Episode 45: Local cuisine using konjac [Kansai region edition] Aimaze / Mie
Episode 45: Local cuisine using konjac [Kansai region edition] Aimaze / Mie
This time, I'd like to introduce a local dish from Mie Prefecture that uses konjac.
When I looked it up, I found something called "Aimaze," which is a local dish that is characterized by the addition of frozen konjac.
I looked into this mixed vegetable dish in more detail.
It is said that the name "ai-maze" comes from the fact that the ingredients are cooked and seasoned separately before being mixed together.
A distinctive ingredient in Aimaze is frozen konjac, which, compared to regular konjac, becomes spongy when frozen, allowing it to easily absorb flavors from broths and other ingredients. Unlike the bouncy texture of fresh konjac, it has a texture closer to meat.
Originally, "aimaze" was a dish made by finely chopping up leftovers from preparing "kumemono," which are dishes served at funerals.
These days, funerals are no longer held at home, so "aimaze" (a type of mixed seafood dish) is rarely made anymore. However, it seems that it's starting to be made again for people who miss the taste or for special occasions like New Year's when people gather.
Ise-style Aimaze is made by mixing daikon radish and carrot namasu (a type of pickled vegetable dish) with ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms and fried tofu that have been simmered and seasoned. Apparently, this particular dish is made using leftovers from the New Year's osechi (traditional New Year's food).
Furthermore, even within Mie Prefecture, the name varies depending on the region, and it seems to be called "niai namasu" or "kirigomi namasu."
Currently, these dishes are served as school lunches, featuring local and traditional cuisine made with ingredients from Mie Prefecture.
Our local cuisine
https://www.maff.go.jp/j/keikaku/syokubunka/k_ryouri/search_menu/menu/aimaze_mie.html
Mie Prefecture School Lunch Association
http://www.miegk.or.jp/pdf/miedaigaku/kyoudo/20tyuusei.pdf
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