🍱 Kenchin-jiru
"Kenchin-jiru" is a soup flavored with soy sauce and made with finely cut carrot, daikon radish, gobou (burdock root) and other vegetables which are stir fried with tofu. The soup was first made in Kanagawa prefecture and is also a traditional soup made in Iwate, Oita, Ibaraki, and other prefectures. The ingredients used for the soup differ depending on where it is made. In Iwate, there is no meat used for the soup and stir-fried tofu is used instead. In the past, women would make firm tofu at home to be used for the soup. Nowadays, this soup is made at home and is eaten regularly but in the past, the soup was made and eaten after the harvesttime to celebrate the arduous work of the farmers, or for the New Year holidays. This soup was made in substantial amounts in January and reheated before eating to allow the women in the family to take a break from cooking. The soup becomes even more delicious after reheating it the day after it is made as the flavor of the soup gets absorbed into the ingredients.