🍲 Chatsu (Simmered Vegetables with Vinegar)

This is a local dish to be prepared for gathering events. Originally, it is "shojin ryori" (vegan dish for Buddhist monks) prepared at "soudou" (Japanese meditation hall) or memorial events. The plate to serve this dish was a wooden lacquerware which had edge warped a bit toward outside and a little high rim at the bottom, and its name was "chatsu". It is said that as this dish was served with the "chatsu" plate, people also called the dish "chatsu". The characteristic of "chatsu" is not to use soy sauce to make this dish look white. It is a traditional local food in Hokusei region, especially Asahi Town, and sweet and sour taste accelerate your appetite. It is said "chatsu" used vegetable became the taste of the area because Asahi Town doesn’t face any seas. It is also called "ni-ae" in Yokkaichi City and other Chunanzei region. It used to be kept in a brown glass container, which was often used for sour pickled plums, and it could be kept for 2~3 weeks in winter, so it is great as a nutritious preservative food. There is a similar dish called "ni-namasu" in Hokusei region; the ingredients are pretty similar but soy sauce is added.