🍜 Saba somen (Mackerel somen)

“Mackerel somen” is a local dish eaten throughout the prefecture, mainly in the Kohoku region of Shiga Prefecture, where grilled mackerel is simmered and mixed with somen noodles. Since ancient times, there have been many routes to transport goods such as seafood from Wakasa, a “Mitsukekuni,” to Kyoto. It is called the “Mackerel Road” because mackerel was the representative commodity. The route that passes through the Kosai region from the Obama region through the Kuchiki region is well known, but there was also a route to the Kohoku region from the Tsuruga region. For this reason, mackerel was often available in the Kohoku and Kosai regions of Shiga Prefecture. Among these, in the Kohoku region, there is a custom called a “May visit”' in which, in the spring, to show concern for daughters who have married farmers, grilled mackerel, a nutritious preserved food, is presented to the family which their daughter married into during the busy rice planting season. The grilled mackerel that was received was distributed to friends and relatives in the neighborhood. It was valued as an easy dish to prepare during the busy farming season. Mackerel received on rice planting visits is sometimes lightly grilled as is and eaten with vinegar and soy sauce.