Warm hittsumi soup is delicious in Morioka's harsh winter! 3 restaurants serving simple-tasting hittsumi soup that will warm you up! [Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture]

In northern Tohoku, including Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture, a cold seasonal wind called "Yamase" blows in the summer, often causing cold damage and resulting in poor rice harvests

As a result, a food culture of "flour dishes" developed, in which wheat and buckwheat, which are resistant to cold damage, were ground into flour and eaten as staple foods to replace rice

Hittsumi soup is a representative dish, and is still loved today as soul food and B-grade gourmet food

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What kind of dish is "Hittsumi"?

"Hittsumi" is a soup dish made by kneading wheat flour with water, cutting it into bite-sized pieces, and simmering it with ingredients in broth

The ingredients vary depending on the region and household, and include vegetables such as carrots, burdock, radish, and green onions, as well as chicken, and the broth also differs depending on the region and household

This is a local dish that is passed down from southern Aomori Prefecture to northern Iwate Prefecture, and the flavors of the broth and ingredients soak into the warmly simmered hittsumi, creating a truly delicious dish

Additionally, the starch dissolved from the hittsumi thickens the soup, preventing it from cooling down easily, making it a local dish that stays warm for a long time and a convenient way to beat the cold

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What is the difference between "Hittsumi", "Suiton" and "Hatto"?

Hittsumi is made by kneading wheat flour until it is as hard as an earlobe, flattening it, tearing it into pieces with your hands, and adding it to soup and simmering it

In contrast, "suiton" is made by scooping flour dissolved in water with a spoon and adding it to soup to solidify, and it is softer than "hittsumi" and has a very different texture

Furthermore, "hatto" is a dish made by rolling out dough to a thickness of just a few millimeters, cutting it into triangles or other shapes with a knife, and boiling it in soup; this also has a unique texture

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Hometown Cuisine Hittsumitei (Kurokawa, Morioka City)

Located near the border with Yahaba Town, heading south from the center of Morioka City along National Route 396 along the Kitakami River, the store is housed in a charming old house with its halls and other areas still in use

The main dish is "Hittsumi" as the name of the restaurant suggests, but the hand-made soba noodles made from locally grown buckwheat flour and pounded rice cakes with a sweet and salty walnut sauce are also popular

I visited on a Monday, and it was nearly full at 11:10, just after opening, and by noon there were already a line of over 10 people

If you are visiting from afar, we recommend making a reservation

Hittsumi (680 yen)

The dish is lightly soy-flavored with fish stock, which appears to be mackerel stock, and contains about 10 thick, soft "hittsumi" floating in it, making it a very filling dish

The ingredients include carrots, shredded gopou, mushrooms such as shimeji and maitake, and thinly sliced ​​green onions

The accompanying small bowls of boiled vegetables (daikon radish, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, chikuwa, fried tofu) and pickled daikon radish are a nice palate cleanser

Pounded rice cakes (160 yen each)

You can choose from the following mochi flavors: walnut, red bean, kinako (roasted soybean flour), brown sugar syrup and kinako (roasted soybean flour), sesame, isobe (rice flour), and walnut paste (walnut + red bean)

The most popular "Kurumi" is topped with a generous amount of sweet and salty walnut paste, and has a fragrance similar to sake lees and the delicious flavor of mirin

Isobe is a rectangular rice cake wrapped in sweet, soy-based seaweed, making it very satisfying to eat

The all-you-can-drink roasted green tea served on the table is fragrant, with the aroma of roasted brown rice, which goes perfectly with the sweet mochi

Hittsumitei <Information>

• Store name: Hometown Ajidokoro Hittsumitei
• Address: 18-65 Kurokawa, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
• Phone number: 019-696-2406
• Business hours: Wednesday to Monday 11:00 to 15:00
• Closed: Tuesdays
• URL: None

Google Map

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Takashimaya (Ueda, Morioka City)

Iwate University and Morioka First High School are located nearby, so this sweet shop is often visited by students, and its hittsumi (sweet potato chips) are delicious and it has been a popular shop for a long time

The restaurant has a retro Showa-era coffee shop atmosphere and is equipped with tables for six, four, and two people. It is often fully booked during lunchtime and in the evenings, so we recommend making a reservation

Hittsumi (single item, 700 yen)

The soup is mainly made with chicken stock and has a rich soy sauce flavor, with the umami of vegetables infused into it, creating an indescribable deliciousness

