# Mame-shitogi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Mame-shitogi

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Northern region

## Main Ingredients Used
Green soybeans, rice flour, sugar, and salt

## History, Origin, and Related Events
Mame-shitogi is a fresh sweet made by kneading boiled and ground green soybeans with rice flour and sugar. “Shitogi” means “to grind,” and normally, it refers to food offerings made with rice flour. Mame-shitogi is made with beans as a substitute. It is also known as “mame-suttogi.”The northern part of Iwate Prefecture is extremely cold due to the cold wind from the east called “yamase,” and because rice paddies were scarce, rice was precious. Therefore, beans, buckwheat, and millet were also cultivated and often eaten as supplements to the staple food. Mame-shitogi is also thought to be made by adding bulk to rice flour with green soybeans. Unlike edamame, which are soybeans before they ripen, green soybeans retain their green skin and insides even after maturity. Mame-shitogi was often made at home from autumn to winter when soybeans were harvested, but in particular, there was a custom of offering it to Daikoku-sama (December 9th in the lunar calendar) and Toshitori (December 12th), the mountain god. Also, in early spring, it was made to call for the nightingales.Even now, it is made at events such as Niwajimai (Akijimai), a farmer's event to give thanks for the year's farm work and harvest.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
In the olden days, it was offered to Daikoku-sama, the mountain god, and the horse god in the December month of the lunar calendar, and was made to summon the nightingales in early spring. Today, it is mainly made in autumn and winter when soybeans are harvested and eaten at a farmer's event called Niwajimai (Akijimai). Even today, some families still have the custom of making offerings.

## How to Eat
Rehydrate green soybeans with water, add a pinch of salt, boil, and cool thoroughly. Grind and add rice flour, sugar, and salt. Mix and knead into a stick shape and cut it. Use less sugar so that the sweetness of the ingredients is preserved. It can also be made with beans other than green soybeans, such as black soybeans. Those that have lost their flavor over time can be lightly grilled or toasted in a frying pan or toaster oven. It can be frozen and stored.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(An outline of the stories, about the preservation society, social media use, and modern ideas like commercialization etc.)Even now, some households offer it as an offering, and it is made at events such as Niwajimai (Akijimai), a farmer's event to appreciate the year's farm work and harvest. It is also sold at direct sales stores and is popular as a snack. It is also sold as a frozen food. Iwate Prefecture certifies people and groups that pass down local cuisine as “masters of Iwate Prefecture cuisine,” and there are “masters of Iwate Prefecture cuisine” with regard to mame-shitogi as well.

## Ingredients
- Green soybeans: 200g
- Black soybeans: 50g
- Uruchi flour (raw flour): 380g
- Sugar: 180g
- Salt: 3g
- Water: 1,500cc

## Recipe
1. 1. Wash the soybeans thoroughly and soak them in water for 24 hours (12 hours in summer).
2. 2. Bring the water to a boil, add a pinch of salt, add the soybeans from Step 1, and simmer over high heat.
3. 3. When the water boils and the soybeans start to move, simmer over high heat for about 7 minutes (about 15 minutes in summer) while removing the scum. Check the hardness of the soybeans, and when the soybeans are no longer lumpy, quickly pour them into a colander and drain the hot water.
4. 4. In a bowl of water, soak the colander holding the soybeans from Step 3 and wash with running water for about five seconds.
5. 5. Remove the colander from Step 4 from the water, drain the water, and cool it until it becomes the same temperature as your skin.
6. 6. Put the uruchi flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and mix.
7. 7. Grind the cooled soybeans with a bean grinder, put them in the bowl from Step 6, and mix well by hand.
8. 8. Run the beans from Step 7 through the bean grinder again.
9. 9. Knead the beans from Step 8 until they are slightly stiffer than your earlobe and moist.
10. 10. Divide into 300g portions, gather into sticks with a diameter of 5cm and a length of 20cm, and cut into your desired length.

## Provider Information
provider : "Iwate Prefecture Food Artisan" (Mitsuko Saito)

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