# Kujira-jiru ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Kujira-jiru

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Southern Hokkaido

## Main Ingredients Used
Salted Whale, Konnyaku, Daikon Radish, Tofu

## History, Origin, and Related Events
"Kujira-jiru" is an essential New Year's Dish in Southern Hokkaido. As the New Year approaches, it is customary to simmer salted whale and vegetables in a large pot and eat it on the first three days of the New Year. It is repeatedly heated and eaten, so the vegetables in the soup are selected to not fall apart when reheated. In some parts of the region, it is also referred to as "Kujina-jiru."From the late Edo period to the Meiji period when herring fishing was a popular activity, the whales that would "herd the herring to the shore" were regarded as a good omen in Southern Hokkaido. Thus, it is said to have been eaten on New Year's to pray for a bountiful herring catch from early spring.Whales are a valuable source of protein in Hokkaido, and they are salted and made into preserved food as a way to survive in the harsh winters.The salted whales are used as an ingredient in "Kujira-jiru." The other ingredients simmered in the soup consist of wintering vegetables that are harvested in the late autumn season and preserved food such as salt-pickled mountain vegetables. With a high nutritional value, "Kujira-jiru" is an essential dish for surviving through the extreme Hokkaido winters.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Even today, especially in Southern Hokkaido, people make "Kujira-jiru" at home as the New Year approaches. Salted whale is sold in large quantities at Hokkaido supermarkets at the end of the year.

## How to Eat
Salted whale fat is simmered in soy sauce along with tofu, mountain vegetables, and other vegetables such as daikon radish, green onions, shiitake mushrooms, and taro root. Depending on the household, some people make it with salt or miso flavoring, but the standard seasoning is soy sauce. The umami(good flavor) of the whale and the sweetness of the vegetables go together perfectly. In the past, late autumn-preserved vegetables and mountain vegetables such as bottled bamboo shoots, and salt-pickled butterbur and bracken were de-salted and added to the soup, but since the development of refrigeration technology, the vegetables used are different from household to household. A large quantity is cooked in a big pot and reheated each time it is eaten, causing the ingredients to soak up more flavor and become more delicious.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(An outline of the stories, about the preservation society, social media use, and modern ideas like commercialization etc.)Even now, each family's unique flavor gets passed down. "Kujira-jiru" is sometimes even served at events and festivals held in Southern Hokkaido.

## Ingredients
- Whale Fat (Salted): 200g
- Tofu: 1 block
- Daikon Radish: 300g
- Carrot: 50g
- Bracken: 100g
- Butterbur: 50g
- Burdock Root: 1／2 piece
- Long Green Onion: 1／2 piece
- Shiitake Mushroom: 2 pieces
- Dashi Stock: 6 cups
- Sake: 1 tablespoon
- Soy Sauce: 2 tablespoons
- Salt: to taste

## Recipe
1. 1. Cut the whale fat into thin slices, soak in water, then boil for about 10 minutes.
2. 2. Cut the daikon radish and carrot into thin rectangles, the bracken and butterbur into 3cm pieces, the burdock root into thin strips, and julienne the shiitake mushrooms.
3. 3. Put the dashi stock and the vegetables from step 2 in a pot and heat. Once the vegetables become soft, add the whale and season with sake, soy sauce, and salt. Then add the tofu cut into bite-size pieces and the finely chopped green onion. If you like, you can also make it with miso.

## Provider Information
provider : "Taste Of Hokkaido" (Akiko Nambu)

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