Griddle & dumplings ── Konamono (flour-based griddle dishes)
Jiriyaki
Jiriyaki — a miso-flavored okonomiyaki once cooked slow over hearth ashes
"Jiriyaki," a miso-flavored okonomiyaki familiar in rural Gunma, was once cooked slowly in the residual heat of an irori hearth's ashes — its name is said to come from the "jiri-jiri" sound it makes as it cooks.
What it's made of
Batter of wheat flour loosened with a miso-based liquid is mixed with chopped vegetables and cooked. Miso's savory depth comes through first, giving it a different character from sauce-based okonomiyaki. In some areas, ground perilla seed is worked in with the dashi for extra richness. The finished surface takes on a faint dark tint, and the scent of lightly scorched miso deepens the aroma.
How it's made
Perilla seed is lightly toasted and ground in a mortar, then mixed with sugar, miso, and dashi into a well-worked batter, into which chopped dried shrimp, butterbur sprouts, scallion, or cabbage go, depending on what's on hand. It was once cooked slowly over the residual heat of an irori hearth's ashes; today it's more commonly made on a hot plate. There's no fixed rule for the fillings or how thick the batter runs, so it varies household to household.
Why it took this shape
In Gunma, where both men and women traditionally worked, jiriyaki is thought to have suited a meal that could be put together quickly after the day's work. In Nanmoku Village, where paddies are scarce, perilla seed is said to have been worked in instead, tying the difference in fillings to the spread of dryland farming. Being a one-handed snack for a short break during farm work is also thought to be part of why it settled into this shape. That one-handed convenience still suits rural life today.
Before You Go
- Tanabata and festival food stallsA guide to the somen said to be eaten on Tanabata, and to festival-stall staples like yakisoba, takoyaki, candy apples, and shaved ice.
- At Yatai Food Stalls and While Eating on the StreetPaying and ordering at a yatai food stall, handling your trash, the etiquette of eating as you walk, and how to step into a Hakata yatai.
Dishes in the same style
- AkashiyakiOctopus folded into a batter of wheat flour, jin-ko starch, egg, and dashi, cooked and dipped in a warm broth — Akashi's own take on the round batter-and-octopus dish, distinguished from takoyaki by that broth in place of sauce.
- Fuchu-yakiA Fuchu, Hiroshima take on okonomiyaki that swaps sliced pork belly for ground beef or pork worked right into the batter, so the meat's flavor is said to come through evenly in every bite.