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Sumitsukare
Sumitsukare (Saitama) — grated daikon simmered with dried soybeans and vegetables
Coarsely grated daikon simmered with leftover Setsubun soybeans and fried tofu, a ritual dish from northern Saitama. Offered to the fox shrine alongside kinpira on the first Horse Day, with kindred versions in neighboring Tochigi and Ibaraki.
- Origin: Saitama
- About 50 km north of Tokyo
What it's made of
Daikon, coarsely grated with a rough wooden grater, is simmered with dried soybeans left over from the Setsubun bean-throwing, vegetables, and fried tofu. The grainy texture of the daikon meets the nutty flavor of the beans in a dish said to carry deeply absorbed seasoning, its exact mix of ingredients said to vary by area and household.
How it's made
Dried soybeans are roasted in a pan and their skins removed. Daikon is coarsely grated, fried tofu cut into strips, and carrot cut into quarter-rounds. Everything goes into a pot with soy sauce, sugar, and broth to simmer over medium heat for about an hour, then is left to sit so the flavor sinks in, said to taste even better after resting overnight.
Why it took this shape
Saved beans from the Setsubun bean-throwing are said to be offered at the Inari shrine on the first Horse Day of the lunar new year as part of this festival dish. Some households are said to add chopped salted salmon head, and the dish is said to have doubled as a winter preserve while being handed down in each family, its name said to shift slightly from place to place.
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.