🍱 Nuta

“Nuta”, eaten all over Japan, is generally made with green onions and vinegared miso. It is a local dish that demonstrates the uniqueness of the ingredients used in each region. In the Kitaura region of northern Yamaguchi Prefecture, it is often made with a combination of green onions and obaike. Obaike is made by slicing and parboiling the tail of a whale. It is rich in gelatin and has a crunchy, chewy texture. Whaling has been popular in the Kitaura region, which includes Nagato, since the Edo period, and every part of the whale was used entirely, giving the common people many opportunities to eat whale meat. It is said that in the Kitaura area, nuta with obaike added to it was born from this background. In the Hagi area, it is also called “negiae,” and depending on the region, octopus, squid, shellfish, etc. may be used instead of obaike.