Hot pot & soups
Konnyaku no Hachihai
Konnyaku no hachihai — konjac simmered in dashi, soy sauce, and sake
Konjac sliced into thin triangles is simmered with taro and dried shiitake in dashi. The name's origin has several theories — that someone once had eight helpings of its light flavor, or that dashi, soy sauce, and sake are each measured out eight cups at a time.
- Origin: Kagawa
- About 540 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
Konnyaku no hachihai simmers konjac together with taro, carrot, dried shiitake, and kanpyo gourd strips in dashi — a dish from the Higashisanuki and Nakasanuki areas. The light, clean broth meets the springy bite of the konjac and the mealy softness of the taro, with the sweetness of the root vegetables dissolved throughout for a gentle flavor. The name's origin has several accounts: that people found it so tasty they went back for eight helpings, that the konjac is cut into a style called "hachihai-giri," or that the dashi, soy sauce, and sake used add up to eight measures.
How it's made
The konjac is cut into thirds and then sliced thin into triangles. Dried shiitake is rehydrated and cut into quarter-rounds, and the taro is cut into bite-sized pieces. Kanpyo is rubbed with salt, rinsed, boiled from cold water, cut into four-centimeter lengths, and tied into knots. Dashi is combined with the shiitake's soaking liquid, and the konjac, shiitake, taro, and kanpyo are simmered in it, with any scum skimmed off along the way. It's finished with soy sauce and a garnish of grated ginger.
Why it took this shape
Konjac is said to have arrived alongside Buddhism as an ingredient for vegetarian temple cooking, spreading to ordinary households from the Edo period on. Konjac cultivation reportedly thrived in areas like the former Kotonami town, now Manno, and Shionoe in Takamatsu, and in those konjac-growing communities the dish seems to have taken root as a hearty, dashi-rich simmer eaten on cold days. Combining dried goods and root vegetables that were readily available at the time appears to be how it settled into a warming winter 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
Related lineage
- SawasawaKonjac is simmered in dashi with carrot and burdock, then thickened with grated sweet potato, in this dish from Nio, Mitoyo. Its name is said to come from the sara-sara texture of its brothy consistency, traditionally made for memorial services.
- Konnyaku no ShiraaeKonjac cut into strips and pan-fried is dressed in a paste of mashed tofu, sesame, and miso. Many households are said to eat this fiber-rich konjac dish on Setsubun, the seasonal turning-point believed to ward off misfortune for the year ahead.
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.
- Anmochi ZoniA New Year zoni made by simmering daikon, kintoki carrot, and a round rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste in dried-sardine broth, finished with white miso. Said to have begun as a once-a-year treat using sugar, once a costly commodity in the Edo period.
- Ebi Miso JiruSmall 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.
- 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.