Episode 36: Local Cuisine Using Konjac [Kansai Edition] Kasujiru (Sake

Episode 36: Local Cuisine Using Konjac [Kansai Edition] Kasujiru (Sake Lees Soup) / Osaka Part 2

This time, I'll introduce another local dish from Osaka that uses konjac.

When I looked it up, I found "kasujiru," a dish popular in the Kansai region made with root vegetables such as daikon radish and carrots and fish such as salmon and yellowtail.

In the past, during New Year's, celebratory fish such as salmon and yellowtail were prepared whole and then cut into small pieces to be eaten.
Eventually, only the head and bones remain, and this remaining food is eaten on the final day of the New Year celebrations, known as "Bone New Year" (January 20th in Kansai).
Around that time, it was customary in the Kansai region to have sake lees soup.
During this coldest season, sake lees are said to also help warm the body.
In fact, sake lees are rich in vitamins, carbohydrates, amino acids, and other nutrients, which are said to have the effect of warming the body.
That's why it's often served at winter events.

In Osaka, it is said that yellowtail is eaten with kasu soup and rice with vegetables.
Sake was produced in the Hokusetsu region of Osaka.
Nada and Fushimi are nearby, and freshly pressed sake lees are readily available and inexpensive during the cold season, so it seems to have been a popular food at home.

With the cold season approaching, why not warm yourself up with some kasu soup?

Reference collection of Osaka's local cuisine
http://www.oskz.com/recipe/kyodo.pdf

Setagaya weather
https://biyori.shizensyokuhin.jp/articles/15

Tales of local cuisine
http://kyoudo-ryouri.com/food/2950.html