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Beni-zuiki to Aburaage no Taitan
Beni-zuiki no taitan — red taro leaf-stalks simmered with fried tofu
Beni-zuiki, reddish taro leaf-stalks that can grow to 2 meters tall, is soaked in vinegared water to remove its bitterness, then simmered with fried tofu in dashi and soy sauce — a summer obanzai dish. Its spongy cross-section is said to soak up flavor well, and it has been named a Naniwa specialty product.
- Origin: Osaka
- About 420 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
This obanzai dish from the Senshu and Minami-Kawachi areas simmers reddish-brown beni-zuiki, a taro stalk, with fried tofu in dashi. Spongy on the inside, beni-zuiki readily soaks up flavor, said to spread the richness of fried tofu alongside its own crisp bite. Taitan is Kansai dialect for a simmered dish, it's said, and this one is said to be a classic obanzai made from beni-zuiki, carried on as a home-cooked flavor, it's said.
How it's made
Beni-zuiki, its bitterness removed by soaking in vinegared water, is simmered together with fried tofu cut into strips, in dashi seasoned with soy sauce and other flavorings. It's said to be rich in fiber, calcium, and potassium, and how well the bitterness is removed in the prep stage is said to make a real difference to the flavor. Because it's quite bitter, it's soaked in vinegared water and then boiled to remove the bitterness before cooking, and beni-zuiki is said to be in season from July into August.
Why it took this shape
Zuiki refers to the leaf stalk of taro, and the reddish-brown beni-zuiki in particular is a large variety, growing up to two meters tall with leaves as wide as seventy centimeters, said to have been cultivated in the Senshu and Minami-Kawachi areas. Its spongy interior readily absorbs flavor, said to make it well suited to dishes like ohitashi and simmered preparations. Coming into season in summer is thought to be why it settled into obanzai cooking, simmered with fried tofu for the hot months, and beni-zuiki is said to be one of the products chosen by Osaka Prefecture and the JA group as a Naniwa specialty.
Before you go
- How to shop at a supermarketHow to choose prepared foods, sashimi, and packaged sushi, when discount stickers tend to appear, region-only specialties, buying by weight, the checkout and bagging flow, and sampling etiquette at a local supermarket.
- Food for Obon and the harvest moon (tsukimi)A guide to the meat-free shojin ryori and somen served at Obon, and the tsukimi dango offered on the night of the harvest moon.
- 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 Osaka
- AkanekoSteamed sticky rice pounded with wheat flour is dusted with sugar and soybean flour — also called hangesho mochi, for the rite marking the end of rice planting. The whole-ground wheat flour once left the mochi brownish, said to resemble a cat's round back and give the dish its name.
- BatteraThin slices of vinegared mackerel and white kelp sheet are pressed together in a wooden mold. A sushi shop in Minami-Senba is said to have devised it in 1891, naming it after the Portuguese word for a small boat because the original version, made with konoshiro, resembled one.
- Beni Shoga TenThin slices of red ginger, pickled in plum vinegar, are battered and deep-fried. The plum vinegar's tang and the ginger's bite are said to suit drinks well, and the fritter appears as a one-sen tempura in Sakunosuke Oda's 1940 novella 'Meoto Zenzai,' evidence of how long it has fed ordinary Osakans.
- Dote YakiParboiled beef tendon simmers for a long time against a bank of miso and mirin piled around the pan's edge like a levee, or dote. Rich and sweet-savory, it pairs well with drinks and is said to be a beloved downtown Osaka food, with many shops concentrated in the Shinsekai district.
- EhomakiA thick sushi roll eaten whole and in silence while facing the year's auspicious direction on Setsubun, the last day of winter. Its origin is not settled, but theories passed down include a game among the geisha quarters and a prayer for prosperity by Osaka's Semba merchant houses.
- Gaccho no KaraageGaccho, small fish of about 10-20cm from Osaka Bay including dragonet species, are filleted matsuba-style, dusted in potato starch, and deep-fried whole, bones included. Long enjoyed as a snack or with drinks, they are said to be a specialty of the Senshu coast.