Narae is a traditional dish from Tokushima Prefecture, originally served during Buddhist memorial services and the equinoctial weeks. In times when sweet foods were luxury, its mildly sweet vinegar flavor was especially popular among children, who looked forward to the occasion. Today, narae is enjoyed as an everyday dish in local households and is also served in school lunches and care facilities.

It features vegetables and aburaage (fried tofu) simmered in broth made from soaking dried shiitake mushrooms, allowing the ingredients to absorb a deep umami taste.

Sobamai is soba buckwheat that has been boiled, dried, and the skin removed. Sobamai is cooked in dashi to make zousui porridge. Eating buckwheat groats is unique to Tokushima where it is sold freeze-dried.

It’s been said that the dish started when defeated soldiers who lost during the Genpei war (1180-1185) escaped to the Iya Valley and this dish was cooked for the new year. The region is not suitable to rice cultivation. Soba is a grain that grows quickly and can be consumed many ways including zousui porridge, noodles, and other preparations. Soba, a super food, is a rich source of protein that contains amino acids. Sobamai zousui and soba noodles are made delicious by umami in dashi.