🍱 Nishin Nasu/Nasu to Nishin no Taitan (Herring and Eggplant)

Combining seasonal ingredients and compatible ingredients is called “deaimon” in the world of Kyoto cuisine. There is ”taikabura” which combines sea bream and turnips, “ebi-imo to bodara no taitan” (shrimp-shaped taro and cod), ”buri daikon” (yellowtail and daikon cooked with soy sauce), etc. “Nishin nasu,” which combines fat-rich dried sliced herring and eggplants which readily absorb fat, is also beloved as a deaimon. Dried sliced herring is a preserved food where the herring has its innards removed and is then dried. From the Edo Period through the Meiji Period, it was one of the foodstuff that was brought by merchant fleet and cargo ships which came and went between Hokkaido and Kansai; it was made much of in Kyoto City, which was inland and where it was difficult to obtain seafood. Regional cuisines that use herring have many divergences; that is one such circumstance. It is a traditional ingredient indispensable to Kyoto, used for example in “yaki nishin” where mirin and soy sauce are poured over herring and then grilled, “nishin soba” where herring is arranged on soba, ”nishin no konnmaki” where herring is wrapped in kombu seaweed and then stewed, and more. “Nishin nasu” becomes a delicacy when using “Yamashina eggplant” or “Kamo eggplant” which are Kyoto City's native species. “Yamashina eggplant” outdid other varieties during the end of the Meiji Period to the beginning of the Showa Period, and at one point it made up 60-70% of the eggplant cultivated in the city. Its characteristic is its soft, melt-in-your mouth flesh. ”Kamo eggplant” is a type of round eggplant made from long ago in Kamigamo, Kita Ward. It has hard, tight flesh and is sweet. Vegetables cultivated within Kyoto Prefecture from long ago are designated “Kyo no dento yasai” (Kyoto's traditional vegetables), and are seeking branding. The branding applies to vegetables introduced before the Meiji Period within all areas of Kyoto Prefecture, excluding mushrooms and ferns; “Yamashina eggplant” and ”Kamo eggplant” also fall under this certification.