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Arame to Rakkasei no Nitsuke
Arame to rakkasei no nitsuke — coarse kelp simmered sweet with roasted peanuts
Rehydrated arame — a coarse local kelp — and peanuts are boiled tender, then simmered down in sugar, soy sauce, and mirin. A standing side dish of the Atsumi peninsula, where sandy soil grows peanuts and the Ise Bay coast yields arame, said to be a fixture of the eastern Mikawa region.
- Origin: Aichi Tahara
- About 250 km southwest of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
Arame to rakkasei no nitsuke is a side dish made by boiling rehydrated arame (a type of kelp) and peanuts until tender, then simmering them down in sugar, soy sauce, and mirin. The Atsumi Peninsula has sandy soil suited to growing peanuts, and being close to Ise Bay, it is also rich in seaweed, so arame is said to have long been part of the local diet as well. The dish is known for pairing the mealy texture of peanuts with the thick, chewy bite of arame.
How it's made
Peanuts are soaked thoroughly in water, and arame is rehydrated in water about thirty minutes before cooking. Both are boiled until tender, then simmered down in sugar, soy sauce, and mirin until the flavor soaks in. It can reportedly be eaten warm or cold. Because it is simmered down sweet and salty, it is also used as a dish that keeps well when made in a larger batch.
Why it took this shape
The Atsumi Peninsula once had no major rivers and suffered from drought on its thin soil, but agriculture is said to have developed rapidly once the Toyogawa irrigation canal was built in the Showa era. As peanuts became abundant on the sandy soil and arame plentiful along the Ise Bay coast, a side dish combining both is said to have taken root in the Higashi-Mikawa area.
Before you go
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- At teishoku diners, shokudo, and machi-chukaA guide to the teishoku set-meal format, free rice refills, table placement, and paying at a shokudo-style diner.
Dishes in the same style
- Agonoko UmaniThe roe of egg-bearing flying fish, caught only in early summer, is simmered in stock and soy sauce as an Oki bar snack. Its large grains and dense, sticky texture are prized as a delicacy said to be scarcer even than the fish's flesh.
- 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.
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.