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Fukui Prefecture

Namagusa jiru

Namagusa jiru
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Main lore areas

Shinbo District, Obama City

Main ingredients used

grilled mackerel, fu, tofu, chikuwa (bean curd), fresh shiitake mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, kamaboko (fish paste), green onions

History/origin/related events

Obama City, the center of Wakasa Bay, was the starting point of the "saba kaido" (mackerel road), which was a route used to transport fish on foot to Kyoto, called "shokuyaku" (carrying on one's back). Known since the Asuka and Nara periods as the "Miketsukuni," or "Land of Food," Obama City played an important role in the food industry, being authorized to deliver foodstuffs to the Imperial Court. In particular, of the six villages in the Miyagawa area, the Shinbo area was home to the Shinbo Mountain Castle (Kasumigajo), which made it easy to obtain foodstuffs from across the mountains. Taking advantage of this, "Namagusa-jiru" is a traditional dish that has been made only in this area. It is a "clear soup" made with grilled mackerel (whole mackerel on bamboo skewers) and has a delicious mackerel flavor and a slightly sweet taste. It used to be indispensable at the end of vegetarianism (after abstaining from meat and alcohol for a certain period of time to mourn) and celebratory occasions. Since the time of the Goshoku era, and even today, seafood from Wakasa Bay is prized throughout Japan as "Wakasa Mono" (Wakasa fish).

Opportunities and times of eating habits

Even today, some households still make this dish for celebrations such as kenzenshi and Buddhist memorial services.

How to eat

After making broth from the head and bones of grilled mackerel, add mushrooms, chikuwa, tofu, and other ingredients, then break up the mackerel meat and simmer it, adding plenty of scallions. It is more like a side dish than a soup.

Efforts for Preservation and Succession

Fukui Prefecture held a "Fukui Food Culture Lecture" for the media in the Tokyo metropolitan area to have them try traditional foods such as "Namagusa-jiru" (from 2047 to 2022).
In Obama City, the "Goshoku Kuni Wakasa Obama Food Culture Museum" was reopened on March 14, 2015, and "Namagusa-jiru" is displayed in the museum as a local dish, and is also popular as a cooking experience menu in the kitchen studio. It is also popular as a hands-on cooking menu in the kitchen studio.

RECIPE

Ingredients (For 4 persons)

  • Grilled Mackerel 150g
  • fu 7g
  • momen tofu 150 g
  • Chikuwa 150g
  • kamaboko 1/2
  • fresh shiitake mushroom 20 g
  • shimeji mushroom 20 g
  • green onion 50g
  • Water (soup stock) 4 cups
  • [Seasoning A] Soy sauce 1 tsp.
  • [Seasoning A] salt 1/2 tsp.
  • [Seasoning A] Sugar A pinch
  • Grilled mackerel head Appropriate amount
  • kelp Appropriate amount

How to cook

  • 1. Put water in a pot, add kombu and grilled mackerel head, and bring to a boil, then remove kombu and grilled mackerel head. （Remove the kelp and grilled mackerel head from the pot.)

  • 2. Break up the grilled mackerel into large pieces and soak the fu in water and squeeze out the water.

  • 3. Cut fresh shiitake mushrooms into quarters if they are small. Separate shimeji mushrooms into small bunches.

  • 4. Cut tofu into large pieces, cut chikuwa into 5mm diagonal slices, cut fish paste in half and cut into 5mm thick slices.

  • 5. Cut green onion diagonally.

  • 6. Add seasoning A to dashi broth and simmer with fresh shiitake mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, chikuwa, fu and tofu. Add the unrolled grilled mackerel and finally the fish paste and plenty of green onions and bring to a boil.

Recipe Arrangements

provider : Fukui Prefecture Dietary Improvement Promoters Liaison Council

* Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

* This recipe video has been partially arranged to make it easier to cook at home.