Hot pot & soups
Tarajiru
Tarajiru — whole cod miso soup from Asahi
Walleye pollock, cut whole with head, liver, and roe intact, is simmered in miso — said to have started when fishermen's wives lit a big pot on the beach to welcome the boats home, giving the coastal road here the nickname "cod-soup highway."
- Origin: Toyama Asahi
- About 240 km northwest of Tokyo
What it's made of
A miso-based soup made by chopping a whole walleye pollock — flesh, head, liver, milt, and roe all together — into one simmering pot. Broth drawn from bone and skin mingles with the richness of the liver, so the mild flesh sits inside a soup that turns surprisingly thick and deep, with burdock's aroma and scallion's color said to round out a dish suited to the cold season.
How it's made
The fish is gutted and cut into chunks, the liver set aside separately. Burdock is shaved into thin strips and soaked to draw out bitterness. Miso is dissolved into simmering water, the flesh and liver are added and skimmed as they cook, and once the flesh turns white the burdock goes in before a final quick simmer under a lid. Chopped scallion scattered on top is said to finish it with color.
Why it took this shape
In a town facing the Sea of Japan with rich fishing grounds, pollock landings were once plentiful, and the soup is said to have begun on the beach, where fishermen's wives gathered around a large pot to welcome the men back from the boats. Using the whole fish without waste reflects a fisherman's-wife wisdom for making the most of the catch, and the dish is said to still mirror the rhythm of a winter fishing town.
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 Toyama
- Bai no NimonoWhelks from the deep waters of Toyama Bay are simmered whole in their shells — said to appear at celebrations thanks to a play on words suggesting doubled good fortune, with smaller whelks simmered and larger ones eaten raw.
- BekkoMelted agar is seasoned with soy sauce and mirin, then set with egg trailed in like threads — its amber color flecked with egg said to resemble a tortoiseshell hair ornament, giving the dish its name; in the west of the prefecture it goes by "yubeshi" instead.
- BurishabuThin slices of yellowtail are swished briefly through kelp broth, said to cook only the surface while leaving the center rare — versions using Himi's branded winter yellowtail are considered a particularly luxurious cold-weather treat.
- Himi UdonA hand-stretched udon developed in Himi, Toyama, in the mid-Edo period by adapting somen-making techniques from Wajima. It was once presented to the Kaga domain as tribute.
- Hoonko RyoriA catch-all term for the dishes served at houonko, the memorial gathering held on the death anniversary of Jodo Shinshu's founder — the season's better vegetables and wild greens are said to be set aside for it apart from everyday use, with the devout Gokayama area of Nanto known for hearty stews of dried greens and local tofu.