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Asuka Nabe ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

  • Nara Prefecture

    Asuka Nabe

Asuka Nabe

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  • Asuka Nabe

    Image source: Nara prefecture

  • Main lore areas

    Central and Southern Nara Basin

  • Main ingredients used

    Chicken, milk, vermicelli noodles, shiitake mushroom, napa cabbage, chrysanthemum leaves, carrot, long green onion, burdock root, etc.

  • History/origin/related events

    "Asuka Nabe" is a regional cuisine of Nara prefecture in which chicken and vegetables are simmered in a broth of milk and dashi. During the Asuka period, a messenger who came from China to Nara brought a dairy product resembling condensed milk and presented it to Emperor Kotoku, who was very pleased with it and began raising dairy cows in the Imperial Palace. This is said to be the first instance of drinking milk in Japan. In those days it was a drink for the nobility, but the monks also started drinking it in secret, and eventually began simmering their chickens in the milk, which was the origin of "Asuka Nabe." It began to spread among the common people, but since cow milk was expensive at the time, they used the milk of their goats. The "Asuka Nabe" of today, which uses local milk, was devised as a regional cuisine of Asuka during the early Showa period.

  • Opportunities and times of eating habits

    It is eaten throughout the year, but more frequently during the winter, as it warms the body.

  • How to eat

    "Asuka Nabe" can be eaten with ingredients of your choice, such as seasonal vegetables and chicken. The large amount of vegetables and chicken provide flavor to the broth, and it is delicious to finish with udon noodles at the end.
    A new regional cuisine based on "Asuka Nabe" called "Yamato Nabe" has become popular in recent years. Yamato Nabe uses soy milk rather than cow milk for a healthy variation that still has a mellow and deep flavor.

  • Efforts for Preservation and Succession

    It is a standard household dish, and is being passed down from parents to children. It is served in school lunches, and both "Asuka Nabe" and the Yamato Nabe variation made with soy milk are offered in restaurants throughout the prefecture.

RECIPE

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • Yamato Nikudori chicken 240g
  • Vermicelli noodles 40g
  • Shiitake mushroom 4 pieces
  • Napa cabbage 400g
  • Chrysanthemum leaves 80g
  • Carrot 80g
  • Long green onion 120g
  • Burdock root 60g
  • Tofu 200g
  • Milk 320g
  • Chicken broth 400ml
  • White miso 80g
  • Light soy sauce 4 teaspoons

How to cook

  • 1. Cut the vegetables and other ingredients into bite-sized pieces.

  • 2. Boil chicken stock, add the milk, season with white miso and light soy sauce, and add the ingredients in order of how long they take to cook. Add the chrysanthemum leaves and vermicelli noodles just before serving.

  • 3. When eating, add condiments as desired (green onion, ginger, sudachi citrus, and chili pepper).

provider : Recipe source: "Nara Prefecture Regional Cuisine Collection ~Genki ni sodate Yamatokko~" (Nara Prefectural Board of Education)

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

Contact

Food Cultures Office, Overseas Market Development and Food Cultures Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel:+81-3-3502-5516

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