Sukugarasu tofu
スクガラス豆腐Suku (スク) is the rabbitfish fry; garasu (ガラス) means salt-fermentedDishYear-round; the suku fry run in the reef lagoons on the spring tides around the first day of the sixth, seventh and eighth lunar months
Sukugarasu tofu is a block of firm Okinawan island tofu topped with a row of salt-fermented baby rabbitfish, and izakaya serve it as a small, very salty plate to go with awamori. You eat a fish whole with a bite of tofu.
Photo pelican · Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0
Suku is the Okinawan word for the fry of the aigo rabbitfish, and garasu means salt-fermented. The fry come into the shallow reef lagoons in huge numbers on the spring tides of the old calendar, around the first day of the sixth, seventh and eighth lunar months, when they are about 3 cm long and a month old. Their bones are still soft then, and they have not yet started eating the seaweed that would give them a strong smell. Fishermen processed them the same morning, rinsing them in brine and packing them in salt.
The salted fish age at low temperature for about three months and turn from silver to brown, then go into jars with brine and island chillies steeped in awamori. Japanese Wikipedia reports that about 90% of the raw fish is now imported, mostly from the Philippines, where the season runs longer. The usual way to eat them is sukugarasu tofu, with a few fish laid across a slab of shima-dofu. Cooks also use the brine to season champuru and simmered dishes.
Worth knowing
- Order it with awamori. The fish are packed in heavy salt, so one fish to each bite of tofu is enough.
2 places
Where to eat Sukugarasu tofu店
Karakara to Chibuguwa
Naha
Mapple's March 2025 prices: Shurei three-year kusu (43 degrees) ¥1,800 per gō, standard 30-degree awamori ¥1,000 per gō, otoshi cover dish ¥500. Tabelog reviewers spend ¥3,000–7,999.
Urizun
Sakaemachi · Naha
Tabelog reviewers spend ¥5,000–5,999 a head at dinner. Mapple's March 2025 prices: duruten ¥713, rafute ¥950, house kusu aged 12 years ¥1,604, Mizuho awamori ¥951.
FAQ
Quick answers about Sukugarasu tofuよくある質問
What is sukugarasu?
Sukugarasu is salt-fermented fry of the aigo rabbitfish. The fish are about 3 cm long and age in salt for about three months, and in Okinawan suku means the fry and garasu means salt-fermented food.
Are the fish on sukugarasu tofu eaten whole?
Yes. The fish on sukugarasu tofu are eaten whole, head and all, because the fry are caught young while their bones are still soft. Eat one with a bite of the tofu.
How do you order Sukugarasu tofu?
Order sukugarasu tofu (スクガラス豆腐) as a small plate at an izakaya or awamori bar. Eat a fish and a piece of tofu together, and add nothing, since the fish carry all the salt the plate needs.
Is there a vegetarian Sukugarasu tofu?
No. Sukugarasu tofu is topped with salted fish. Order plain shima-dofu as hiyayakko instead and ask for it without bonito flakes (katsuobushi nashi).
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