🍱 Warabi tataki

Strawbi produced in Yamagata Prefecture, which boasts the largest production volume in Japan, is soft and slimy, and is popular even in the Tokyo metropolitan area as a high-quality strawbi. Generally, after removing the scum from the bracken, the bracken is eaten as a dish such as chopped, boiled, simmered, or in miso soup. Tataki" in "Warabi Tataki" refers to a method of cooking in which the strawbi is placed on a cutting board and beaten with a knife as if cutting it, thereby breaking the fibers of the strawbi into small pieces. It is said that in the old days, the sound of "thump, thump, thump" could be heard from every home when it was time to pound the strawberries. The tender texture and the flavors of sansho (Japanese pepper) leaves and miso (soybean paste) that go with them are exceptional, making this a local dish that has taken root as a springtime delicacy. Yamagata Prefecture is also home to many other cooking methods that allow the mountain vegetables, which are the bounty of the mountain villages nurtured by the rich nature of the area, to be removed from their acrid taste and eaten with relish, which is the result of the wisdom of our ancestors.