Hot pot & soups
Ika Sumi Jiru
Ika sumi jiru — squid and its ink simmered black with pork and bitter greens
Bigfin reef squid meat and ink are simmered with lean pork and bitter greens into a soup black enough to stain the mouth. The ink's own sweetness and depth meet the greens' bitterness in a flavor Okinawans call ajikuutaa, and it's long been valued as a restorative food.
- Origin: Okinawa
- About 1560 km southwest of Tokyo
What it's made of
Bigfin reef squid, lean pork, and a bitter green called njana simmer together, finished with squid ink in this jet-black soup, also called kuri no oshiru. The squid's own sweetness and richness meet the greens' bitter edge for a distinctively deep flavor, and eating it is known to leave the mouth stained black from the ink. The dish is prized for a flavor known locally as ajikuutaa, a deep, savory richness distinct to it.
How it's made
The squid is cut against the grain to keep it tender, then simmered from cold water with lean pork and the bitter greens. It cooks over low heat with careful skimming until the squid is tender, bonito stock is added and the soup seasoned with salt, and finally the ink, squeezed from its sac, is stirred in at the very end. The ink is said to be best added without much further cooking, since overcooking is said to dull its flavor.
Why it took this shape
Squid ink, called kuri in the local dialect, was thought to ease flushing and headaches and to aid recovery after childbirth, treated as a sagegusui, a remedy for drawing something unwanted out of the body. The dish is said to have become a home-cooked favorite whenever fresh squid was on hand, often made specifically for its nourishing reputation, and store-bought squid ink can also be used in place of the fresh kind.
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.
- What to know if you have dietary restrictionsHow allergen labeling works, where fish-based dashi, pork, and alcohol turn up, and phrases for checking with staff.
- 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
Also from Okinawa
- Ashi TibichiPig's trotters are simmered for hours with kelp and daikon until the bone slides free on its own. Rooted in the belief that eating a body part heals the same part in the eater, it's traditionally favored by older people, anyone with trouble in the legs, or those minding their skin.
- AwamoriA distilled spirit from Okinawa made only from Thai rice and black koji, with every grain of rice turned into koji in a method called zen-koji-jikomi. Citric acid from the black koji is said to keep the mash from spoiling even in hot, humid conditions, and it's classified alongside shochu as a single-distillation spirit.
- Chii IrichiiPork blood is worked with pork meat, carrot, and wood-ear mushroom into a distinctive stir-simmered dish. Rooted in the same eat-what-ails-you logic as ashi tibichi, it was thought to guard against anemia, and it's traditionally offered before Lunar New Year and at memorial services.
- Chimu ShinjiPork liver and a native yellow carrot are simmered down almost like a medicinal decoction, meant for days the body needs support. It follows the kusuimun idea that food itself can be medicine, and is traditionally made for anemia or when someone's caught a cold.
- Gooyaa ChanpuruuBitter goya is stir-fried together with Okinawa's firm tofu and egg. A dish only earns the name champuru once tofu is in it, and this one has long served double duty — coaxing back a summer-flagged appetite while delivering vitamin C, now eaten year-round.
- HanazakeA distilled spirit made only on Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, at around 60 percent alcohol. Its raw materials and method are the same as awamori, but because its proof exceeds awamori's legal ceiling, it's classified as 'spirits' rather than awamori under the liquor tax law.