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Neginuta
Neginuta (Saitama) — steamed leek dressed in sweet vinegar-miso
Leek from Saitama, the country's second-largest producer, especially the sweet Fukaya variety, steamed and dressed in sesame vinegar-miso for celebrations. At banquets its appearance can signal the meal is winding down.
- Origin: Saitama Fukaya
- About 70 km northwest of Tokyo
What it's made of
Scallion, steamed soft, is dressed with a sweet vinegared miso. The melting texture of winter scallion carries the fragrance of ground sesame and mellow vinegared miso, giving an elegant sweetness said to be fitting for the close of a celebratory meal, the scallion's sweetness playing off the dressing's tang.
How it's made
Scallion is cut into roughly 3-centimeter lengths, steamed soft, then drained and cooled. It is dressed with a mix of ground sesame, sugar, miso, and vinegar, the moisture squeezed out beforehand. Squid or fish cake is sometimes added, it is said, and toasting the sesame first is said to sharpen its fragrance.
Why it took this shape
Saitama is one of the country's leading scallion producers, and this dish is said to have developed to showcase the flavor of its notably sweet winter scallion. Often served as the closing dish at celebrations, its appearance is said to have signaled that the feast was drawing to an end, though it also appears on everyday tables.
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.
- Osechi and zoni for the New YearA guide to the meaning behind osechi's tiered boxes, the regional differences in zoni (square vs. round mochi, clear vs. miso broth), and the nanakusa-gayu custom.
- Setsubun: ehomaki and lucky beansA guide to ehomaki, the uncut sushi roll said to be eaten facing a lucky direction on Setsubun, and to mamemaki, the bean-throwing custom with roasted lucky beans.
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 Saitama
- Sakekasu Miso RamenA winter-only ramen from Ageo City, where sake lees from a long-running local brewery are worked into a Chinese restaurant's miso broth. The lees' depth and aroma layer over the miso's savoriness, leaving a mellow finish that warms the body in the cold months.
- Dojo NiPond loach caught in the paddies of eastern Saitama, simmered sweet and savory with shaved burdock, from a land fed by the Arakawa and Tone rivers. Rich in nutrients, it was valued as a tonic and a food for pregnant women.
- Gyoda Furai"Furai" from around Gyoda, Saitama, despite its name, isn't fried — it's grilled. Chopped scallion and pork go on a wheat-flour batter cooked on a griddle, an okonomiyaki-like snack said to have caught on with the women working the town's tabi-sock factories.
- Higashimatsuyama YakitoriPork cheek grilled over charcoal and brushed with a spicy miso sauce.
- HiyajiruSesame and miso ground in a mortar, mixed with summer vegetables like cucumber and shiso, then chilled with cold water. It serves as a dipping broth for udon in noodle-loving Saitama, and Kawajima town calls it suttate.
- Iga ManjuA sweet bean bun wrapped in red rice and steamed, said to originate in Konosu. Named for its resemblance to a spiky chestnut burr, it balances a sweet-salty flavor with a chewy bite.