Enjoy a taste of Ainu cuisine from the Saru River region.
This recipe has been handed down over generations and adapted to contemporary tastes by members of the Biratori Ainu Culture Preservation Association and the Ainu Cultural Environment Conservation Research Office in Biratori.
The cuisine of the Ainu, an indigenous people of northern Japan, is distinct from other parts of the Japanese archipelago. Its key ingredients are local game and fish such as deer and salmon, seasonal wild plants foraged in the mountains as well as various millets and root vegetables obtained through farming. Find out more about Ainu food and cuisine.
The key to securing an independent and sustainable food supply for the Ainu community includes maintaining the biodiversity of the forests. Protecting this environment ensures a source of food for the local inhabitants while also supporting habitats for local animals. One of the fundamental etiquettes of Ainu food culture is to only take what you need and, when harvesting mountain vegetables, to ensure that the roots remain. Learn more about Ainu food and cuisine.
Salmon was a staple food of the Ainu and they settled in places as far upriver as the salmon would reach.
Kayano Shigeru, from Kayano Shigeru’s Ainu Language Dictionary
Ingredients
Serves 4
4 sipe (salmon fillets)
20g sorma* (fern fronds)
50g pukusakina* (dried anemone)
4 emo potatoes
½ carrot
½ burdock root
½ daikon radish
200g konnyaku
200g tofu
5 tbsp (75g) miso paste
kompu (kelp): use 10g dried konbu dashi stock powder or 1 tsp konbu dashi stock
sippo (salt)
*Sorma and pukusakina are wild mountain vegetables that are locally foraged and used in Ainu cuisine. The dried vegetables are soaked in water overnight before using in the recipe. They can be substituted with other green vegetables, such as wild garlic.
Method
A gallery of 2 items.
A gallery of 2 items.
A gallery of 2 items.
A gallery of 2 items.
A gallery of 2 items.
A gallery of 2 items.
Recipe courtesy of the Ainu Cultural Environment Conservation Research Office, Ainu Policy Promotion Section, Biratori Town Office.
Photography: Ogawa Masaki.
This recipe was made possible with thanks to the guidance and generosity of Oikawa Naomi together with Kimura Hiromi, Kimura Manami and Nagano Tamaki of the Biratori Ainu Culture Preservation Association.