The world's northernmost end, Greenland.
Last time, we learned about kiviak,
the fermented food that people
of Greenland ate to survive.
You may find it revolting because of the way
you eat it by stripping off the feathers
and eating it whole including 
the intestines and bone marrow.
The way they make it is also strange.
They fill the sealskin with little auks
then bury the whole thing under rocks 
and let it ripen for 3 to 4 months.
We met someone unexpected at the place
where people were making kiviak.
A cultural anthropologist from Japan
was also watching people make kiviak.
The kiviak has an awful smell.
It's hard to express that stench.
It is a sharp smell that shocks the nose like that of 
fertilizer, which has just been spread out in the field.
However, I really enjoyed the dish.
My father is from Tokyo, Japan,
and people in Tokyo often enjoy a dish called kusaya.
Kusaya is a dish made with fermented fish
so it has a strong stench, just like kiviak.
In Japan, there is a fermented food
that is just as smelly as kiviak. What could it be?
On this episode of the "Aesthetics of Fermentation,"
we're going to learn more about some
of the infamous stinky foods from around the world.
Aesthetics of Fermentation
Episode 2 Intoxicated on the Strong Stench
Tokyo is a colorful city, befitting 
its status as the capital of Japan.
However, when you live in a busy city,
sometimes, you wish you can go 
somewhere peaceful and quiet.
There's a place those who live in Tokyo go to
when they need some peace and quiet.
It only takes about 2 hours by 
a fast-sailing ship from Tokyo.
It is Oshima Island, a popular destination
for a comfortable weekend trip.
The most famous thing on Oshima Island
is Mount Mihara, which stands 
tall in the middle of the island.
Mount Mihara, which erupted about 30 years ago,
is quite popular among tourists for its trekking course
because of the wonderful view of the basalt area,
created due to the eruption of the volcano.
The harbor, which had been quiet, 
is quite busy and filled with noise today.
It's because a cargo ship has arrived from Kyushu.
Now that the ship is here, the villagers,
who make their livelihood 
processing fish, become busy.
Okuyama Kenichi is one of them.
This fish, which is a type of mackerel 
scad, is an ingredient for kusaya.
It was caught and brought over 
from Makurazaki, Kyushu.
The volume of mackerel scad decreases every year.
We used to catch a considerable 
volume of the fish around Oshima in the past
but the number of fishing boats as well as the volume
of fish that we can catch have all dwindled.
They're not easy to catch now.
Mr. Kenichi brought the fresh 
mackerel that just arrived in the harbor
over to the fish processing factory.
In this factory, they make kusaya, 
a local specialty here in Oshima.
The first thing you do when making 
kusaya is cleaning the mackerel.
It may seem like an easy job.
But Mr. Kenichi says that this is 
the most difficult part of the process.
He says that, even though he's been doing 
this job for over 40 years.
The knife must not go in too deeply.
You must use the knife with care
if you want it to look good.
I'm not good at this because I'm not skilled with knives.
What happens if you cut too deep?
If you make the cut too deep... This is what happens.
So when the fish arrive at the factory,
Mr. Kenichi's wife, mother and relatives all pitch in.
Women boast of superior skills at a time like this.
Mr. Kenichi's wife, who had never 
touched fish before she got married,
shows quite an expertise.
Were you told to do this right away 
when you got married and moved here?
Not at all. My husband told me I didn't 
have to do it if I didn't want to.
But you're doing it now.
Somehow, I ended up doing it.
With the whole family helping out,
the work soon comes to an end.
Next, they must wash the blood off the fish.
After they carefully wash and drain the fish,
the cleaning part of the job is done.
The most important work when making kusaya
begins now.
First, they need this.
It's a type of fish sauce often called kusaya sauce.
Kusaya can be made by immersing 
the mackerel in this sauce.
It was a surprise to find out that this sauce
started out as clear saltwater.
How did it become this thick, black liquid?
Although this island is surrounded by the sea,
salt was quite rare and valuable in the past.
