# Kasu-jiru (Soup with a sake lees base) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Kasu-jiru (Soup with a sake lees base)

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
All areas in the prefecture

## Main Ingredients Used
Sake lees, daikon radish, carrots, taro, burdock root, deep-fried tofu, konjac, etc.

## History, Origin, and Related Events
“Kasu-jiru” is a local dish which consists of daikon radish, carrots, burdock root, konjac, and other ingredients simmered in sake lees, a byproduct of sake brewing process. Fish, such as salmon, yellowtail, and mackerel are also sometimes added to this dish. Sake lees are often consumed in mountainous areas during the cold winter months. People who work in sake brewing areas bring sake lees back home as a souvenir. Hyogo Prefecture is the largest producer of sake in Japan, with the Nada-Gogo area accounting for around 30% of the country's sake production and more than 60% of the nation's cultivation of Yamada-Nishiki, the king of sake rice. The history of sake in Japan is long, with the Harimakuni Fudoki, written 1,300 years ago, mentioning sake made with rice koji. Sake lees have also been used since the Heian period as a way to preserve fish and vegetables. Sake lees are rich in yeast, protein, vitamins, and minerals, making them a nourishing food. The custom of eating kasu-jiru on January 20, the last day of the New Year celebration, involves making broth from the heads and bones of salmon and amberjack, which were eaten during the New Year, and simmering them with sake lees and vegetables to celebrate the end of the season.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
In addition to being eaten during the last day of the New Year celebration on January 20, sake lees also appear on the dinner table during the cold winter months as a nourishing and warming meal.

## How to Eat
Various vegetables, including daikon radish, burdock root, and carrot, are simmered in broth with deep-fried tofu and seasoned with miso and sake lees. Salmon, yellowtail, mackerel, and konjac can also be added for extra flavor.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
In addition to being eaten at home, kasu-jiru is also served as a school lunch menu item. A freeze-dried version of kasu-jiru is sold by Hakusetsu Shokuhin and has been selected as one of “the Five-Star Hyogo products”.

## Ingredients
- Daikon radish: 40g
- Carrot: 20g
- Burdock root: 20g
- Taro: 2 or 3 pieces
- Konjac: 1／2
- Deep-fried tofu: 1 piece
- Sake lees: 40g
- Miso: 2 tbsp.
- Boiled dried fish: As much as you like
- Green onion: 1
- Salmon or salted mackerel may be added.: 

## Recipe
1. 1. Make soup stock with dried sardines. Cut daikon radish, carrot, burdock, taro, deep-fried tofu, and konjac into thin squares and simmer together.
2. 2. Dissolve sake lees in the soup and season with miso. Finally, sprinkle finely chopped green onion.

## Provider Information
provider : Mikata-gun Lifestyle Research Group Liaison Council

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