Garlic Chive Senbei ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

Nagano Prefecture

Garlic Chive Senbei

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Image Source: JA Green Nagano Women’s Society

Main lore areas

Hokushin region
Main ingredients used

Garlic chives, wheat flour, miso

History/origin/related events

The mountainous region of Hokushin, being surrounded by mountains, has many crop-growing fields situated on steep slopes, with few rice paddies, so wheat is mainly cultivated instead of rice. Additionally, wheat is also mainly grown in the crop rotation of the rice paddies located at the river basin of the Chikuma river. Rice is so precious that it cannot be eaten everyday at home. As a result, since times past, in order to economize, wheat has played a vital role in daily meals, being milled into flour and used in dishes known as “flour foods.” Among these flour foods one referred to as senbei or usuyaki, where flour is mixed with water and cut vegetables then fried, is often made for okobiru/okobire, or brunch, or children’s afternoon snack. Okobiru is an inflection of kohiru, meaning “late-morning,” and is a sort of in-between meal. It was made as something that could be filling to eat in between the labor of farmwork. The senbei are filled with seasonal vegetables like garlic chives, eggplants, onions, or others; however garlic chives are easy to grow, and aside from a snow-heavy winter, can be harvested anytime so every house has them planted in part of their garden to use at their convenience. It’s said the senbei made with the tender garlic chives that shoot up at the start of spring have an exceptional flavor. The recipes for garlic chive senbei or usuyaki also differ slightly between households, with many variations; like mixing in miso with the flour and vegetables when frying, or eating with a miso or soy based dipping sauce.

In the past to save oil, a heated earthenware pan would be greased with silk wadding soaked in oil, then the wheat flour batter poured in. Once fried it would be cut into portions of suitable size and eaten.
Opportunities and times of eating habits

Garlic chive senbei is eaten throughout the year, though in previous times it was made to eat during breaks between farmwork or for children’s snacks.
How to eat

Nowadays the batter is fried with a larger amount of oil and completed when the thinly spread surface becomes crispy. Seasoning may be added with a drizzle of miso or soy based sauce during frying, or freshly fried senbei can be enjoyed by dipping it into a healthy amount of sauce.
Efforts for Preservation and Succession

(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)
Even now garlic chive senbei continues to be made in every household, and is passed down from parent to child. It is even included in lunch provided by preschools and schools and has kept popularity with the younger generations.

RECIPE

Ingredients (makes 2 pieces)

garlic chives 80g
local flour (cake flour) 200g
water 200ml
Salad oil as needed
[Seasoning] miso 40g
[Seasoning] sugar 1 tablespoon

How to cook

1. Rinse the chives well and cut into 15mm pieces.
2. In a bowl, add the flour, water, chives, and seasoning. Blend well. (You can also leave out the seasoning and use it to top the senbei with before eating.)
3. Add oil to a frying pan, heating over a medium flame, and thinly cover with the batter.
4. Once it becomes a golden brown, flip over. The senbei are complete when both sides are thoroughly cooked.
5. If you left out the seasoning from the batter in step 2, top with however much of the seasoning you like and eat.

Recipe Arrangements

provider : Recipe Source: JA Green Nagano Women’s Society

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

This recipe video has been partially arranged to make it easier to cook at 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

Garlic Chive Senbei ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

Nagano Prefecture