🍱 Ukogi no Kiri-Ae(Sliced and dressed araliad)

"Kiri-Ae", which is to finely slice "Ukogi(=Araliad)" and dress it with miso paste, has been a common cooking method in the Okitama region, where there are the largest number of "Ukogi(=Araliad)" hedges. It is said that Youzan Uesugi, the ninth lord of the Yonezawa Domain, recommended planting "Ukogi(=Araliad)" as a hedge for his house, and the spiny branches served as a rose wire to prevent crime, and the shoots sprouted from spring to early summer. It is also said to have been used as a tonic in Chinese medicine since the Heian period (794-1185) and was known as a nourishing food. Most of the "Hime-ukogi" variety eaten in the Okitama region centering on Yonezawa City has few spines and its leaves are soft. "Ukogi(=Araliad)" has a unique flavor and bitterness, and is used to make "ukogi gohan (rice with ukogi)," "ukogi tempura," and "ukogi ohitashi (boiled ukogi)," in addition to "Ukogi no Kiri-Ae," a dish that heralds the arrival of spring on the dinner table.