Grilled
Miso Dengaku
Miso dengaku — skewered tofu grilled and topped with sweet red miso
Tofu is skewered, grilled, and topped with a miso glaze. Its name is said to come from the resemblance to dengaku hoshi, dancers who performed to drums at rice-planting time, with regional versions ranging from the Mikawa area's rice-and-tofu set to Owari's fried wheat gluten version.
- Origin: Aichi
- About 270 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
Miso dengaku is made by skewering tofu, grilling it, and topping it with a miso glaze. The name is said to come from its resemblance to 'dengaku hoshi,' performers who danced on a single stilt-like pole to drum beats during rice-planting festivals, said to look like the skewered tofu topped with miso. In Aichi, red soybean miso such as Hatcho miso is said to be the norm, sometimes mixed with ground sansho leaf buds or topped with them. Regional versions include Mikawa's tofu served with seasoned rice, and Owari's fried wheat-gluten dengaku.
How it's made
Tofu is cut into easy-to-eat pieces, skewered, grilled, and topped with a miso glaze. Ground sansho leaf buds are sometimes mixed into the glaze, or added on top after grilling. Versions using konnyaku or taro instead of tofu are also said to be popular, and the dish is said to be a household staple.
Why it took this shape
Tofu is said to have arrived from China in the Nara and Heian periods, becoming a valued source of protein in Buddhist vegetarian cooking and eaten among the aristocracy and samurai class. It was once a winter dish meant to warm the body, but once sansho leaf buds began to be added, it is said to have become associated with the arrival of spring, and by the Edo period it was reportedly an easy food to eat outdoors, including at cherry-blossom viewings.
Dishes in the same style
- Abutte KamoSmall damselfish are salted overnight, then grilled whole, scales and innards left on — a bony fish often passed over elsewhere, but said to have caught on in Hakata Bay after a Meiji-era glut led someone to salt and grill the excess.
- Gohei MochiFreshly cooked non-glutinous rice is pounded, pressed flat on a skewer, and grilled with a miso glaze. Said to have originated in the mountainous Chubu region, it's traditionally made the night before a festival praying for safety in mountain work.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Aichi
- Funa MisoCrucian carp is simmered slowly with soybeans for around five hours, then finished in a sauce of red miso and coarse sugar. A freshwater fish dish of the Kiso rivers' lower basin, made with fatty winter carp simmered until the bones soften through.
- Gohei MochiFreshly cooked non-glutinous rice is pounded, pressed flat on a skewer, and grilled with a miso glaze. Said to have originated in the mountainous Chubu region, it's traditionally made the night before a festival praying for safety in mountain work.
- Aichi HakozushiVinegared rice is packed into a wooden frame, topped with shrimp, eel, shiitake, and egg arranged diagonally, and pressed. Placing toppings on the diagonal so everyone gets a fair share of each is said to be a feature of the Owari and western Mikawa style, made for celebrations.
- Hebo MeshiAdult and larval giant hornets are simmered sweet and savory, then folded into freshly cooked rice. Said to have served as a prized protein source across the mountains from Shinshu to Okumikawa, it's now more often served as a treat for guests.
- Iga ManjuSweet bean paste is wrapped in rice flour dough, then coated with dyed sticky rice grains. One account ties the name to the grains' resemblance to a chestnut's spiny husk, and in the western Mikawa region it's said to be offered to Hina dolls at the Doll Festival.
- Aichi Miso OdenA pot of sweet red miso sits in the center of the simmering pot, and daikon, tofu, and other ingredients simmered in dashi are dipped into it before eating. While soy-based Kanto-style oden spread in Edo, Aichi is said to have settled on dipping in soybean miso instead.