The history, culture, and lifestyles of the area are mixed and condensed in one plate of a local dish that has been passed for generations in mountain and fishing villages throughout Japan. We will introduce various unknown local dishes, also known as the soul food of the Japanese people.

Funa no Kanro-ni

Tochigi

Essential dish for new year celebration

Funa no Kanro-ni

In the south of Tochigi prefecture, the people conduct kaibori, a traditional practice of draining ponds and irrigations after the year’s harvest in December to improve the water quality for the following agricultural season, and as a result catch catfish, Japanese crucian carp, common carp and eel. The Among these fish, the Japanese crucian carp is commonly simmered in soy sauce and sugar to serve for the new year celebration, as the fish is considered to bring good fortune.

Recipi of cuisin

  • Japanese crucian carp1kg
  • wood bark or bamboo skinOne piece
  • umeboshi pickled plumsThree big
  • sugar１kg
  • sake rice wine1〜1・1/2cups
  • soy sauce2cups
  • mizuame thick and sticky sweetener100g
1.
Gut the fish and wash well with water.
2.
Put them on skewers, grill them until golden brown, and let them sit to cool.
3.
Place the wood bark (or bamboo skin) in a pot, and place the fish on top of it.
(Place them with their tails pointing to the center of the pot so that they look like a chrysanthemum flower.)
Add umeboshi plums.
4.
Pour water in the pot until the fish is completely covered. Add sugar and sake. Bring it to boil on a high heat, and then simmer at low heat for 2.5 hours.
5.
Add soy sauce when the fish is cooked soft, and simmer for another 1.5 hours.
6.
Add mizuame sweetener, take it off the heat, and let it sit to cool.
*The wood bark or bamboo skin can be replaced by thin slices of daikon radish.
*Do not move the pot or touch the fish with chopsticks while cooking to maintain the original shape.

Information provided by : Tochigi Prefecture Agricultural Advisory Board

Nimono

Local cuisine

TOP