# Kirisensho ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Kirisensho

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Central part of the prefecture (Morioka City, Hanamaki City, Shiwa Town, Tono City, etc.)

## Main Ingredients Used
rice flour, walnuts, sesame, sugar, soy sauce

## History, Origin, and Related Events
The origin of the name "Kirisensho" is said to come from the fact that in the old days, the powder was kneaded with the juice soaked in chopped sansho (Japanese pepper), which was called "Kirisansho", which in turn became "Kirisensho".It has long been eaten mainly in the rice paddy fields of the central part of the prefecture, and has been cherished as an event food. It was offered on Buddhist altars and hina-dan (doll's altars) during celebrations (especially on the Peach Festival), and in the past, girls and their mothers often made it together on the Peach Festival. In this region, a snack between lunch and dinner was called "kobiri (small lunch)," and snacks made from rice flour, wheat flour, millet, beans, and other ingredients that were good for the stomach were often eaten in between farm work. Kirisensho" is one such snack.It is made in Morioka City, Hanamaki City, Shiwa Town, Tono City, and other areas. Each region has its own way of making it, but the common ingredients are rice flour, walnuts, and sesame seeds, and the seasoning is sugar and soy sauce. Brown sugar is often used for the sugar. It is characterized by its simple taste.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
It is often served at Buddhist altars and on dolls' altars during celebrations (especially on the peach festival on March 3), as a snack between farm work, and at weddings.

## How to Eat
The detailed preparation, seasoning, and shape of the dumplings vary from region to region and from household to household. However, steaming rice flour, adding walnuts and sesame seeds, and seasoning with soy sauce, sugar, and other seasonings are common. There are several variations in shape, such as koban (oval) or kinoha (leaf) shaped with chopsticks, or flower or boat shaped using wooden molds. Among them, Tono City is particularly unique in that the dough is used to wrap walnuts and brown sugar with honey, and a thick bean paste flavored with brown sugar and soy sauce is used to cover the dough. If you do not have a kirisensho mold, you can crush the bale-shaped dough with the palm of your hand and use the handle of a spoon to make a pattern.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the people who have passed down the tradition, preservation groups, use of SNS, modern efforts such as commercialization, etc.)Although there are fewer opportunities to make it at home, it is sold at supermarkets, confectionery stores, and direct sales outlets in the production area, and is still very popular. In Hanamaki City, students have the opportunity to learn by making local dishes as part of their experiential learning, and "Kirisensho" is included as one of the menu items. In Tono City, "Iwate Prefecture Food Artisans" teach students how to make Kirisensho at elementary and junior high schools and at community activities.

## Ingredients
- Uruchiwa Flour: 500g
- Water: 600cc
- Soy sauce: 30cc
- Sugar: 200g
- salt: 2 tsp.
- chopped walnuts: 3 tbsp.
- sesame seeds: 1 to 2 tbsp.
- brown sugar: 50g
- Potato starch: as needed

## Recipe
1. 1. In a large saucepan, combine water, soy sauce, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil.
2. 2. Add Uruchi flour to 1, turn off the heat immediately, and mix with a spatula until powdery.
3. 3. Add sesame seeds to 2 and knead well by hand (about 100 times). Kneading can be done while the dough is still hot, but it is easier and more elastic if you cover the dough with a wet cloth and let it cool down before kneading.
4. 4. Roll out the kneaded dough into bars, divide into 24 equal portions, and roll into dumplings.
5. 5. Make a hole in the center of the dumpling with your thumb, add brown sugar and walnuts, close the hole, and form into a bale like an onigiri (rice ball). Put the dango into the kirisensho mold and place the walnuts on top. If the walnuts tend to stick to your hands, use katakuriko (potato starch).
6. 6. Steam the dumplings in a steamer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. After steaming, turn off the heat and immediately pour water (not included) over the top of the kirisensho to tighten the dough and make it shiny.

## Provider Information
provider : "Iwate Prefecture Food Artisan" (Reiko Hosokawa)

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