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Niaekko ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

  • Aomori Prefecture

    Niaekko

Niaekko

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    Image provider: Shibata Gakuen University Junior College

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    Image provider: Shibata Gakuen University Junior College

  • Main lore areas

    The Shimokita region

  • Main ingredients used

    Daikon radish, carrot, bracken, burdock, fried tofu, and tofu

  • History/origin/related events

    "Niaekko" is a local dish of the Shimokita region. In the Shimokita region, where rice cultivation was difficult due to the many cold weather damages caused by Yamase, various ingenuity was developed to secure food. Most of the vegetables were roots such as radishes, carrots, and burdock roots, and wild vegetables were preserved by salting or drying them. ""Niaekko" was made using such ingredients when the autumn radish harvest began. It is served on the dining table in everyday life as well, but it was always served in large quantities when people gathered, such as for ceremonial occasions. It is sometimes called “niekko.”

  • Opportunities and times of eating habits

    It is characterized by using bracken and fern harvested in season and preserved by salting or drying. Nowadays, it is often boiled and frozen after harvesting. It was customary to make this ahead of time in large quantities as a home-cooked dish from autumn to winter, to serve at ceremonial occasions, and as vegetarian food during the Lunar New Year, and for women to take a break. During the colder months, locally-harvested rock nori is sometimes added to make the dish even more luxurious.

  • How to eat

    Cut the vegetables into thin strips and stir-fry them in oil, then add the drained tofu while breaking it up and stir-fry some more. Add seasonings and simmer until the liquid evaporates. Lastly, nori is added, or sometimes, rock seaweed is added during its harvest season. It is a simple yet elaborate hospitality dish, such as rehydrating salt-preserved bracken in water over time and pre-boiling radish before stir-frying. Since it is eaten during the colder seasons, it is often stored as is and eaten over several days.

  • Efforts for Preservation and Succession

    (Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)
    It is becoming less common to do time-consuming tasks such as salting wild vegetables at home, and the trend toward nuclear families has led to fewer opportunities to cook large amounts in large pots as well. In an effort to pass down nutritious and healthy local dishes to the next generation, schools are proactively serving them as part of school lunches, and JA and local groups are working on sharing recipes and other initiatives to pass them down.

RECIPE

Ingredients (10 servings An amount that is suitable to boil in a large amount in a large pot and eat for 2-3 days.)

  • Daikon radish 1
  • Small carrot 1
  • Warabi 180g
  • Burdock 1
  • Fried tofu 3
  • Tofu 1
  • Soy sauce 4 tbsp.
  • Mirin 2 tbsp.
  • Salt a pinch
  • Sake 2 tbsp.
  • Salad oil 2 tbsp.

How to cook

  • 1. Chop all the ingredients into strips.

  • 2. Boil the dikon radish quickly and squeeze it. (To remove the pungency and odor) Drain the water from the tofu.

  • 3. Fry the tofu in oil, add the carrots and burdock, and stir-fry. Then add the bracken and fried tofu in that order and stir-fry until softened.

  • 4. Once all of the ingredients are cooked, add the radish, season with soy sauce, mirin, salt, and sake, and bring to a boil. It is done.

provider : "Guidebook for the transmission of food culture" (Aomori Prefecture)

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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Address : 1-2-1,Kasumigaseki,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo 100-8950,Japan.

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