# Kishizu ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Kishizu

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Around Kaga City

## Main Ingredients Used
Kuzukiri, wakame seaweed, kikurage mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sudare-fu, yuba, white sesame, white miso, sake lees, sugar, etc.

## History, Origin, and Related Events
Daishoji-machi in Kaga City once prospered as the gateway to Daishoji Temple, one of the five Hakusan temples (Hakusan-ji's five branch temples). Kishizu" is a vegetarian dish served at Buddhist memorial services and on the occasion of Hoonko (a traditional event held around the anniversary of the death of Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo Shinshu).Kishizu" is a dish of delicacies from the mountains and the sea arranged in a brocade dish (the sauce is called "kishizu"). Kizuzu is a colorful arrangement of long, thin slices of kuzukiri, wakame seaweed, kikurage, bamboo shoots, sudare-fu, yuba (dried bean curd), and other delicacies. Like the traditional vegetarian dish "suizen" (pure white kuzu-kiri made of agar and rice flour) in Wajima City, it is eaten as a substitute for sashimi.Kuzukiri, divided into red and white pieces, is used especially for large-scale events, but is generally substituted with harusame (bean-starch vermicelli). In recent years, cucumbers and other vegetables have been used as chrysanthemum flowers to add a green tinge.The use of refreshing ingredients goes well with the savory sauce made from white sesame seeds and sakekasu (sake lees). In the old days, keshi nuts were used as seasoning, and it is said that the name "kishizu" came from "keshi vinegar.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Kishizu used to be served as one of the vegetarian dishes at funerals and Buddhist memorial services. Recently, however, such events are mostly held at restaurants, so it is less common to cook it at home. Also, since the ingredients available in town and in mountainous areas differ, some ingredients are served as vinegared dishes or desserts.

## How to Eat
When served, kuzukiri (bean-starch vermicelli) is arranged in a colorful arrangement with wakame seaweed, cucumbers, and other seasonal delicacies. The dish is eaten after dipping it in sesame sauce, which is made by adding white miso, mirin, vinegar, soup stock, etc. to well-fried white sesame seeds. Instead of white miso, it is sometimes seasoned with amazake (sweet sake) or sake-kasu (sake lees).In some cases, the sesame paste is not dipped in the sesame sauce, but is instead dipped in the ingredients beforehand.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
Although there are fewer opportunities to eat it than in the past, it is still rooted in the local community as an event food. In order to preserve the local cuisine for future generations, Kaga City prepared recipes (with the cooperation of the Ishikawa Dietary Improvement Promotion Council) from 2008 to 2009. In the 54th Ishikawa School Lunch Cooking Competition held in 2015 (Heisei 27), "Kishizu Salad" made into a salad style was entered, and there is also an effort to carry on the local taste.

## Ingredients
- Carrot: 1／2
- sudare fu: 1 1／2 pieces
- udo: 1／2 stick
- konnyaku: 1 piece
- cucumber: 2
- Salted wakame seaweed (or tosakanori): 50g
- Kuzukiri (or vermicelli): 1 bag
- ［Sesame sauce] Sesame seeds (or white sesame): 5 tbsp.
- ［Sesame Sauce] White Miso: 50g
- ［Sesame Sauce] mirin: 1 tbsp.
- ［Sesame Sauce] Sake: 1 tbsp.
- ［Sesame Sauce] salt: 1／2 tsp.
- ［Sesame Sauce] sugar: 1 tbsp.
- ［Sesame Sauce] Dashi stock: 2 tbsp.
- ［Sesame Sauce] vinegar: a pinch
- ［Sesame Sauce] Keshi Nuts (Poppy Seeds): 

## Recipe
1. 1. Cut vegetables into strips and soak in water.
2. 2. Remove salt from salted wakame seaweed, cut into pieces, quickly blanch in cold water, and drain.
3. 3. Cut konnyaku in half lengthwise, cut into 4 or 5 slits and scald with sake, light soy sauce, etc. without coloring, cool and cut like sashimi.
4. 4. Boil kudzu-kiri and drain.
5. 5. Drain off water from sudare-fu and cut into strips.
6. 6. Place a bowl of sauce in the center of a serving dish, and arrange the ingredients 1 to 5 in a colorful way.
7. 7. [How to make sesame sauce] If using white sesame seeds, roast them well and grind them until they become oily, then add white miso paste and grind up, add mirin and sake, add broth, a little vinegar and keshi nuts to taste. A little vinegar and keshi nuts are added to taste. Amazake (sweet sake) or sake kasu (sake lees) may be used instead of white miso.

## Provider Information
provider : "Kanazawa, Kaga, Noto: Home Cooking of the Four Seasons" by Etsuko Aoki

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