Hot pot & soups
Shijimi Jiru
Shijimi jiru — Lake Shinji clam soup
Large-grained Yamato clams from Lake Shinji are simmered into a soup — miso-based in winter, clear in summer. A local saying warns against overcooking the clams, so the pot is taken off the heat quickly.
- Origin: Shimane Izumo
- About 640 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
Shijimi jiru is a miso soup made with large-grained Yamato shijimi clams harvested from Lake Shinji, a dish deeply rooted in everyday life across the Izumo region. It has traditionally been made as a miso soup in winter and as a clear broth in summer, and while the clams' own broth is flavorful enough on its own, some cooks add kombu for an extra layer of richness.
How it's made
The clams are purged of sand overnight in salt water matched to the salinity of their natural habitat, about one percent, then washed well and added to a pot over heat. The key step is to stir in miso only once the shells have opened, and as a local Izumo saying puts it, shijimi should be cooked "from cold water, just to a single boil" — not overcooked. Many households season it differently by season, as a miso soup in winter and a clear broth in summer.
Why it took this shape
Lake Shinji, at the mouth of the Hii River in eastern Shimane, is said to be one of the country's leading sources of shijimi clams, and shijimi jiru made from this catch is reported to be a true everyday dish across the Izumo region. To prevent overharvesting, each fisher's catch is said to be capped at a set amount, and while sorted clams are shipped directly to restaurants and inns today, it is said that not long ago a familiar sight in town was an elderly seller pulling a handcart loaded with clams door to door.
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 Shimane
- Ago-yakiAgo-yaki is Izumo noyaki made from flying-fish paste, fire-baked without a skewer. Its crackling surface and refined sweetness make it a favorite travel souvenir from Shimane.
- Agonoko UmaniThe roe of egg-bearing flying fish, caught only in early summer, is simmered in stock and soy sauce as an Oki bar snack. Its large grains and dense, sticky texture are prized as a delicacy said to be scarcer even than the fish's flesh.
- Akagai Garan MushiArk shell clams from Lake Nakaumi are steamed in their shells in a soy-seasoned broth, also known as akagai no kara-mushi. The name 'garan' is said to come either from a slurred 'kara' (shell) or the rattling sound made while rinsing the shells — a dish long kept for New Year's.
- Azuki ZoniRound mochi sit in azuki beans simmered with a light hand on the sugar, closer in taste to a thin zenzai than a dessert. In the Izumo area some households eat a clear zoni on New Year's Day, then switch to this one from the second.
- Bakudan OnigiriA large round rice ball is wrapped entirely in lightly toasted, soy-brushed rock nori from Oki — its bold look earning it the name 'bakudan,' or bomb. It travels well in lunch boxes and as an everyday snack.
- Dojo Kenchin JiruLoach is simmered with burdock, daikon, and shiitake in a clear soy broth in Yasugi, said to embody the old saying that one loach is worth one eel for stamina — traditionally eaten after washing the mud off from rice planting.