# Aimaze ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Aimaze

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Central and South Sei food culture area, Ise-Shima food culture area (Ise City and Toba City area)

## Main Ingredients Used
Dried shiitake mushrooms, lotus root, burdock root, carrot, konnyaku, fu, kombu, etc.

## History, Origin, and Related Events
It is said that the name "aimaze" comes from the fact that the ingredients are boiled separately, seasoned, and mixed together. Most of them are dressed with slightly sweetened vinegar, but it varies from household to household. Frozen konnyaku is also a characteristic of this dish. Compared to regular konnyaku, konnyaku becomes spongy when frozen, allowing the flavor of the broth and other ingredients to soak into the konnyaku, and the texture of konnyaku is similar to that of meat, unlike the plump texture of raw konnyaku. Aimaze" was originally made by cutting the leftovers of "kumimono," a funeral dish, into small pieces, so to speak, it was a dish that utilized leftover materials. As funerals are no longer held in homes, "aimaze" is no longer made, but it is now made on purpose for New Year's holidays, when people miss the taste and gather together.In some areas, it is made by mixing daikon and carrot namasu with shiitake mushrooms, deep-fried tofu, chikuwa, and other ingredients. It is said that this dish was made using leftover Osechi dishes from the New Year.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
This dish has been served on occasions when people gather together, such as during Buddhist memorial services and New Year's holidays, and has been eaten since ancient times. It is called differently in different areas: "Aiai Namasu" in the Chunansei area, Futami (former Futami Town) in Ise City, and Toba City; "Aimaze" or "Kirigomi Namasu" in Matsusaka City; and "Aimaze" in Ise City.

## How to Eat
Each ingredient is cut into strips or strips, then seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, and other seasonings, and finally the ingredients are combined and marinated in a mixture of vinegar to finish. Careful cooks season each ingredient as originally prepared. When seasoning, it is important to cook them thoroughly. It is a dish served on occasions such as Buddhist memorial services and New Year's Day, mainly in Matsusaka and Ise cities.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
Local dishes and traditional dishes using products of Mie Prefecture are served as school lunches, and "Aimaze" is one of them. Aimaze," which uses many vegetables, has been handed down as a local flavor that will remain in children's memories.

## Ingredients
- [Dried shiitake mushrooms] Dried shiitake mushrooms: 50g
- [Dried shiitake mushrooms] Sugar: 3 tbsp.
- [Dried shiitake mushrooms] dark soy sauce: 25ml
- [RENKON] RENKON: 1 section (180g)
- [RENKON] Sugar: 1 tbsp.
- [RENKON] Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine): 20 ml
- [RENKON] salt: 1／2 tsp.
- [RENKON] Vinegar: 1 tsp.
- [burdock root] burdock root: 1 stick (150g)
- [burdock root] Sugar: 1 and 2／3 tbsp.
- burdock root] Salt: 1／2 tsp.
- [Carrot] Carrot: 1 carrot (150g)
- [Carrot] Sugar: 1 tbsp.
- [Carrot] light soy sauce: 1／2 tbsp.
- [Carrot] salt: A pinch
- [Frozen konnyaku] Frozen konnyaku: 10 pieces (15g)
- [Frozen konnyaku] Sugar: 2 and 1／3 tbsp.
- [Frozen konnyaku] salt: 1 tsp.
- Mame-fu (bean curd): 30g
- Green kelp: 30g
- Vinegar: 120ml
- sesame seeds: 3 tbsp.
- Sugar: 200g

## Recipe
1. 1. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water and cut into 5 mm pieces. Cut burdock root into 3cm long and 5mm wide and soak in water. Cut carrot into the same length. Cut lotus root in half lengthwise and cut into thin half moons. Cut konnyaku into the same length as the vegetables, cut with scissors and soak in water.
2. 2. Boil the ingredients in 1 with the respective seasonings, season to taste, and let cool.
3. 3. Soak the fu in water and soak in sweet vinegar (part of the vinegar mixture).
4. 4. Cut the green kelp with scissors according to the ingredients in 1.
5. 5. Combine 2, 3 and 4, soak in vinegar and serve overnight.
6. 6. [Notes](1) Originally, there were five kinds of vegetables because it was leftover from "kumimono," but nowadays, various ingredients such as daikon radish, chikuwa, fried tofu, etc. are often added.(2) Recently, it has become difficult to obtain frozen konnyaku, so some people use thinly sliced ita-konnyaku or ito konnyaku.

## Provider Information
provider : "Mie no Aji Senzai Mansai" (Mie Food Culture Research Association)

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