Seasonings of Fukushima

Why the flavors of Fukushima split three ways

Fukushima has three faces: Hamadori on the coast, Nakadori in the middle, and Aizu in the mountains. Because the climate and the flow of goods differ completely even within one prefecture, the defining seasoning never settled into one.

Aizu in particular combines the hot summers typical of a basin with winters closed in by deep snow. That swing in temperature moves fermentation along slowly, and it has produced long-aged red, salt-forward miso. At the same time, sweet miso made with plenty of koji stands right beside it. Jūwari koji miso uses as much rice koji as soybean, so the sweetness of the rice comes forward and spreads softly in miso soup. The more used you are to salt-forward miso, the more the sweet miso of Aizu surprises you.

Rather than relying on salt alone, the sweetness and savory depth of koji keep the ingredients. The preserving wisdom of snow country became the foundation of Fukushima's flavors as it was.

The dried goods of Aizu and the koji of Koriyama

Aizu has a dashi culture particular to a landlocked place. Kozuyu, served on celebratory days, is a bowl of dashi taken from dried scallop with taro, wood ear mushroom and mame-fu added, seasoned lightly with shoyu and salt. It spread from the samurai cooking of the Aizu domain and is said to have become a feast dish for ordinary people between the late Edo period and the early Meiji era. In a place with long winters where shelf-stable ingredients were needed, the practice of using dried goods to the last as dashi took hold.

Sangohachi is regarded as a koji food handed down from the Edo period, valued as a side dish during the rice-planting season. The name is said to come from the ratio of three parts salt, five parts koji and eight parts rice, though another account holds the actual proportions were one to one to one, so the origin is not settled. It is not unique to Fukushima either; Yamagata and Akita have it under the same name. The castle town of Aizu leans toward miso and shoyu, while Koriyama, which prospered through commerce, leans toward koji and amazake. Even within one prefecture, the axis of brewing differs.

Local dishes and their seasonings

Kozuyu (こづゆ)

A celebratory Aizu bowl of dried scallop dashi with taro, wood ear mushroom, carrot and mame-fu. It is served at New Year and at weddings, presented in small vermilion Aizu-lacquer bowls. Shoyu and salt are used lightly, in a way that lets the savory depth of the scallop stand.

Sangohachi-zuke (三五八漬け)

Cucumber, eggplant, carrot and turnip are pickled overnight in a bed made of salt, rice koji and rice. The work of the koji draws in a natural sweetness and savory depth, and meat or fish pickled this way comes out moist and tender. In Aizuwakamatsu, a version made with dried herring is well known.

Miso Dengaku (味噌田楽)

Tofu, konnyaku and taro are skewered, coated with a sweet miso sauce, and grilled over charcoal. Miso with a high koji ratio, like the sweet koji miso of Aizu, brings up its aroma and sweetness when charred.

Makers in Fukushima

• Aizu Tenpo JozoFounded in 1871
  A maker in Aizuwakamatsu. It is said to have been founded in the year Wakamatsu Prefecture was established under the abolition of the domains, receiving a license to manufacture and sell miso from the prefectural production bureau. It has two pillars: long-aged red, salt-forward miso, and a sweet koji miso with a high koji ratio. In 1923 it also began producing shoyu.
• Horaiya HontenFounded in 1906
  A maker in Koriyama. The first-generation owner, Yutaro Yaginuma, founded it as Horaiya Kojiten and has worked with koji at the center, making miso, amazake and sangohachi pickling base. That sangohachi remains close at hand in Fukushima households is credited largely to putting that base on the market.