People couldn't afford to waste salt water
so they repeatedly used it to preserve fish.
In the process, the flesh of the fish 
became combined with salt water
and produced kusaya fermentation bacteria.
That is how kusaya fermentation 
sauce came to be.
In Japan, heavy taxes were levied on salt in the past.
In order to save on salt, they re-used 
it over a long period of time.
And it became this smelly fish sauce.
This is 300 years old.
It has a very strong smell.
- You can taste it.
- You want me to taste it?
Yes. It's okay.
It's delicious. Sweetness spreads 
throughout your mouth later.
Although the stench was horrible 
enough to shock people,
it wasn't as salty as was expected.
Usually, the salt water used 
to preserve fish contain 20% salt.
However, kusaya sauce only contains 8% salt.
All they have to do now is wait 
for the sauce to soak into the mackerel.
The next day, Mr. Kenichi takes out the mackerel
that had been marinating in kusaya sauce.
The duration of the time the fish sit 
marinating in the sauce
and the number of times they are rinsed 
in water are not consistent.
Everything depends 
on Mr. Kenichi's considerable experience.
Kusaya is something you must continue 
to study until you die.
It's really difficult to make.
I think about it every day.
I worry a lot about how long I should 
let it soak and the salinity level.
The last leg of the kusaya 
making process is the drying.
When you dry the fish like this,
you can enjoy kusaya for a long time.
This is why kusaya was such 
an effective preserved food
when the people of Oshima Island 
didn't have refrigeration
or enough salt to preserve the fish in salt.
Dried fish is usually considered preserved food.
In the past, people didn't have refrigerators or freezers
so they dehydrated the food as much as possible
and preserved it in salty water.
Kusaya was one of those preserved foods.
Kusaya was created out of the efforts 
to make preserved foods.
The only problem it had was the stench.
But you might find it surprising to know
that you gradually get used to the stench.
It's fermented food, 
so when I'm traveling or something
and come home after being unable 
to eat it for about 10 days,
I get a strong urge to taste it right away.
I think I am addicted.
We're at a small pub on Oshima Island late at night.
The most popular side dish among the people,
who are here for a drink after 
a hard day at work, is kusaya.
It is very easy to cook.
All you have to do is broil it until in turns toasty brown.
You only need to roast kusaya over fire.
That makes it taste the best.
It is the most famous dish on Oshima Island.
It is also the most delicious food there is.
To those who don't like the smell,
this may be something difficult to try.
Some people eat it dipped in mayonnaise
or soy sauce sprinkled with chili powder.
That will make it more edible.
The stench of kusaya reminds the people of Oshima
of the days when they had been poor but happy.
To them, this plain fish is not 
the stinkiest food in Japan
but the flavor of home
that can never be replaced by anything else.
The smell is very awful.
It smells even worse when you broil it.
What about when it's in your mouth?
It's very tasty when you eat it, though.
It has an ammonic smell.
Even though I feel like I'm suffocating,
it is strangely delicious.
Korea also has food that boasts 
of the most horrible ammonic smell.
It is fermented skate.
Ammonic smell stings your nose 
as soon as you walk into the restaurant.
Everyone seems to be busy taking pictures.
It's because cutting apart a skate 
is not something you can see every day.
Many people make reservations ahead.
Those who enjoy skate liver
say if a fermented skate is worth US$ 1,000
then its liver would be worth US$ 500.
You can only taste the liver 
when you make reservations.
The skate liver is smaller than 
the size of an adult male's fist
even if it's from a skate that weighs 
more than 10 kilograms.
The liver that the restaurant owner says 
he only serves to longtime regular customers
is so tasty that once you've had it, 
you can never forget the taste of it.
I come here about 3 times a year.
I love this dish.
Once you've had it, the taste of it stays 
with you for 5 months. It's unforgettable.
Skate liver is not the only thing that is memorable.
No matter what part of a well-fermented skate you try,
you can't help but grimace.
