# Mizuika no madajiru ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Mizuika no madajiru

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Amami area

## Main Ingredients Used
Mizuika (Japanese common squid), squid ink bag (mada), miso, dried bonito flakes

## History, Origin, and Related Events
The giant cuttlefish is another name for the bluefin squid, which is a relatively large squid with a body length of 40 centimeters. Because of its translucent appearance, it is often called "mizu-ika" in Kagoshima Prefecture. The Nansei Islands, to which the southern part of the Kagoshima mainland and the Amami Islands belong, are the main fishing grounds in Japan. Eging is a typical squid fishing technique, coined by combining the English progressive form of "ing" with "egi," and is said to have originated on Amami Oshima Island. It is said that the method was introduced to the Satsuma clan via Tanegashima Island in the mid-Edo period (1603-1868), indicating that squid fishing has been popular in the Amami area since ancient times. Even today, squid fishing is possible throughout the year, and anglers come from outside the prefecture to fish for squid.A typical Amami local dish using squid is "mada-jiru" (squid soup). Mada" means "ink bag," and it has long been believed to lower blood pressure and nervousness in the Amami region, and many people used to buy it as a medicine.Drinking miso soup with squid meat and sumi ink is unique to the Amami region, and "mada soup with squid" is popular among many people because of its mild sweetness and richness.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Mizuika can be caught throughout the year, so it is eaten regardless of the season.

## How to Eat
After making soup stock with bonito flakes, add pork tripe and dissolve miso. Cut the pre-processed squid into bite-size pieces and add them to the broth. Finally, squeeze out the squid ink from the ink bag and add it to the soup. Serve in a bowl, sprinkled with leafy greens such as pandanas. Since squid ink contains a little salt, it is best to use a thinner amount of miso. Also, squid meat becomes tough and tastes bad if it is overcooked, so it is important to make and eat it quickly. The flavor of the soup and the ingredients used vary from household to household.

## 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.)In addition to being made at home, the soup is also served at school lunches to promote food education and food culture, and there are opportunities to learn how to make the soup at cooking workshops. It is also served to visitors at local events.

## Ingredients
- Pork tripe (block): 100g
- Squid: 200g
- Squid ink bag (mada): a little
- Miso paste: 40g
- dried bonito flakes: 1 cup
- Handama (Suizenji greens, Kintoki greens): a little
- Water: 800cc

## Recipe
1. 1. Make soup stock with bonito flakes.
2. 2. Put the three pieces of meat in 1 and scoop out the scum.
3. 3. Dissolve in miso.
4. 4. Cut the mizu-ika into pieces and add. Reduce the heat to low so that the flesh does not become tough.
5. 5. Put in the mada over low heat.
6. 6. Tear off half of the pike and put it in, and turn off the heat.
7. 7. Serve in a bowl and garnish with the rest of the handama.

## Provider Information
provider : Recipe provided by : "Food and Culture of Amami" (written by Hiromi Kuru), "Traditional Cuisine of Amami" (written by Kazuko Izumi)

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