🍡 Oyaki (Japanese stuffed dumplings)
"Oyaki" is a local dish representing Shinshu, made by mixing flour such as wheat and buckwheat flour with water or hot water, kneading it, wrapping seasonal ingredients such as sweet red bean paste or vegetables in thinly rolled-out dough, and then baking it. In some regions, "oyaki" is also referred to as "yakimochi." It is said to have originated in the Nishiyama area of Kamiminochi District, and its history is ancient. Traces of kneaded and baked coarse grain flour have been discovered at the Jomon archaeological site in Ogawa Village. The mountainous areas have steep terrain, and due to the cold climate, many of these regions are not suitable for rice cultivation. In these mountainous areas, wheat and buckwheat are commonly cultivated. It is said that the people in these regions traditionally made and consumed at least one meal a day using the flour from these crops, supporting their diet as an alternative to rice. On the other hand, in the heavy snowfall region of Sakaemura, where wheat cultivation is not suitable, they make "anbo," a type of oyaki, using rice flour as the main ingredient. In the past, almost every household had an irori (traditional Japanese hearth). In the Nishiyama region, they used an iron pot called "horoku" to bake the surface of the oyaki and then steamed it in the ashes of the irori. They would remove any attached ashes before eating. This type of oyaki is called "ha-yaki oyaki," and it used to be the mainstream method. This tradition has spread from villages to towns, giving rise to various cooking methods such as "steaming," "baking," "baking and steaming," and "steaming and baking." The fillings for oyaki include ingredients like eggplant, mushrooms, pumpkin, dried daikon radish, etc., seasoned with miso or soy sauce. There are various types, including those with single ingredients or a mixture of multiple ones. People enjoy oyaki by incorporating local and seasonal ingredients, making use of what is readily available. Originally a local dish passed down in the northern part of the prefecture, oyaki has spread throughout the entire prefecture as its value as a tourism resource increased. It is now beloved as a local specialty across the entire prefecture.