🍱 Oyogoshi

About 230 years ago on February 19th, a fire broke out in the Ifuku village in Saga Prefecture that destroyed most of the village. There is a legend that the residents of the time boiled, seasoned, and ate the wild plants left over from the fire, then joined together to rebuild the village. Since then, a village festival called "Oyogoshi Matsuri" is held on February 19th to commemorate the village predecessors who had suffered from the disaster. The "Oyogoshi" is always served an essential dish in honor of the seasoned vegetables that were eaten back in the day. "Oyogoshi" means "Aemono" (dressed ingredients) in women's language, and it refers to vegetables seasoned in a white dressing. Tofu is typically used, but in the past every household grew their own vegetables, and so those vegetables were often used. Thus, instead of using tofu, which was not always available, taro was often used instead because it was available in every household. Nowadays, each household passes down their own unique recipe, with variations in vegetables and seasonings. For example, the taro can be mashed smoothly or some larger chunks might be kept to create textural variation. Pumpkin might also be used instead.