Hot pot & soups
Inamuduchi
Inamuduchi — pork and konjac in a thick, sweet miso soup, once made with boar
Once made with wild boar, it took its name — 'boar impostor' — after pork replaced the harder-to-find meat. Konjac and Okinawa's own steamed fish cake are simmered into a thick, sweet miso broth, brightening celebratory tables at Lunar New Year and graduation ceremonies alike.
- Origin: Okinawa
- About 1560 km southwest of Tokyo
What it's made of
Pork belly is combined with konjac and fish cake and simmered into a thick, sweet-miso soup in this Okinawan dish, also called inamurichi. The savoriness that seeps out of the ingredients melds with the sweet miso into a rich, comforting broth. The dish is known for using a distinctive local castella-style fish cake, a luxury ingredient made by steaming a generous amount of fish paste, which lends the broth extra depth.
How it's made
Pork belly is boiled and cut into strips, and rehydrated dried shiitake, konjac, and fried tofu are cut the same way. Pork and bonito stocks are combined, the ingredients other than the fish cake go in and are brought to a boil, and finally the fish cake and sweet miso are stirred in to finish the seasoning. Because the saltiness of sweet miso varies by brand, cooks are said to taste and adjust as they go.
Why it took this shape
The name combines words for wild boar and "mock," and the dish is said to have once been made with boar meat; as boar grew harder to come by, pork took its place while the old name stuck. Descended from the elaborate banquet cuisine of the Ryukyu court, it is said to have been one of the dishes served as the first course of a five-course banquet spread. It has long been served at New Year celebrations, graduations, and coming-of-age ceremonies as one of the standard festive dishes.
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 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.