The hittsumi is torn into bite-sized pieces, is chewy and soft, and there is so much of it in the bowl that it is very satisfying

The ingredients include chicken thigh, shredded green onion, shredded burdock, thinly sliced ​​carrots, and a whole shiitake mushroom

There is also a "Hittsumi Set Meal (900 yen)" which comes with rice, one small side dish and pickles, but it is quite filling, so if you have a small appetite it may be better to just order the hittsumi on its own

Oshiruko (500 yen)

This restaurant started out as an oshiruko (sweet red bean soup) shop, and its signature dishes, along with hittsumi (sweet red bean soup), are oshiruko (sweet red bean soup) and freshly pounded mochi (rice cakes)

The oshiruko is made with plenty of large red beans and has just the right amount of sweetness, and contains two large, delicious mochi rice cakes. The accompanying pickled shibazuke adds a nice touch to the palate

Pizza mochi (550 yen a la carte, pizza mochi set 700 yen includes a drink)

Tomato sauce is spread on top of rice cakes laid out on a plate, and then sliced ​​tomatoes and cheese are generously spread on top, giving it the taste of pizza

The mochi is quite filling and one plate is enough to leave you feeling full, making it a popular menu item among high school and university students

Takashimaya ＜Information＞

• Store name: Takashimaya
• Address: 1-10-6 Ueda, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
• Phone number: 019-654-0964
• Business hours: Monday to Saturday 11:40-15:00, 17:00-21:00
• Closed: Sunday

Google Map

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Mikoda Morning Market "The Famous Hittsumi and Kidou no Bo" (Mikoda-cho, Morioka City)

Mikoda Morning Market, known as "Morioka's Kitchen" for its lineup of fresh local vegetables picked that morning, is open for over 300 days a year and is open from 5am to 8am (5:30am to 8:30am in winter), so be sure to get up early

Deku no Bo is a hittsumi specialty shop that is particularly popular in the Mikoda Morning Market, which is popular among tourists

The morning market is home to many popular restaurants as well as vendors, so its several large parking lots are often all full on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays

Hittsumi (600 yen)

I visited the popular hittsumi restaurant "Uwasa no Hittsumi (Kigou no Bo)" at 5:30am on a Wednesday morning, and although there was no line as it was a weekday, it was bustling with customers

The soup of the "Hittsumi" has a good balance of the flavors of chicken, bonito, and kelp, and the five or so "Hittsumi" pieces are quite large and have just the right amount of elasticity, making them very satisfying to eat

The ingredients include plenty of shredded burdock, as well as carrots, shiitake mushrooms, fried tofu, and roughly chopped green onions, and the flavors of each ingredient dissolve into the soup

You can sit down and eat at the rest area near the shop, and the shichimi garlic that is served on the tray enhances the flavor of the soup

Hittsumi can also be taken home, and many locals purchase it to enjoy as breakfast at home

Cream puffs (130 yen)

At the morning market, Kawamura Shoten is famous for its "cream puffs made by a patisserie chef," which are only sold on weekends, but it can be very difficult to get hold of them as people line up and they sell out quickly

So, on this visit, I aimed for the ever-popular Fresh Yoshida cream puffs

Unlike Kawamura Shoten, which uses fresh cream, these cream puffs are filled with plenty of custard cream and have a subtle rum-like aroma. As a drinker, I highly recommend these cream puffs

Each cream puff costs 130 yen, but a pack of six is ​​a great deal at 600 yen

Morioka Mikoda Morning Market <Information>

Facility name: Morioka Mikoda Morning Market
Address: 20-3 Mikodacho, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Phone number: 019-652-1721
Opening hours: Morning market, Tuesday to Sunday 5:00-8:30 (April-December), 5:30-8:30 (January-March)
Closed: Mondays (Kigou-no-bo is closed on Mondays and Thursdays)
URL: Morioka Mikoda Morning Market Official Website

Google Map　

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summary

Hittsumi is a simple dish made by boiling kneaded wheat flour in a soy sauce-based broth, but the taste and ingredients vary from region to region, and it is a local dish that can even vary from household to household

In this article, we introduced restaurants that mainly serve "Hittsumi."

There are also many other restaurants in Morioka that serve their own unique hittsumi soup, each with its own unique flavor of broth and the texture and size of the hittsumi

When you visit Morioka, be sure to try not only the three major noodles, but also Hittsumi

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