Hot pot & soups
Tsugani Jiru
Tsugani Jiru — a soup pounded whole from a live river crab, shell and all
A live mitten crab called tsugani, caught in rivers like the Shimanto, is pounded whole, shell included, and the resulting stock is used to simmer eggplant and taro-leaf stalk — an autumn soup in Kochi. The crab is said to be at its best in autumn as it heads downstream to spawn, and a closed season now protects the stock.
- Origin: Kochi
- About 620 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
A rich stock made from mitten crab pounded whole, shell and all, is said to seep slowly into eggplant and ryukyu stem in this soup. Tsugani refers to the mitten crab that lives in rivers such as the Shimanto and the Niyodo, and the dish is distinctive for using a stock made by grinding the live crab in a stone mortar or blender and straining it through hot water. The crab is said to be in season around autumn, when it heads downriver to spawn, and it can grow from about ten centimeters up to nearly thirty.
How it's made
The crab, with its shell and apron removed, is ground in a stone mortar or blender, then placed in a sieve and strained through a pot of boiling water. Eggplant and ryukyu stem, cut to size and soaked to remove bitterness, are added, and the soup is finished with soy sauce and sake. Adding ginger is said to help with the crab's distinctive smell, and the trick, it is said, is to start the live crab in cold water and cover the pot so it can't escape as it slowly comes to a boil.
Why it took this shape
Come autumn, mitten crabs are said to head downriver to spawn, and fishing along the river is said to begin in step with that migration. Females, carrying more stored nutrition, are said to taste better than males, and a closed season from August 1 to November 30 is kept to protect the population. Related dishes are numerous, from tsugani somen, made with a stock pounded shell and all, to tsugani meshi, rice cooked with the whole crab, though in recent years the crab has grown harder to find and the dish is said to be made at home less often than before.
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 Kochi
- Chate no AemonoChayote, a squash-family vine native to tropical America and known locally as chate, is tossed raw into a light dressing — an autumn home dish in Kochi. A single vine can bear over a hundred fruit, so it's mostly grown for the household or shared with neighbors, and it's especially popular in the mountains where it grows easily.
- Chunichi SobaA local noodle dish from Akaoka, Kochi's Konan City, pairing Chinese noodles with udon stock. Dried baby sardines and shredded kelp are the standard toppings, said to have grown from a shortcut sparing the effort of both udon and ramen kitchens.
- Ginburo ZushiGinburo, a kidney bean grown only for home use in a district of Otoyo Town, is simmered sweet and folded into vinegared rice with root vegetables. Regarded as a bean of long life and good fortune, it's traditionally made for festivals and celebratory banquets.
- GoishichaA post-fermented tea from Otoyo, Kochi Prefecture, made through two stages of fermentation — an aerobic mold fermentation followed by a lactic acid soak. Named for its square-cut, sun-dried pieces said to resemble go stones, it carries a distinctive sweet-and-sour flavor.
- GuruniDaikon, carrot, taro, and other root vegetables are simmered together in a dashi made from dried baby sardines and soy sauce — a winter side dish. The name is said to come from "guru," Tosa dialect for a group of companions, and the dish was long made in bulk and reheated meal after meal.
- Ha Ninniku no NutaGarlic greens are chopped, ground, and mixed with miso, vinegar, sesame, and sugar — a traditional Kochi condiment said to trace back to a Korean import. It's commonly spooned over raw fish like yellowtail in place of soy sauce, and both its name and the fish it accompanies vary by area.