Hot pot & soups
Ebi Miso Jiru
Ebi miso jiru — small Seto shrimp pureed into a white miso soup
Small shell-on shrimp are pureed with rice rinse water, then simmered with white miso and tofu. Served as part of the roughly 300-year-old sacred sake festival at Uga Shrine in Toyonaka, Mitoyo, where it has long accompanied the shrine's home-brewed doburoku.
- Origin: Kagawa Mitoyo (Toyonaka)
- About 580 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
This white-miso soup is made from shiba shrimp, about ten centimeters long, caught in the Seto Inland Sea and blended whole, shell and head included. The concentrated flavor released from the shell and head melds with the sweetness of the miso, and cubes of tofu add a gentle texture. The ground shell also lends the broth a bit of body, giving the soup a pleasant richness. It's a dish said to have been served alongside rice and namasu at the autumn "doburo matsuri" festival held at Uga Shrine in Toyonaka, part of Mitoyo city.
How it's made
Rice-rinsing water is set aside. The shrimp are headed and tailed, washed in salt water, and blended shell-on in a bowl with some of the rinsing water. The rest of the rinsing water goes into a pot and is brought to a boil, the blended shrimp is added and stirred as it comes back to a boil, then white miso is stirred in and simmered over low heat for about twenty minutes. Cubed tofu is added and simmered further, stirred carefully so it doesn't scorch, then served in a bowl topped with scallions.
Why it took this shape
Uga Shrine in Toyonaka is said to have held an autumn festival giving thanks for the harvest for a long time, and after offerings were made at the shrine, ebi-miso-shiru was reportedly served to participants along with the festival's home-brewed sake. Grinding up small, locally caught shrimp shell and all so nothing goes to waste appears to be one reason the method became the way this festival dish was prepared. Using the rice-rinsing water, too, looks like another sign of a household habit of not letting anything close at hand go to waste.
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.
- 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
- 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
Also from Kagawa
- Aji no SanbaiAji (horse mackerel) is grilled until lightly charred, then steeped in a three-part vinegar dressing sharpened with chili and ginger. The vinegar is said to soften the bones enough to eat whole, and the dish has long served as a summer festival accompaniment to drinks around the Seto Inland Sea.
- Hage DangoFreshly milled new-wheat dumplings are coated in a simple red-bean paste. Traditionally made around Hangeshō, the early-July turning point when the rains break, as thanks for the season's farm work, and offered to household gods before the family eats.
- Ikanago shoyuA fish sauce fermented from sand lance and salt for six months or more, mainly produced in the Aji district of Takamatsu, Kagawa. It is said to have disappeared for a time before local volunteers revived production around 1998, and it is counted among Japan's three great fish sauces.
- ImotakoOctopus from the Seto Inland Sea and taro are simmered together in a simple seasoned broth. Once reserved for New Year and wedding feasts, it is said to have become an everyday side dish today.
- Iriko MeshiRice is cooked with dried-sardine stock made from the fish heads, along with the sardine meat, carrot, daikon, and taro. An everyday dish centered on the Seiban region around Ibukijima, an island famed for producing this dried-sardine stock.