joy and flavor to the dining table for centuries, and continues to impact regional cuisine.

In the face of new challenges, it's clear that historic saba is here to stay.

In Tokyo, every ingredient has its own story.