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Kensan Yaki ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

  • Niigata Prefecture

    Kensan Yaki

Kensan Yaki

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  • recipe image

    Image Source: Public Interest Incorporated Association Niigata Prefecture Tourist Association

  • Main lore areas

    All of Niigata Prefecture

  • Main ingredients used

    Rice, miso

  • History/origin/related events

    Kensan-yaki is a local dish of grilled rice balls topped with ginger miso or sweet miso. It is also called "kensashi-yaki," "kenshin-yaki," or "kensayaki." The name is said to have originated when Kenshin Uesugi used to eat rice balls that had become cold and tough by stabbing them with the tip of his sword as food for his soldiers during war. In the old days, transportation was not well developed, so people had to travel on foot along snow-covered roads when returning to their hometowns. Therefore, it was late at night when they arrived at their parents' house. It is said that kensa-yaki was cooked on sunken hearth for the hungry daughters who were freezing in the cold. It could also be made into ochazuke (rice with green tea), which was often eaten as an evening snack after a long winter's night of chatting and drinking. Niigata Prefecture has a rich food culture centering on rice as a staple food, and many staple foods and snacks are made with rice, and kensan-yaki is one of them.

  • Opportunities and times of eating habits

    In the past, it was eaten as an evening meal after New Year's and New Year's guest drinking parties. Recently, it has also become an event food to celebrate the new rice harvest.

  • How to eat

    Spread miso on the rice ball and grill it on both sides in a frying pan, on a grill or in a toaster oven so that it does not burn. You can eat it as it is, or pour soup stock or tea to make chazuke. Recently, people enjoy it with different kinds of miso, such as yuzu miso, green onion miso, and sesame miso.

  • Efforts for Preservation and Succession

    (Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches to commercialization)
    Even now, it is occasionally prepared in households as a snack or a nighttime meal.

RECIPE

Ingredients (4 serving)

  • Rice 640g (80g x 8 pieces)
  • Miso 3 tbsp.
  • Sugar 1／2 tbsp.

How to cook

  • 1. Mix miso and sugar to make sweet miso paste.

  • 2. Divide the rice into 8 equal portions, roll into flat, round balls, and quickly grill on both sides in a frying pan, on a grill, or in a toaster oven.

  • 3. Spread sweet miso paste on the rice balls and grill until golden brown. You can add ginger miso, yuzu miso, sansho miso, etc. as you like.

provider : " Niigata no Okazu: Regional Ingredients and Dishes."( Author：Niigata Prefecture Dietary Improvement Promotion Committee Council, Publication: Kaikosha)

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

Contact

Food Cultures Office, Overseas Market Development and Food Cultures Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel:+81-3-3502-5516

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