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Konbumaki
Konbumaki — herring rolled in kelp, Toyama style
Kelp and herring, both said to have arrived on Kitamae-bune trading ships, are rolled together and simmered sweet for New Year — the thick kelp turns silky soft, and sardine, firefly squid, or yellowtail sometimes stand in for the herring.
- Origin: Toyama
- About 260 km northwest of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
Herring wrapped in kelp with a gourd-strip tie, simmered slowly in a sweet-salty broth until tender. The thick kelp cooks down soft and glossy, its flavor sinking all the way through the herring inside. The kelp's slickness and the herring's richness meet with each bite, and the broth's sheen is said to stir the appetite — a dish said to be indispensable at celebratory meals.
How it's made
Dried herring is soaked a full day in rice-rinsing water to soften, then boiled. Kelp is also soaked in water, the soaking liquid kept rather than discarded. Dried gourd strips are washed and split in half. The herring is rolled in kelp and tied with the gourd strip, then simmered slowly in the reserved liquid until tender, seasoned in two stages. A final touch of starch syrup is said to give it a glossy sheen.
Why it took this shape
Ships crossing the Sea of Japan are said to have carried in large quantities of kelp and herring from Hokkaido, laying the groundwork for the kelp cooking still found here today. Kelp, whose name is said to echo a word for joy, took the shape of this rolled dish and became fixed as a feast for New Year and other celebrations — a dish said to reflect the region's history through two ingredients that arrived from afar and came together.
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 Toyama
- Bai no NimonoWhelks from the deep waters of Toyama Bay are simmered whole in their shells — said to appear at celebrations thanks to a play on words suggesting doubled good fortune, with smaller whelks simmered and larger ones eaten raw.
- BekkoMelted agar is seasoned with soy sauce and mirin, then set with egg trailed in like threads — its amber color flecked with egg said to resemble a tortoiseshell hair ornament, giving the dish its name; in the west of the prefecture it goes by "yubeshi" instead.
- BurishabuThin slices of yellowtail are swished briefly through kelp broth, said to cook only the surface while leaving the center rare — versions using Himi's branded winter yellowtail are considered a particularly luxurious cold-weather treat.
- Genge no MisoshiruEelpout, a deep-sea fish covered in a gelatinous layer, is cut into chunks and simmered into a miso soup — long treated as an unwanted bycatch of sweet shrimp fishing, its flavor has since been reappraised and spread beyond the fishing villages that first ate it.
- Himi UdonA hand-stretched udon developed in Himi, Toyama, in the mid-Edo period by adapting somen-making techniques from Wajima. It was once presented to the Kaga domain as tribute.
- Hoonko RyoriA catch-all term for the dishes served at houonko, the memorial gathering held on the death anniversary of Jodo Shinshu's founder — the season's better vegetables and wild greens are said to be set aside for it apart from everyday use, with the devout Gokayama area of Nanto known for hearty stews of dried greens and local tofu.