Hot pot & soups
Jojokiri
Jojokiri — hand-cut wheat noodles simmered in a sweet red bean broth
Wheat dough is rolled thin, cut into fine noodles, boiled, and served in a sweet broth of red beans and sugar. Its name is said to come from the noodles' resemblance to loach, once eaten as a between-chores snack on Atsumi peninsula farms.
- Origin: Aichi Tahara
- About 250 km southwest of Tokyo
What it's made of
Jojokiri is a dish from the Atsumi Peninsula made by rolling out wheat flour dough thin, cutting it into noodles, boiling them, and serving them in a sweet broth of red beans and sugar. Also called 'Irako jiruko,' it is said to take its name from the noodles' resemblance to loach, called 'jojo' locally. It is said to have been passed down among farming households on the peninsula since the Meiji era, eaten as a snack between fieldwork.
How it's made
Wheat flour is kneaded with water into a slightly firm dough, rolled thin with a rolling pin, and cut into strips about a centimeter wide. These are boiled in water, and red beans, a generous amount of sugar, and salt are added at the end to season it. The chewy texture of the noodles combined with the sweetness of the red beans and sugar is said to be the dish's appeal. A savory soy-sauce version with taro and carrot is also said to be made.
Why it took this shape
It is said to have been eaten as a snack between farm work, and also at 'noagari,' the milestone marking the end of rice planting or harvesting. Its sweet finish, made with plenty of sugar, is said to have been meant to ease fatigue, and the savory soy-sauce version reportedly served as a substitute for a main meal. At one point only a few elderly residents still knew the recipe, but the local neighborhood association is said to have gathered it from them and revived the dish.
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
Also from Aichi
- Funa MisoCrucian carp is simmered slowly with soybeans for around five hours, then finished in a sauce of red miso and coarse sugar. A freshwater fish dish of the Kiso rivers' lower basin, made with fatty winter carp simmered until the bones soften through.
- Gohei MochiFreshly cooked non-glutinous rice is pounded, pressed flat on a skewer, and grilled with a miso glaze. Said to have originated in the mountainous Chubu region, it's traditionally made the night before a festival praying for safety in mountain work.
- Aichi HakozushiVinegared rice is packed into a wooden frame, topped with shrimp, eel, shiitake, and egg arranged diagonally, and pressed. Placing toppings on the diagonal so everyone gets a fair share of each is said to be a feature of the Owari and western Mikawa style, made for celebrations.
- Hebo MeshiAdult and larval giant hornets are simmered sweet and savory, then folded into freshly cooked rice. Said to have served as a prized protein source across the mountains from Shinshu to Okumikawa, it's now more often served as a treat for guests.
- Iga ManjuSweet bean paste is wrapped in rice flour dough, then coated with dyed sticky rice grains. One account ties the name to the grains' resemblance to a chestnut's spiny husk, and in the western Mikawa region it's said to be offered to Hina dolls at the Doll Festival.
- 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.