Akita

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Akita Prefecture

Akita Prefecture (秋田県, Akita-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.
Separated from the principal Japanese centres of commerce, politics, and population by several hundred kilometres and the Ōu and Dewa mountain ranges to the east, Akita remained largely isolated from Japanese society until after the year 600. Akita was a region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes.
Like much of the Tōhoku Region, Akita's economy remains dominated by traditional industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and forestry.
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. WASHOKU
The town of Uga and sketches of pretty girls advertisements 　
秋田県羽後町, Aoi Nishimata 西又葵
Akita Komachi あきたこまち (the belle of Akita) Rice Brand



. The Kanto Matsuri 竿燈 "pole lantern festival" 　
beginning of August


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Regional Dishes from Akita 秋田の郷土料理

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akebi no karakkozuke アケビの殻っこづけ akebia skin stuffed with meat and vegetables
akebi no nikuzume
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also eaten in Yamagata
akebi no tenpura from the skin of the plant.


asazuke あさづけ vinegared rice, a summer dish

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hatahata ハタハタ

hatahata sushi ハタハタ寿し hatahata fish sushi
hatahata, Sandfisch, Arctoscopus japonicus
Its season is winter.
It is essential for the people to survive in the winter months.
Beliebt als Sushi oder mit Salz gegrillt (shioyaki) in Akita.
Er hat keine Schuppen und wenig kleine Gräten und die Wirbelsäule lässt sich leicht vom Fleisch ablösen. Wenn man den gegrillten Fisch fest am Schwanzende anfasst, lässt sich die Wirbelsäule einfach vom Kopfende her herausziehen.
Der weibliche Hatahata trägt die Eier, die als „Eiersack“-Snack beliebt sind (burikko ぶりっこ). The egg sack can be the size of a man's fist.
buriko ブリコ
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quote
Hata-hata is really sticky and strange-looking fish because it doesn’t have any scales. What the most famous about Hata-hata is its egg, Buriko. It is really big about to explode, and the taste is chewy and jelly like. It is cooked as Shotsuru nabe, Hata-hata pot, Hata-hata sushi, and broiled fish. Many old Akita people love it because of its history.

According to my parents, people in my grandparents and my parents　generation ate Hata-hata almost every day in winter instead of sweets since fishermen had a big catch of Hata-hata, and it was really cheep like 500 yen per one box which contained about 50 Hata-hata. However, the number of Hata-hata decreased because of too mach catch, and Hata-hata costs 500 yen for 3 at present. Therefore, old Akita people miss Hata-hata in their memory, and want to eat it even if it costs high.

鰰、　 魚雷
In Japanese, Hata-hata is expressed in Kanji as Fish plus God, or Fish plus Thunder. Since Hata-hata gather close to beach when it thunders, people might think Hata-hata is God of fish.

source : discover-jp.blogspot.com : kayanon


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hatahata ハタハタ is the name of the fish, but its roe is called "roe from buri" (buriko). During the Edo period, the lord of Satake (former name for Akita) forbid to eat the roe of hatahata. So the fishermen caught it nevertheless and called it "roe from buri" (buriko).
Another story tells of the lord of Mito, Satake Yoshinobu 佐竹義宣, who was transferred to live in Akita. Since yellowtail (buri) was not served for the New Year food, he called the other roe BURIKO and enjoyed it as such as a nostalgic food.

buriko are the round sacks of eggs that float in the sea. The roe taken from the fish after cutting it up is much softer.
buriko is seldom eaten raw, because the egg membrane is very hard. It is put in vinegar and soysauce and sometimes fried just a little.
The semem sacks of the male are called shirako 白子.
It is a deep-sea fish that comes to shallow wates along some areas, where rivers flow into the sea and there is plenty of kelp to shelter the young fish. The buriko is said to be in various colors, according to what the fish eat most.

Grilled hatahata was one of the fish arranged on a tray as offering for the Namahage Demons during the New Year celebrations of the Oga peninsula.
Namahage Demons
Daruma Museum

The fish was caught in such numbers, that it was fermented in large barrels into a salty liquid called "shotsuru" or "shottsuru しょっつる【塩汁】
". This process laste for three years, until the fish was almost completely discomposed. This shotsuru liquid is used to flavor many dishes in Akita, best known is a hodgepodge with hatahata and this sauce, shotsuru nabe しょっつるなべ【塩汁鍋】 (kigo for winter).
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This is a kind of fish sauce, gyoshoo 魚醤(ぎょしょう).

shottsuru was also used to make a special sushi of cooked rice and pieces of hatahata.
This kind of sushi is very ancient, called "cooked rice sushi" (izushi, iizushi いずし）。
Izushi 飯寿司, Summer Food
hatahata sushi ハタハタ寿


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hikiwari nattoo ひきわり納豆 fermented soy beans, hacked small
eaten with sugar
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Hinaidori 比内鶏（ひないどり）/ Hinai jidori 比内地鶏 Chicken from Hinai, Odate. Kiritanpo with these chicken
WASHOKU : Kiritanpo (kiritampo) きりたんぽ skewers of mashed rice



iburi gakko, iburigakko いぶりがっこ smoked pickles with radish
smoked radish pickles
from Yokote town
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imo no ko jiru, imonokojiru いもの子汁 with satoimo yam


Inaniwa udon 稲庭うどん noodles from Inaniwa town. With a long tradition.
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Reference


ishiyaki ryoori 石焼料理 prepared with hot stones
from the Hunters of Oga Peninsula to keep warm. Stones from Oga are especially strong when thrown in water. Nowadays it is prepared in barrels of cedar wood

junsai nabe じゅんさい鍋 junsai vegetable hodgepodge


kasube no karagya ni かすべのからぎゃ煮
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kasupei is dried manta fish. Boiled with soy sauce it is a dish for a celebration in the Akita region.
There is also a kasube matsuri festival

keiran けいらん

kiritanpo nabe きりたんぽ鍋 hodgepodge with kiritanpo
kiritanpo is also a speciality of Aomori.

koi no amani 鯉の甘煮

kujira くじらかやき whale meat soup
kujirajiru くじら汁
salted whale meat in miso soup


matsukawa mochi 松皮餅




orandayaki, oranda yaki オランダ焼き "Holland waffles"
a kind of Imagawa yaki waffle, but filled with ham and mayonaise.
The dough is sweetened with honey.


shottsuru, shotsuru nabe しょっつる鍋
sauce from salted, fermented hatahata fish, when this fish was caught in large quantities.
. . . . . dadami nabe だだみ鍋


tamago mochi だまこもち
tamakko nabe だまっこ鍋

Yokote yakisoba 横手やきそば fried noodles from Yokote


yoochuu chokoreeto 幼虫チョコレート chocolate in the form of insect larvae
mostly like little beetle larvae from kabutomushi カブトムシの幼虫
They are covered with white sugar and the face is dark.
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from Yokote town


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Akita 郷土料理　レシピー


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Worldwide use


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Related words

***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

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