🍱 Omiisan

"Omiisan" refers to porridge seasoned with miso. In the old days, miso was called "mii," which became "omiisan" by adding the honorific "o" and "san". In Tokushima, where rice was considered difficult to grow in the soil, buckwheat and barley were used as staple foods instead, and the quantity of rice was often bulked up by adding various other ingredients. "Omiisan" was also a favorite meal with plenty of daikon radish and satoimo(=Japanese taro) added to make it a filling meal. The recipe was not very specific, except for seasoning with miso and using iriko Dashi (=Japanese soup stock (dried sardines)), and the ingredients used were sometimes chives, miso, tofu, etc. Each family made their own unique "omiisan". It is a simple and familiar local dish that is full of vegetables, nutritious, and also economical.