🍱 Hoba Miso (Magnolia Leaf Miso)
This dish is prepared by spreading homemade koji miso paste onto hoba (magnolia leaves), which are then grilled. This dish is said to pair well with rice, and is also an excellent accompaniment to sake. Magnolia trees are large deciduous broad-leaved trees which can be found in mountains throughout Japan. Because hoba has antibacterial properties, it can be wrapped around foods to preserve them, and can enhance flavors by imparting its pleasant aroma. While there are various theories surrounding its origin, the use of magnolia leaves as food is said to have started in the Hida region, which enjoyed a propsperous forest industry. The woodsmen (called “somabito”) were said to have used the leaves as plates to grill miso when they worked up in the mountains. The practice later spread to common households, and by the 1960s hoba leaves began to be sold as souvenirs.