Home-style
Fuki no Nitsuke
Fuki no nitsuke — a thick-stemmed local butterbur simmered in dashi
Butterbur, its bitterness drawn out, is simmered in dashi. Aichi Wase Fuki, a traditional local variety, is said to have been discovered in present-day Tokai City and spread across the Chita peninsula for its thick, fragrant stalks and crisp bite.
- Origin: Aichi Tokai
- About 270 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Fuki no nitsuke is made by removing the bitterness from butterbur stalks and simmering them in dashi, a dish from the Owari region. Most of the butterbur sold today is 'Aichi wase fuki,' a traditional Aichi variety mainly grown on the Chita Peninsula. It is said to have been discovered in what is now Tokai city and spread to surrounding areas for its fast-growing leaves, thick stalks, and good aroma.
How it's made
Fresh butterbur is first treated to remove its bitterness: salted and rolled on a cutting board, boiled briefly in plenty of hot water, cooled under running water, and then stripped of its fibrous strings. It is then cut into pieces about 4 centimeters long and simmered in dashi. Some versions add miso, and the seasoning is said to vary slightly from household to household.
Why it took this shape
The Chita Peninsula had no major rivers and faced challenges for farming, but a stable harvest is said to have become possible once the Aichi irrigation canal was completed in the Showa era. Aichi wase fuki has thick stalks said to give it a crisp texture, and the dish is reportedly made in many households each spring, timed to when butterbur appears in stores.
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 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.