Episode 37: Local cuisine using konjac [Kansai Edition] Maizuru Nikuja

Episode 37: Local cuisine using konjac [Kansai Edition] Maizuru Nikujaga (sweetened meat and potatoes) / Kyoto
This time, we will introduce local dishes using Kyoto konjac.
When I looked it up, I found something called "Maizuru Nikujaga (sweetened)." Maizuru Nikujaga is a local dish that is said to be the original Nikujaga.
I looked into its origins in detail.
In 1901, Maizuru was the only city on the Sea of Japan coast that housed a naval base.
Vice Admiral Heihachiro Togo, who was appointed as the first commander-in-chief of the Maizuru Naval District, loved the beef stew he had while studying in England, and it seems he was never able to forget the taste even after returning to Japan.
Togo ordered the head chef to make the beef stew he had been thinking about for many years.

However, at the time, Maizuru did not have seasonings such as wine or butter, so the dish was seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil, and made to resemble beef stew.
The finished product looked nothing like beef stew, but it was apparently very delicious.

At the time, there was no storage technology such as refrigeration, and many sailors fell ill with beriberi and scurvy due to vitamin deficiencies during long voyages, but the sailors who ate nikujaga rapidly became healthier.

This highly nutritious nikujaga spread throughout the country as an incredibly delicious warship meal, and eventually made its way to every household, becoming established as a "mother's taste."

The library of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Fourth Technical School in Maizuru still has a copy of the "Navy Kitchen Management Textbook," in which nikujaga is described as a "sweet stew."

Incidentally, the Maizuru Nikujaga Festival Executive Committee continues to recreate the original naval-style Nikujaga described in this textbook and pass it on to future generations as the original Maizuru Nikujaga.

Reference Original Nikujaga Recipe
http://www.nikujyaga.info/?page_id=10

Tales of local cuisine
http://kyoudo-ryouri.com/food/1791.html