Iwate

Fresh, pungent pickle of basho-na vegetable, great accompaniment for rice and ochazuke rice with Japanese tea

Basho-na Zuke

Basho-na is a leafy biennial vegetable of the Brassicaceae family, and has long been grown in the south of Iwate Prefecture. It has a distinct flavour and pungency, and is good to pickle as it produces a pleasant texture and colour. Basho-na Zuke does not need much seasoning, but simply soy sauce, salt and mirin sweet cooking rice wine. The original leaves can grow as big as 80cm, which is larger than other leaf vegetables that are commonly used to make pickles. The name basho-na comes from the fact that it looks like the leaf of a variety of banana, Musa basjoo, which is often planted in gardens, temples and shrines. Basho-na is grown in areas from Tohoku to North Kanto.