Hot pot & soups
Kabocha no Dango Jiru
Kabocha no dango jiru — wheat dumplings torn into a pumpkin and dried-sardine soup
A giant local pumpkin from Buzen's Mikkado district is simmered soft, then torn wheat dumplings are dropped in — the pumpkin, said to trace some 450 years back to Portuguese traders, was once a lifeline in leaner years.
- Origin: Fukuoka Buzen
- About 820 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
A large local pumpkin variety and dumplings made from wheat flour are the centerpiece, with dried sardine used for the stock and shiitake mushroom added in. The pumpkin is simmered until it nearly falls apart, making for a simple, slightly thickened soup where its sweetness stands out. The pumpkin variety itself is said to trace back to seeds brought from Portugal roughly 450 years ago, growing to nearly 4kg each.
How it's made
Dashi is made from water and dried sardines, and once the flavor is drawn out the sardines are removed and bite-sized pieces of pumpkin and shiitake are simmered in. Wheat-flour dough is stretched thin between the fingers and torn into the pot, cooking until the soup thickens slightly. The pumpkin is said to grow sweeter if kept in storage through the cold winter months, and the local variety in particular is said to be a treat, with dumpling size varying a little by household.
Why it took this shape
The dish is said to have spread from an area known for growing an especially large local pumpkin, and it was reportedly valued in leaner times when food was scarce. For those who remember those years, it's described as a nostalgic flavor that once helped sustain them. As Western pumpkin varieties grew more popular, growers of the older local variety are said to have gradually dwindled, though the dish is still enjoyed, even worked up a sweat over, in the heat of summer.
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
- Tsunki Dago JiruWheat dough dumplings, torn by hand, simmer with seasonal vegetables in a miso or soy broth — the name said to come from a local word meaning 'to tear', and once eaten in place of rice when it was scarce.
- Ebi ZakkoSeveral kinds of small shrimp are quickly simmered in sweetened soy, and the leftover broth then cooks somen noodles — a fisherman's way of using up the mixed catch of small shrimp hauled from the Buzen Sea while it's still fresh.
Also from Fukuoka
- Abutte KamoSmall damselfish are salted overnight, then grilled whole, scales and innards left on — a bony fish often passed over elsewhere, but said to have caught on in Hakata Bay after a Meiji-era glut led someone to salt and grill the excess.
- Achara ZukeWhite melon, eggplant, and lotus root are pickled in a sweet vinegar spiked with red chili — the name is said to trace to the Portuguese 'achar', carried in through Hakata Bay's old trade, and an odd number of vegetables is used for Obon hospitality.
- Amagi no KawatakeA rare wild freshwater algae, found only in the Kogane River in Asakura, is dressed with sweet or three-flavor vinegar — said to have once been presented to the shogun, and now conservation efforts continue as it's listed as endangered.
- Beta MochiWheat dough is flattened, steamed, and topped with soybean flour or sweet red bean paste — named, it's said, for its resemblance to a flat local sole called 'beta', and tied to the feast marking the end of rice planting.
- ChanraaA noodle dish said to have started at a diner in Moji, Kitakyushu. Chanpon-style noodles go into a Japanese dried-sardine broth closer to udon than to the original pork-and-seafood soup, devised, it's said, for a student who wanted Nagasaki champon but couldn't afford it.