Gudakusan Misosiru (Gudakusan Miso Soup) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

Nagano Prefecture

Gudakusan Misosiru (Gudakusan Miso Soup)

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Main lore areas

The entire prefecture (especially around Nagano City and Matsumoto City)
Main ingredients used

Seasonal ingredients (Examples of winter ingredients: Wheat flour, Potatoes, Radish, Carrots, Burdock, Chikuwa, and Green onions)

History/origin/related events

“Gudakusan miso soup” is a soup with lots of ingredients such as seasonal vegetables, meat, and fish. Miso soup is so nutritious that it is said to keep the doctor away, and a bowl of miso soup a day was a source of energy throughout the day, just as it is today. By adding lots of ingredients such as radish, carrots, taro, green onions, and fried tofu, you can fill your stomach and efficiently get the nutrients from vegetables. “Suiton” has also long been a popular food in areas where wheat can be grown. Because the wheat flour dough is pulled and torn into pieces, suiton is also called “hinnobe (pull and stretch)” and “tochanage (grab and throw)” around Nagano City and Suzaka City. There are many different ways to knead the flour, levels of hardness, and shapes, and each person has their own preferences. Also, if you mix in pastes such as mugwort or pumpkin, you can create fancy dishes. In Nagano Prefecture, they take care to use seasonal vegetables and ingredients as a foundation, and it is not a matter of just adding anything. Roots are in season in winter (radish, burdock, carrots, potatoes, etc.).
Recently, gudakusan miso soup has been attracting attention for its various health benefits. One of these is "reducing salt." In a typical miso soup, the amount of miso and salt per bowl is 12g and 1.5g, but if you make gudakusan miso soup, the umami of the ingredients will be added. Thus, the amount of miso can be reduced to 10g, the amount of soup can be reduced, and the amount of salt can be reduced to 1.2g. In addition, gudakusan miso soup is said to be the best way to get a large amount of phytochemicals such as lycopene, polyphenols, and isoflavones. Nagano Prefecture is said to have many healthy people who live long lives, and it is believed that the secret to this is gudakusan miso soup.
Opportunities and times of eating habits

It is eaten as a daily food. Especially on cold winter days, it is often made as a soup that warms the body from the inside out, and suiton is also eaten as a substitute for staple food.
How to eat

Adding root vegetables, mushrooms, meat, fish, and a variety of other ingredients will help balance the soup. By adding lots of ingredients, you can eat a lot of vegetables, and you can have a main dish and two side dishes in just one bowl.
Efforts for Preservation and Succession

It is still made in every household. Freeze-dried miso soup and other products are now available for purchase, making it easy to eat. Since 2019, Matsumoto City has been implementing the “Gudakusan Miso Soup Movement” to promote a nutritionally balanced diet. In the Hokushin region surrounding Nagano City, a movement to protect the production of homemade Shinshu miso is quietly gaining momentum. Miso is a representative of fermented foods, and Shinshu produces more than 40% of the nation's miso. It also ranks first in the nation in terms of consumption and has long cherished miso, saying, “As long as you have rice and miso, you can survive.” In Shinshu, there are over 15 proverbs about miso. Typical proverbs include (a) Add enough ingredients to miso soup that your chopsticks will not fall over, (b) One bowl of miso soup provides three miles’ worth of strength, (c) A family that buys miso will never be rich, (d) If the taste of miso changes, misfortune will occur, (e) Grilled miso is the flavor of a lord, and (f) Miso soup tastes better the longer it is boiled. In this manner, activities to pass down Japanese cuisine to children through proverbs are expanding.

source : “100-Year Recipes to Pass Down to Great-Grandchildren: Hiragana Cooking,” Shinshu Hiragana Cooking Promotion Team

RECIPE

Ingredients (For 4 people)

Wheat flour 100g
Potatoes 300g
Radish 100g
Carrots 50g
Burdock 40g
Chikuwa 1
Green onion 1
Soup stock 5 cups
Miso 4 tbsp.
Sake 1 tbsp.
(Winter) Add suiton, etc.

How to cook

1. Peel and grate the potatoes and knead them with the wheat flour. (dough)
2. Cut the radish and carrots into quarter-rounds, cut the burdock into cubes (soak in water to remove the bitterness), cut the chikuwa into half moons, and cut the green onion into small pieces. (Anything is fine)
3. Add 2 to the soup stock and simmer.
4. Once the vegetables are cooked, season with sake and miso.
5. When it comes to a boil, pinch off and add in 1. (Make into bite-sized pieces with your hands or a spoon)
6. Once the dough is cooked, adjust the taste, sprinkle with green onions, and turn off the heat.

Recipe Arrangements

provider : Hiragana Cooking Promotion Team, Nagano Prefecture Rural Culture Association

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

Gudakusan Misosiru (Gudakusan Miso Soup) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

Nagano Prefecture