# Choju Namasu ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Choju Namasu

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Reihoku region

## Main Ingredients Used
Daikon radish, Carrot, Pea pod, Deep-fried tofu, White sesame seeds, Vinegar, Sugar, Miso, Melted mustard

## History, Origin, and Related Events
Choju Namasu is a dish that is popular during the New Year's holiday. Its name implies that it brings about longevity. The dish contains daikon radish, which is rich in an enzyme called diastase. This enzyme is believed to help in the recovery of the digestive tract after consuming too much New Year's food. Additionally, the dish also includes carrots, a nutritious vegetable, thick fried tofu that is protein-rich, and healthy sesame seeds. In Tsuruga City's Gohata and Ueno districts, the dish is prepared using shredded deep-fried tofu, green onions, daikon radish, and carrots. This version of the dish is called “Koppa Namasu.” The dish gets its name from the thinly sliced daikon radish, which resembles "koppa" (wood chip), and the fact that originally, the daikon was shaved with a "kanna" (a plane).

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
It is a popular New Year's dish in Japan and is often included in osechi dishes, as well as eaten at Buddhist memorial services and other festive occasions.

## How to Eat
Grind roasted white sesame seeds in a mortar until oil comes out. Then, add miso paste and sugar, and mix everything well. Next, add finely chopped, thick-fried tofu, mustard, and vinegar, and process until the paste becomes smooth. To add more flavor and color to the sauce, mix in shredded and salted daikon and carrots, as well as colorfully boiled peas. A similar dish can be found in many places, substituting deep-fried tofu as abura-age (twice-fried soybeans), or soy flour, or pounded soybeans.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
It is made at home and also served at local school lunches.

## Ingredients
- Daikon radish: 1
- Carrot: 1
- Pea pod: 50g
- Thick fried tofu: 1
- White sesame seeds: 3 tbsp.
- Vinegar: 3 tbsp.
- Sugar: 4 tbsp.
- Miso: 2 tbsp.
- Melted mustard: 1 tbsp.

## Recipe
1. 1. Use a shredder to shred daikon radish and carrot, then pound them with salt and squeeze them tightly.
2. 2. Grill deep-fried tofu on a grill and cut it into 1cm cubes.
3. 3. Boil the peas and cut them into small pieces.
4. 4. Put roasted sesame seeds in a mortar and grind until oil comes out. Add soybean paste and sugar, and mix well. Then, add mustard and vinegar, and stir until the skin of the deep-fried tofu is no longer visible.
5. 5. Mix 1 and 2 together when thickened.
6. 6. After adding the thick fried tofu, grind it patiently and well with a mortar and pestle.

## Provider Information
provider : “Rediscovering the Taste of Fukui!”

![Image](Not found)