Introducing Junsai nabe, a traditional local dish from Akita Prefecture.
Junsai is an aquatic plant in the water lily family that grows in freshwater swamps and ponds, with round leaves that float on the surface. From spring to summer, bright green leaves appear, and the jelly-like new shoots that emerge from the stems are harvested and eaten.
Mitanecho is one of Japan’s main production areas for Junsai, and the careful process of hand-picking each shoot into a box has become a cherished summer tradition.

Junsai is known for its soft, pleasant texture and pairs especially well with chicken. Junsai nabe is a summer hot pot dish traditionally cooked and served in a ceramic pot, allowing you to enjoy not only the umami of the ingredients but also their unique texture.

Kiritanpo nabe is a hot pot with the unique ingredient called tanpo. Tanpo is cooked rice that is mashed and wrapped like a log onto a thick skewer made from local cedar trees. The rice skewers are grilled over charcoal. In olden times spears used for practice were wrapped at one end with a soft covering called tanpo. The log-shaped rice cake somewhat resembles the tanpo hence the name.

Local Hinai chicken, burdock root, mushrooms, leeks, seri (a green vegetable dropwort), and other vegetables are stewed in a soy sauce broth in a hot pot. The grilled rice tanpo is torn off the skewer and added to the hot pot.

It’s said that kiritanpo nabe originated in the Odate and Kazuno areas of northern Akita in the wintertime by traditional hunters and woodcutters who traveled and carried preserved food with them. Nowadays it is customary to serve kiritanpo nabe to farmers as thanks after autumn’s first rice harvest. Akita is known for its production of rice. The umami-rich dashi on first sip brings a happy sensation after a long day’s work in the fields. Umami is a partner in this relaxing time.