I couldn't eat it at first.
The smell was too strong.
I couldn't get over the smell of the skate.
But, now that I've had it once or twice, 
I think I'm getting used to it.
Fermented skate offers both the taste 
of heaven and the taste of hell.
How did people come to eat such an awful food?
Heuksando Island is named so because of the way
the island and the sea look as if painted in black.
In the past, it used to be a place of exile for scholars,
far away from the mainland.
The story of fermented skates begins here,
which is now famous as the home of skates.
We're at sea at night, 
where there is not a speck of light.
Sailors, who are going off to catch skates,
quietly awaken the sea surrounding the island.
When they reach the fishery after sailing for a while,
the first thing that they do is throw in a reel and line
with multiple hooks for their future work.
There is no need for bait.
When we prepare a reel and line 
with multiple hooks but no bait
and leave it in the sea for about 5-7 days,
skates get caught on them as they swim by.
There is no bait.
Only after their preparation for future work is done
do they begin their day's work of fishing.
This is the most exciting moment for the sailors, 
who are hoping for a full load of fish today.
Although they pull up the line without rest,
there's not one skate so far.
It'd be great to catch a lot
but I don't think we will catch many fish today.
When something like this happens, there's nothing they 
can do but move to another spot where skates gather.
This is the most exciting moment for the sailors,
who are hoping for a full load of fish today.
Although every sailor continued 
to work through the night,
they caught not one skate out in the sea.
They finally sit down for some rest 
when the time for breakfast rolls around.
What bothers them is neither hunger nor the cold.
Not being able to sleep is the hardest.
It took us days to arrange the net.
We barely have the time to sleep.
Although their eyelids are heavy with sleep,
they can't give up.
After a long wait, they finally caught a skate.
They finally met a skate a day 
after they left Heuksando Island.
1, 2, 3... As soon as, the skates showed up,
any signs of sleepiness and tiredness disappeared.
This time, they caught a top tier skate, 
which seems to weigh far more than 10 kilograms.
This is the second night out at sea.
Unlike yesterday, quite a lot of 
skates have been caught.
They're so busy catching skates
that they have no time to rest.
There must be few jobs that are harder than this.
Catching skate takes a lot of effort.
This is why Heuksan skates are expensive.
The Heuksan skates that they've caught
are then transported to the mainland by a boat.
It used to take about 10 days to get to Yeongsanpo,
and the skates would be ripened to perfection by then.
Back when they had no refrigerator,
they had to throw away other fish, which often spoiled.
Skates, which could be fermented and eaten,
had always been something they had been grateful for.
This is why the people of Yeongsanpo
always insist on the traditional method 
of fermenting skates in jars.
This is in the early stages of fermentation.
This is very early on in the process 
when skates have just begun to ripen.
We must let it ferment for about a month.
Right now, the skate has a clear 
color and looks relatively clean.
Especially around its nose or wings.
When you press here, the flesh 
gives in like a piece of sponge.
But as it ripens, its flesh hardens
and the nose turns black.
The unique flavors of skates, after they are fermented,
led to the further discovery of gourmet food.
This is an interesting union
of fermented skate, aged kimchi and boiled pork.
This dish became the food 
that represents fermented skates.
There is also a recipe that brings out
that ammonic stench to the fullest.
However, the best dish is braised skate,
where the fish is steam cooked then eaten with sauce.
There are also skate pancakes, where the skate
is coated with eggs then cooked in a frying pan.
There are so many various recipes 
using fermented skates
that you can almost serve a full course 
filled with skate dishes.
There is another reason why 
people love skates so much.
Skate possesses flavors that can 
blow away any frustration
and comfort those that are in need.
You can experience that stinging 
flavor once you taste it.
This is why people eat skate.
Skate without that stingy flavor would be boring.
Imagine drinking a carbonated drink 
such as coke all at once.
Skate tastes far more stronger than that.
Your nose feels as if it's been hit...
It almost feels cathartic.
