🍱 Aimaze

It is said that the name "aimaze" comes from the fact that the ingredients are boiled separately, seasoned, and mixed together. Most of them are dressed with slightly sweetened vinegar, but it varies from household to household. Frozen konnyaku is also a characteristic of this dish. Compared to regular konnyaku, konnyaku becomes spongy when frozen, allowing the flavor of the broth and other ingredients to soak into the konnyaku, and the texture of konnyaku is similar to that of meat, unlike the plump texture of raw konnyaku. Aimaze" was originally made by cutting the leftovers of "kumimono," a funeral dish, into small pieces, so to speak, it was a dish that utilized leftover materials. As funerals are no longer held in homes, "aimaze" is no longer made, but it is now made on purpose for New Year's holidays, when people miss the taste and gather together. In some areas, it is made by mixing daikon and carrot namasu with shiitake mushrooms, deep-fried tofu, chikuwa, and other ingredients. It is said that this dish was made using leftover Osechi dishes from the New Year.