🍱 Ohan and Ohan Kayaku

Usuki city is located in the southeastern part of Oita prefecture, stretching long and narrow in an oval shape toward the Hoyo Strait. This is the city where the Usuki Clan ruled by Otomo Sorin was located. The Usuki Clan often suffered financial difficulties, which is why the food they ate and the clothes they wore were frugal. Lords at the time had servants make “ohan” and “ohan kayaku” instead of “sekihan” (=red bean rice) because azuki beans use to make “sekihan” were expensive. Otomo Sorin was a “daimyo” (=Japanese feudal lord) of the “Kirishitans” (=Japanese Catholic Christians) and headed up the Nanban trades, and some people say that “ohan” was influenced by Spanish paella. The bright yellowed rice “ohan” is made by cooking rice with water that had gardenia fruit soaked in it. “Ohan” is served with “kayaku” (=rice toppings) made with simmered white fish such as lizardfish, vegetables, and tofu. “Ohan” is a symbolic samurai dish while “kayaku” is a dish conceived by merchants. During New Year's Eve and the beginning of the new year, merchants were extremely busy. They did not have the time to cook nor the time to enjoy meals. This is why large amounts of “kayaku” were made in a large pot on New Year's Eve and reheated and eaten during the first three days of the new year. The flavor soaks into the ingredients each time it is reheated, making it more delicious as time passes. It is a hot dish suitable for eating during the cold winter. As people made “ohan” less frequently, people would sometimes refer to “kayaku” as “ohan.”