Sweets ── Wagashi (Japanese sweets)
Zenzai
Zenzai — a bowl of sweet red beans, thick and only lightly soupy, with mochi
A bowl of sweetened red beans with mochi. One account traces "zenzai" to "jinzai-mochi," served at Izumo's Kamiari festival, its name slurred into "zenzai"; the definition of the dish is said to flip between chunky and smooth, thick and soupy, in Kanto versus Kansai.
- Origin: Shimane Izumo
- Other styles
- About 630 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
Red beans simmered slowly in sugar until sweet, kept chunky rather than smooth, served warm with grilled mochi or rice dumplings sunk in the bowl. In Kansai it typically means a chunky, only lightly soupy bean dish; in Kanto the same word can mean a soupier chunky version — the definitions are said to differ by region. In the Izumo region, a version keeping the beans whole with little broth is said to still be preserved today, the local pride in being the sweet's origin showing through in the method.
How it's made
Red beans are simmered until soft, then sweetened with sugar while keeping their shape intact. The mixture is ladled into a bowl over grilled mochi or rice dumplings. A pinch of salt is sometimes added to sharpen the sweetness. The contrast between the toasted aroma of grilled mochi and the thick, sweet simmered beans is said to be the standard way it's enjoyed. A style that sharpens the sweetness with a firm hand of salt is said to still be preserved as Izumo's traditional seasoning.
Why it took this shape
One account traces the name to "jinzai-mochi," served at Izumo's Kamiari festival held in the tenth lunar month, its name slurred in the local dialect into "jinzai" and then, once carried to Kyoto, into "zenzai." The way Kanto and Kansai swap which term means chunky versus smooth, soupy versus thick, is said to reflect each region settling on its own definition as the word spread. As a cold-season treat, it is said to still hold a standard place on the menu at sweets shops nationwide.
Before you go
- How to shop in a depachika (department store food hall)A guide to browsing prepared foods and bento, choosing wagashi as a gift with a good shelf life, sampling etiquette, end-of-day discounts, asking for cold packs and wrapping, and finding your way around a depachika floor.
- Enjoying a bussanten (regional products fair)A guide to what's sold at a bussanten (regional products fair), how to find one, when it gets crowded, shelf life and taking food home, and how to fit one around a trip.
- Izakaya customsFrom the small starter dish called otoshi, the classic "for now, a draft beer" first order, ordering a little at a time, choosing tare or shio for yakitori, soy sauce dishes, a closing course, and last orders and smoking rules.
Dishes in the same style
- MonakaCrisp wafer shells made from glutinous rice, sandwiching sweet bean paste. Said to take its name from the phrase "mochizuki no monaka" — the midst of the full moon — in a Heian-era poetry anthology, its round wafer likened to the moon itself.
- Nama YatsuhashiThe same yatsuhashi dough left unbaked and steamed instead, giving a soft, chewy sweet. Folded triangular versions filled with bean paste became the standard, and a 1960 tea gathering is said to have been the occasion that spread it as a Kyoto confection.
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.