MAIN INGREDIENTS
This traditional Japanese dessert couples boiled mochi (rice cakes) and a vibrant green paste consisting of mashed edamame beans. Zunda mochi is typically associated with Sendai, but it is common throughout the entire Tohoku region. The dessert usually employs unsweetened mochi cakes, while the coarsely mashed paste is only lightly sweetened.
This simple combination can be enjoyed well-chilled or lukewarm, and the paste is usually served on top of mochi.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Wagashi
Kitakata ramen is characterized by thick, flat, curly noodles in a rich soy sauce-based broth that is typically flavored with niboshi (sardines) and tonkotsu (pork bones). Soy sauce and niboshi are used in this ramen style because they have been produced in Kitakata for centuries, and the quality of both niboshi and soy sauce is quite high.
After the noodles have been added to the broth, the dish is topped with spring onions, thinly sliced roasted pork known as chashu, naruto (groundfish), and fermented bamboo shoots. Interestingly, Kitakata has the highest per-capita number of ramen shops in Japan.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Ramen
MOST ICONIC Kitakata ramen
View moreWanko soba is a Japanese noodle dish where noodles are served in a bowl many times in small quantities, as soon as the consumer finishes the bowl. This goes on until the consumer is full or gives up. The noodles are served with numerous condiments such as mushrooms, radish, or tuna sashimi, and there is usually a dipping sauce on the side.
The name of the dish, wanko, means bowl, referring to the small bowls in which the noodles are served.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Soba
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Kiritanpo is a traditional dish with origins in the Akita prefecture. It is made from cooked, half-smashed rice that is placed on a skewer, shaped into cylinders, then toasted over an open fire. The dish is traditionally consumed from autumn to spring, especially in November, when newly harvested rice is brought to the markets.
It is quite common to serve kiritanpo to guests and visitors in Japan. Locals usually place kiritanpo in a hotpot with chicken, green onions, Japanese parsley, and mushrooms, but kiritanpo can also be grilled over the fire together with miso. There are two theories about its origin: one says that the woodcutters used to wrap leftover rice around a stick and consume it with miso, while they were working in the woods, and the other theory says that bear hunters from Akita prefecture served it as an accompaniment to game meat dishes.
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