Noodles
Bachi Jiru
Bachi jiru — soup made from the trimmed ends of hand-stretched somen
The offcut ends of hand-stretched somen, called bachi for their resemblance to a shamisen pick, are simmered with daikon, carrot, and fried tofu in Asakuchi's Kamogata — said to hold a firmer bite than the somen strands themselves.
- Origin: Okayama Asakuchi
- About 580 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
The offcuts left over from making hand-pulled somen noodles, known locally as bachi, are simmered into a soup with daikon, carrot, and fried tofu. Bachi has more bite than regular somen, and it turns silky once it soaks up the broth's sweetness from the vegetables. The seasoning stays light, relying on the noodle's own residual salt.
How it's made
Broth is brought to a simmer with daikon, carrot, fried tofu, and other vegetables of choice. Once the vegetables are cooked through, the bachi noodles are added to the boiling broth and given one more boil, then finished with soy sauce; some households use miso instead.
Why it took this shape
Asakuchi's Kamogata area is said to have benefited from sunny weather and good water, salt, and wheat, and grew into a center for hand-pulled noodle making from the Edo period on. Rather than waste the offcuts that inevitably come from noodle-making, locals are said to have simmered them into soup — a quick, warming dish favored in the cold winter months that became part of everyday cooking.
Before you go
- How to read a ticket machineShops that use a ticket machine (shokken-ki) often place their most popular items in a similar spot.
- Foods to look for in summerA guide to foods often seen in Japan around summer — eel on the Day of the Ox, hiyashi chuka, somen, shaved ice, edamame with beer, and hamo — with rough pointers for finding them.
- What staff say, and how to respondCommon set phrases you'll hear at restaurants, with what they mean and what to do when you hear them. You don't need to memorize them — just recognizing them is enough.
Dishes in the same style
- Abura SobaNo broth is poured at all — noodles are tossed in a soy-and-sesame-oil tare pooled at the bottom of the bowl, said to have started at shops in the Musashino area in the late 1950s, with vinegar and chili oil stirred in partway through.
- Abura ZomenPork and somen are fried together with a splash of broth, the oil and stock emulsifying into a silky coat on the noodles. Just how somen took root in wheat-free Amami isn't clear, but the dish is a fixture whenever people gather, not least for the August Dance festival.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Okayama
- Ami to Daikon no NitsukeTiny Setouchi shrimp called ami, richest in early autumn, are simmered with daikon in soy sauce and sugar — a pairing said to have grown from the two coming into season together, with a salted version kept for winter when rough seas kept boats ashore.
- Buri ZoniIn southern Okayama, New Year's zoni is built around yellowtail, a fish that changes name as it grows and so is read as auspicious, simmered with spinach, daikon, and other root vegetables — a dish passed down through the generations for the New Year's table.
- Chiya GyuJapanese Black raised in Niimi, Okayama, tracing to one of the oldest documented "tsuru-ushi" pedigree lines from the Edo period — said to benefit from the clear Takahashi river and fertile soil.
- Demi KatsudonA freshly fried pork cutlet is doused in hot demi-glace sauce over rice, a bowl said to have been devised by the founder of an old Okayama City restaurant after being won over by Western-style cooking at a Tokyo hotel — toppings vary shop to shop.
- FunameshiCrucian carp caught in the waterways of the reclaimed Kojima Bay farmland, at their least fishy in the cold season, are minced by hand and simmered with root vegetables, the rich broth then ladled over hot rice — also known as tonto-ko-jiru for the sound of the knife against the board.
- Hiruzen OkowaGlutinous rice steamed with chicken, chestnut, burdock, red beans, and seasonal mountain greens, a hearty five-ingredient okowa from the Hiruzen highlands of Maniwa — said to be a fixture at rice-planting celebrations and local festivals.