Hot pot & soups
Imonoko Jiru
Imonoko jiru — taro and chicken autumn soup
Baby taro corms called 'imonoko' simmer with chicken, mushrooms, and wild greens in miso or soy — an autumn soup said to use taro grown in Yokote's Sannai district, prized for its soft bite, and set alongside kiritanpo nabe as the region's autumn counterpart.
- Origin: Akita Yokote
- About 410 km north of Tokyo
What it's made of
An autumn hot pot from Akita built around "imonoko"—the small taro corms that grow from the parent plant—paired with chicken, mushrooms, and wild greens. Taro from the Sannai area of Yokote grows in soil distinctive to the region, said to have a soft bite and a particular stickiness. Broth seasoned with miso or soy sauce carries the savor of chicken fat, and the taro falls apart gently—a bowl that feels like autumn's harvest.
How it's made
Taro is peeled and boiled whole in water. Chicken is added partway through and simmered further until tender, then mushrooms and konnyaku noodles go in before the soup is seasoned with miso. Adding mitsuba, roots included, just before eating gives a different texture from the leaves alone, it is said. In the Hiraka area, both a miso and a soy-sauce version are made, it is said.
Why it took this shape
Taro cultivation in the Sannai area of Yokote, said to have begun during the Kyoho era with seed stock brought from the Sendai area of Miyagi and grown as "o-imo," is thought to underlie this dish. Made to match a season rich in mushrooms and wild greens, and eaten as a celebration of the harvest, this is said to be why it took root as a signature autumn dish of Akita.
Before you go
- Foods to look for in winterA guide to foods often seen in Japan around winter — nabe hot pot, fugu, oysters, crab, year-end soba, and osechi — with rough pointers for finding them.
- At yakiniku, shabu-shabu, and hot potGrilling your own meat at yakiniku, swishing thin slices at shabu-shabu, and sharing from the pot — the customs behind each.
Dishes in the same style
- 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.
- Aichi ZoniSquare mochi and mochina, a traditional Owari green, are served in a plain clear broth for New Year — a notably simple zoni. It's speculated that using miso so often in daily cooking is exactly why a clear broth is chosen for this festive occasion, deliberately leaving miso out.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Contrast
- Kiritanpo NabeSlightly firm rice is pressed onto a stick and grilled into 'tanpo', then cut to size and simmered in hinai-jidori chicken broth with burdock and parsley — said to have begun as a way charcoal makers used up leftover rice while holed up in the mountains.
- Natto JiruFinely mashed fermented soybeans are stirred into a miso soup of taro, mushrooms, and wild greens — a dish tied to Yokote, one of the places said to claim natto's origin, traditionally reheated and eaten over the first three days of the New Year.
Also from Akita
- Akazushi (Akazuke)Cooked glutinous rice cured briefly in red shiso and vinegar — an Akita sushi with no fish in it at all, a plant-based cousin of narezushi also offered at Obon altars.
- AsazukeBroken rice grains are pureed, simmered, and seasoned sweet-and-sour with sugar and vinegar, then mixed with cucumber, turnip, and seasonal fruit — a summer dessert unrelated to the pickle of the same name, said to refresh women after a day planting rice.
- Edokei RamenA soy ramen topped with a knob of bright red chili miso built on garlic and garlic chives. Stirred in gradually as you eat, it turns a mild bowl steadily richer and spicier — a specialty of Akita City.
- Akita HoshimochiSliced mochi is strung up, soaked in water, then left to freeze and thaw through the winter cold in a process called 'kanjime' — the result crisp and filling, said to have fueled breaks during rice-planting season.
- Akita no SakeAkita sake, brewed with soft water in deliberate contrast to Nada's hard water, aiming for a mellow, delicate character. Breweries buried in snow are said to gain a natural insulating effect from it, a tradition of slow, low-temperature fermentation built around that climate.
- Akita OyakiGlutinous rice dough wraps sweet red bean paste and is pan-grilled until lightly browned — unrelated to the wheat-and-buckwheat oyaki of Nagano stuffed with nozawana and eggplant, said to be offered to the mountain god and sold as a signature item at Gojome's morning market.