# Hakata zoni ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Hakata zoni

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Hakata area

## Main Ingredients Used
small round rice cakes, yellowtail fillets, shiitake mushrooms, taro, carrots, katsuona (leaf vegetables), radish

## History, Origin, and Related Events
Katsuona, an essential ingredient in Hakata Zoni, is a vegetable that has been used in Hakata since ancient times and is a kind of the takana vegetable.It is said to have gotten its name from the flavor of dried bonito flakes in its stems. It is dark green in color, and its thick-walled leaves are shriveled. Yellowtail is a fish that changes its name according to its size, from yazu to inada, hamachi, and finally yellowtail, and is used in dishes for festive occasions. One of them is that in Hakata, there was a custom to bring one large yellowtail to the bride's hometown at the end of the year, saying "Yome-san bururi ga good" (the bride's bururi is good). It is said that this led to its use as an ingredient in New Year's osechi (New Year's dishes) and zoni. And "Hakata Zoni" is a unique way of cooking, in which the ingredients are prepared one by one on bamboo skewers, just like oden.In fact, the history of Fukuoka is deeply related to the background of the creation of this cooking style. Fukuoka has long been known as a town of Hakata merchants, and the existence of "Goryon-san" supported these merchants. Goryon-san is derived from the honorific title "Goryonin" for the wife of a nobleman, and the ladies of Hakata merchants are called "Goryon-san. Merchant families, busy with many visitors and business, could not afford to take the time to prepare zoni. So they came up with the idea of skewering the ingredients one by one in advance. Then all that is left to do is to remove the ingredients from the skewers, place them in bowls, and pour the dashi broth over them. This is an idea from the busy Goryon-san.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
On the first day of the New Year, this zoni was served when the toso was passed around, with herring roe, toothpicks, and black soybeans on the table. Although it seems to be less common nowadays, it was common in the past for merchants who had many visitors to their homes to pre-boil the ingredients for zoni, cut them into bite-size pieces, skewer them, and serve them in bowls at the time of eating. In addition to respecting the formalities of the dish as a celebratory dish, they also entertained guests on short notice by preparing the dish quickly.

## How to Eat
Hakata Zoni features yellowtail in a broth made from grilled flying fish. The mochi used for it is of the round type, and a variety of additional ingredients are used, such as katsuona, fish paste, taro, carrots, daikon radish, shiitake mushrooms, and many others. The ingredients vary slightly from household to household, but only katsuona is absolutely necessary. The rice cake and the other ingredients are boiled in two separate pots, and they are then all mixed into a bowl of dashi broth that has been heated in advance.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
It is still eaten in the Hakata area. Hakata Zoni," which is rich in ingredients and elegant, is popular nationwide and is also sold by mail order. It is also sold by mail order. Restaurants serve it as a special zoni.

## Ingredients
- Small round rice cake: 8 pieces (60g each)
- shiitake mushrooms: 2-4 medium pieces
- taro: 4 small pieces
- carrot: 40g
- Kamaboko (fish cake) with board: 1／3 of a stick
- katsuona (leaf vegetables): 100g
- Yellowtail fillet: 100g
- Daikon radish (shikidaikon): 50g
- Yuzu (yuzu citron): A pinch
- Dashi stock 800ml] Water: 1L water
- Dashi stock 800ml] shaved bonito: 7g
- Dashi stock 800ml] Grilled horse mackerels: 3 fish
- Dashi stock 800ml] Kombu: 10cm length
- Seasoning A] Salt: 5g
- Seasoning A] Sake: 8ml (1／2 tbsp)
- Seasoning A] Soy sauce: 8ml (1／2 tbsp)

## Recipe
1. 1. Prepare the dashi broth in a pot with water, add the kombu, remove the intestines of the grilled flying fishes, cut the remaining fishes into small pieces, and soak them in the water together with the kombu. Put the kombu on the fire and take it out just before boiling. Boil for about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the bonito flakes, simmer for about 1 minute, turn off the heat, and leave it for another 5 minutes. Filter it out and use it as broth for the zoni soup.
2. 2. Peel the taro and carrots, and boil them for nine minutes. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in water and cut them into chunks. Boil the katsuona and cut it into pieces 3 cm in length.
3. 3. The yellowtail should be salted 4 to 5 days prior to cooking. On the day of cooking, wash the fish and remove the salt, cut it into bite-sized cubes, and quickly blanch them.
4. 4. Prepare all other ingredients, except katsuona, on bamboo skewers for one person at a time in a neat arrangement. This way, the ingredients are not scattered and are easy to serve.
5. 5. Rinse the rice cakes in cold water to remove any powder, then place them in a bowl lined with kombu and soften them by changing the boiling water several times.
6. 6. Place the daikon and rice cakes in a bowl, then arrange the skewered ingredients on top of the daikon and rice cakes. Pour the hot soup into the bowl and serve it. Garnish the top of the bowl with a little bit of yuzu to add flavor.
7. 7. The taste of a zoni is determined by the quality of the broth, so the first step is to make a tasty broth.
8. 8. [How to prepare the mochi (powdered rice cakes)]You need 400g of mochi flour, 240-250ml of warm water (30-40℃), and 20-30g of potato starch. Place the mochi flour in a clean bowl, gradually pour in the warm water, and thoroughly knead. Steam the mochi in a steamer for 10 minutes, then take them out and pound them with a pestle dipped in water. When the whole mixture is smooth and rice cake-like, take them out and roll them into a shape on top of the potato starch.

## Provider Information
provider : Faculty of Nutritional Sciences, Nakamura Gakuen University

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