Skate fans love skate and eat it
to experience that cathartic flavor.
The smell of skate and salted fish had been part
of my life since I was a young boy in school.
This is nothing.
The ammonic smell doesn't shock me 
anymore unless its unusually strong.
Once you've become addicted to it, 
you begin to enjoy
even that awful ammonic stink.
In that sense, it's very similar to kusaya in Japan.
Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province 
in the south central part of China.
There is food here that is famous for its foul smell.
Although the street is filled 
with people and food stalls late at night,
there is something that easily captures your interest.
It is the stinky tofu.
It became famous when it came to be known
as the dish that Mao Zedong often 
enjoyed when he stayed in Changsha.
Just like what its name suggests,
it has a terrible smell.
However, despite the smell, it is quite popular.
There are even people who welcome
that stench with a shout when they smell it.
This is a smell that makes people's mouths water
and call out for chopsticks.
It is a smell that stimulates one's sense of taste.
Once you've tried it, you become 
addicted to it and can't stop.
Changsha is not that far from Guangzhou.
You can get here very quickly 
if you take the high-speed train.
I live in Guangzhou.
I eat stinky tofu whenever I visit Changsha.
Just how is it cooked 
that it has both an awful smell and an addictive flavor?
To see how stinky tofu is created,
we visited a mountain village on the outskirts of Changsha.
In this village, which looks 
like something from the distant past,
people make tofu using the traditional method.
Just like any other tofu,
beans are the main ingredients 
when making stinky tofu.
First, you must select the yellow beans, 
which are the main ingredients.
You must choose beans of the highest quality.
We live in the mountains 
so the water here is very clean.
Beans grown in an environment 
like this boast of high quality.
Choosing good beans is the first 
secret to making stinky tofu.
The second secret involves finely grinding
the bloated beans using a millstone.
It's simple, but it's the most 
important part of the process.
The beans must be finely ground.
If you don't do a good job, tofu won't taste good.
In order to enjoy that soft texture when eating tofu,
it is very important to finely grind the beans.
The ground beans are boiled in water once, filtered
then boiled again.
After you add brine and let it clot,
you pour the mixture in a wooden frame 
then squeeze out the moisture.
So far, the process is not that different 
from that of making regular tofu.
But in order for this white tofu 
to transform into stinky tofu,
this is the most important part.
Tofu that's been cut into pieces are marinated 
in fermented sauce for about 2 hours.
This fermented sauce is the key point.
Making this sauce is the most difficult task.
You must boil various medicinal herbs
then let it ripen for about a year or two 
before you can use it.
Making this sauce is not an easy job
because you must stir it every day as it ripens.
After some time has passed, I came to like this smell.
It no longer smells horrible to me.
Stinky tofu is not stinky tofu
without this stench.
When the fermentation sauce dyes 
the tofu black and produces that stench,
stinky tofu is finished.
Stinky tofu became one of the most common foods
here in the food alley of Changsha.
In the past, it used to be a rare dish 
that only the people in the palace ate.
Especially in the late Qing Dynasty,
Empress Dowager Cixi loved it so much
that she even had it at her birthday parties.
I came here because Taiping Street
is famous as a food alley.
So how do modern Chinese people
cook and eat stinky tofu?
One of the most beloved stinky tofu dishes
is fried stinky tofu with spicy sauce.
When cooked this way, 
you can get rid of that awful stink.
Stinky tofu was created when people regretted
throwing away spoiled tofu and began to reuse it.
This food contains the wisdom of their ancestors
so it is considered to be 
very special among the Chinese.
It is stinky
but I can accept that because it's a special scent.
It's crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.
It's really delicious.
From stinky tofu to fermented skate and kusaya,
these are foods that have a terrible smell 
but make you long for more once you've tasted them.
Today, we fully explored the stimulating 
aromas of fermented foods.
Our story on stinky food continues in our next episode.
On the next episode of "Aesthetics of Fermentation,"
we will journey into the world of flavors
that are all the more special because of fermentation.
