🍜 Nishin soba(Herring soba)
"Nishin soba(Herring soba)" is a local dish of Hokkaido, made by boiling and sweetening dried herring known as “Migaki herring” and putting it on soba. Kyoto is famous for herring soba, but it has also been eaten in Hokkaido for a long time. Kyoto's "Nishin soba" is lightly seasoned with kombu seaweed and light soy sauce, while in Hokkaido, it is seasoned strongly, resulting in a slightly sweet soup. From the late Edo period to the Meiji period, herring fishing was popular along the coast of Hokkaido. In spring, when large schools of herring rush to the coast to spawn, a phenomenon known as “kuki” in which the sea was dyed pure white could be observed. In the Edo period, when freezing technology was not yet developed, large quantities of herring were dried and preserved as migaki herring so that they could be kept for a long time. "Migaki herring", which is a source of protein, became a valuable preserved food nationwide and was transported from Hokkaido to Honshu on "Kitamae ships". In this way, large amounts of "Migaki herring" were transported to Kyoto and other areas, and herring cuisine evolved outside of Hokkaido as well. During the Meiji period, herring catches peaked, but from around the 1950s onwards, the occurrences of "kuki" decreased sharply, and herring became almost impossible to catch. However, due to the remnants of its heyday, there are still herring dishes using "Migaki herring", such as "Nishin soba", in Hokkaido, Kyoto, and other parts of the country. "Nishin soba" is said to have originated in Kyoto, but Hokkaido's "Nishin soba" is said to have its roots in a recipe handed down by" the Yokoyama family" , who were fishermen when herring fishing flourished in Esashi.