🍱 Yatara

“Yatara” is a mixture of finely chopped vegetables and pickles, similar to a “furikake” (sprinkles) of summer vegetables. It is a local dish eaten mainly in the Hokushin region and is a popular summer dish. Summer vegetables such as myoga ginger, eggplant, botan pepper, and miso-pickled radish are chopped, mixed together, and served over warm rice. “Botan pepper ” is a green pepper than has been cultivated in the Hokushin region such ancient times, and is said to have been named botan pepper because it looks like a peony flower. It was recognized as a traditional vegetable of Shinshu in 2008. The crunchiness of the vegetables is accentuated by the spiciness of the botan pepper, and I could eat rice if there was yatara even in the hot summer months when I didn't have much of an appetite. Anyway, it is said that the name of this dish, "yatara", originated from the fact that it contains a mixture of many vegetables that are finely chopped. The taste of yatara is“determined by the seasonal vegetables“, “miso pickles“, and “the skill of the chef with a knife“. Shinshu Miso" is a characteristic light-colored, dry rice miso made from malted rice and soybeans, which is used to make miso pickles, giving them a deep flavor. It is the most produced and eaten miso in Japan, accounting for more than 40% of the country's total miso production and consumption.