# Yanagawa nabe/Dojo jiru ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Yanagawa nabe/Dojo jiru

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Asakusa, Taito-ku; Komagata, Taito-ku; Takahashi, Koto-ku

## Main Ingredients Used
loach, burdock root, eggs, soy sauce, mirin, green onion

## History, Origin, and Related Events
There are two kinds of "Dojo-jiru". In "Marunabe", a live loach is put whole in boiling sake to make it drunk, and then stewed in an iron pot with a stockpot. Nuki nabe" is a dish in which boned loach, cut open at the back, is stewed with burdock root.Loach is a river fish characterized by its slimy surface and strong vitality. During the Edo period, when eating meat of animals was prohibited, loach was a familiar food for those who wanted to gain strength, just like carp and eel. Dojyo is written "loach" or "loach," and in old Japanese kana usage, it is written "dojiyau" or "dojiyau. Komagata Dozei" was established in 1801 as the oldest store in Komagata, but it was originally called "Dojiau. However, after the Great Fire of the Bunka Period in 1806, Echigoya Sukeshichi, the shop's founder, decided that four letters would be bad luck, so he changed the name to the three-letter word "dozeyu," which has remained unchanged to this day. The light loach is mixed with a sweet and spicy sauce, and this is the taste that the common people of Edo enjoyed. On the other hand, "Yanagawa nabe" is a dish in which open loach is stewed in Warishita and simmered with egg along with chopped burdock root. There is a theory that the name "Yanagawa" originated from the name of a small restaurant in Nihonbashi or Asakusa Senzoku-mura in Edo (now Tokyo). Because of the egg, the taste is lighter than that of dojo-jiru.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
In the Edo period, loach and burdock were both considered to be energizing foods, so they were mainly consumed in summer. Nowadays, loach can be eaten all year round, as there are many restaurants that serve it.

## How to Eat
After removing the mud, let the loach swim in sake to remove the odor, and then rinse it with salt to remove the sliminess. The loach is then simmered in a round pot, a nuki pot, or a Yanagawa pot with different seasonings, then sprinkled with green onions, mitsuba leaves, and topped with sansho (Japanese pepper) if desired.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
In the Asakusa area, there are many long-established stores such as "Komagata Dozeu", "Iidaya", "Iseki", and "Hirai" that continue to preserve and pass on the taste of their respective stores.

## Ingredients
- Loach (alive): about 20 fish
- Cooking sake: Appropriate amount
- [A] Dashi: 600 ml
- [A] Miso (sweetened): 50g
- [B] Soy sauce: 50ml
- [B] Mirin: 50ml
- [B] Sugar: 1 tbsp.
- Green onion: Amount as desired
- Shichimi (seven spice) chili pepper, sansho (Japanese pepper): Amount as desired

## Recipe
1. 1. Soak the live loach in a deep bowl with cooking sake for about 1 hour. Make sure to cover the bowl with a lid to prevent the loach from jumping out of the bowl.
2. 2. Mix [A] together to make miso soup, add in the dojo from step 1, simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. After simmering, drain into a bowl.
3. 3. Combine all the seasonings in [B] to make Warishita.
4. 4. Prepare a pot large enough to hold the loach and lay out the loach.
5. 5. Pour enough of the reduction made in step 3 to cover all the dojos, top with chopped green onions, and simmer over low to medium heat. When the leeks are softened, the dish is ready. Before eating, sprinkle with shichimi (seven spice) and sansho (Japanese pepper) to taste.

## Provider Information
Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

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