🍱 Hyo-Boshi-no-Nimono/Hyo-Boshi-Ni

The entire area of Yamagata Prefecture was designated as a heavy snowfall area, and in those days when distribution was poor, securing food for the winter was essential for survival. Therefore, there was a culture of preserving foods such as wild vegetables and greens, which could be harvested in abundance from spring to fall, by drying them or pickling them in salt in preparation for the snowy winters. One of the traditional preserved foods in the Okitama and Murayama regions is "Hyo-Boshi" (dried purslane). “Hyo-Boshi" is made by boiling and sun-drying Hyo (purslane) picked in summer. Hyo is another name for Suberihiyu and it is also mentioned as "Sumeri Hiyau" in "Katemono", a book of salvation published by Lord Yozan Uesugi in the late Edo period under the order to his vassals. Hyo is a wild plant that grows at the places such as the edges of fields from early summer to early fall. Hyo is a vigorous plant and it thrives in the strong summer sun. In summer, freshly picked Hyo is boiled and eaten with Soy sauce and mustard, and dried Hyo is often used in stewed dishes.