# Myoga no Hayaki ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Myoga no Hayaki

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Northern Miyagi Prefecture

## Main Ingredients Used
Myoga (Japanese ginger) leaves, flour, miso, sugar

## History, Origin, and Related Events
"Myoga" is a perennial plant that grows in the wild from Honshu to Okinawa, and it is related to ginger. Both the flower and the stem have been used since long ago as potherbs, but Japan is said to be the only country that grows it for food. It is used in various ways, such as a condiment for udon and soba noodles, or lightly pickled with cucumber and eggplant.In Miyagi Prefecture, around the time that the "myoga leaves" grow large, "Myoga no Hayaki" is eaten as a children's' snack during breaks from farm work. Wheat flour or glutinous rice flour, sugar, and miso are mixed into a paste, wrapped in myoga leaves, and roasted. Then, the leaves are removed before eating. The fragrance of the "myoga leaves" permeates to make a flavorful snack. In addition to the breaks from farm work, there is a custom of making it as an offering to ancestors on August 13th during the Obon Festival, then the leftovers are eaten after the welcoming fire for the ancestors. With the fresh fragrance of myoga leaves and a simple sweetness, it was often eaten as a snack in times when confectionery were scarce.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
In summertime when "myoga leaves" grow large, it is eaten as a snack during breaks from farm work. There is also a custom of making it as an offering to Buddhist altars on August 13th, then eating the leftovers after the welcoming fire for the ancestors.

## How to Eat
Mix wheat flour or glutinous rice flour with sugar and miso, then wrap in myoga leaves and roast. Peel off the myoga leaves before eating.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)Workshops have been held by the "Kurihara Tourism Network", based in Kurihara City.

## Ingredients
- Wheat flour: 2 cups
- Sugar: 2 tbsp.
- Miso: 2 tbsp.
- Water: 1 cup
- Myoga leaves: 12

## Recipe
1. 1. Put flour and sugar into a bowl and mix well. Add the water and miso and mix until the texture is firm enough to wrap in leaves.
2. 2. Spread out the myoga leaves, place a cherry-sized portion of the mixture from step 1 on top, fold in half, then fry both sides in a frying pan with a little bit of oil over low heat.
3. 3. In the old days, they were place on a grate and roasted over a sunken hearth.

## Provider Information
provider : "Gottsoosan - Miyagi's Local Foods to Pass Down" (Miyagi no Shoku wo Tsutaeru Kai)

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