[Aomori Prefecture] From grain-based Edo culture to original cuisine! Hachinohe rice cracker soup, a local gourmet dish born in Aomori

Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost prefecture on Honshu, is home to a variety of local delicacies that regularly rank highly in the B-1 Grand Prix, a festival of B-class local delicacies

Among them, the one that is especially recommended is "Hachinohe Senbei Soup."

Here, I would like to introduce Hachinohe Senbei Soup, which is one of the most recommended gourmet foods in Aomori Prefecture

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What is Hachinohe Senbei Soup?

Tohoku has long been a cold region, and so its food culture evolved independently, but towards the end of the Edo period, the grain-centered culture of Edo began to take hold

Hachinohe Senbei Soup is a local dish made by simmering Nanbu Senbei rice crackers in a soup stock containing meat, fish, mushrooms, and seasonal ingredients

By the way, Nanbu Senbei is loved in a wide area from Aomori Prefecture to Iwate Prefecture and across the Tohoku region

There are two theories about its origins: one is that it was originally made as an emergency food supply during the Edo period when the Nanbu clan ruled the Hachinohe domain in this region, and the other is that it dates back to an even earlier period

During the Muromachi and Nanboku-cho periods, Emperor Chokei of the Southern Court visited this area and had trouble finding food

One theory is that at that time, a vassal of the family, Akamatsu Sukezaemon, obtained buckwheat flour and sesame seeds from a nearby farmer, and cooked them in a pot made from his own iron helmet, which is said to be the beginning of Nanbu Senbei

It is said that Emperor Chokei liked the taste so much that he had Akamatsu make it frequently after that

He allowed the rice crackers to be branded with the Akamatsu family crest, "Sankaimatsu," and the Southern Court's Kusunoki Masashige's family crest, "Kikusui."

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How to cook Nanbu Senbei

Current Nanbu Senbei crackers are branded with the "Sankaimatsu" and "Kikusui" marks, which supports this theory

Nanbu Senbei is made simply by mixing wheat flour with water, forming it into a round tube, and baking it

This creates a hardened edge on the rice cracker called "mimi."

As can be seen from the fact that it was used as an emergency food, it has a high preservative capacity and lasts for a long time

The baked ones are called "shiro senbei" and are the standard type of Nanbu senbei, but recently they have been sold in a variety of flavors, including sesame, walnut, peanut, squid, pumpkin, apple, and cocoa, and each one is becoming increasingly popular

In addition to eating them as they are, there are also types that are eaten with red rice or mizuame (sweet starch syrup) between them, or added to rice cracker soup

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The spread of Hachinohe Senbei Soup

Hachinohe Senbei-jiru became known nationwide, and this was related to the establishment of the Hachinohe Senbei-jiru Research Institute, an organization made up of ordinary citizens

Founded in 2003, this organization went on to plan the B-1 Grand Prix, a festival of B-class local gourmet food, in 2006, and through this festival it quickly became well-known

This was triggered by various initiatives that were undertaken in 2002 in conjunction with the opening of Hachinohe Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen

Even today, the Hachinohe Senbei Soup Research Institute continues to promote Hachinohe Senbei Soup

It has consistently ranked highly in the B-1 Grand Prix, and its popularity took off when it finally won the Gold Grand Prix at the 7th Kitakyushu Tournament in 2012

As more tourists visit, the number of restaurants serving Hachinohe Senbei Soup is increasing, and in Hachinohe city alone, you can now taste Hachinohe Senbei Soup in over 200 establishments

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summary

Hachinohe Senbei Soup is especially popular in Aomori Prefecture, which is home to many local delicacies such as Towada Barayaki and miso curry milk ramen

If you visit the area, be sure to give it a try

INFORMATION

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• Hachinohe Senbei Jiru Research Institute https://www.senbei-jiru.com/

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