# Koobuirichii ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Koobuirichii

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
All over the prefecture

## Main Ingredients Used
Kelp

## History, Origin, and Related Events
Ilichee, often heard of in Okinawa's local cuisine, is a dish made by stir-frying dry foods and root vegetables and then simmering them to add flavor. Among the various types of Ilichee, "Koob Ilichee" is the one that was mainly prepared for special occasions. Kubu" means kelp, and "kubu irichi" is stir-fried kelp, sometimes called "kubu iricha" or "kelp irini. Combining the words "kelp" and "yorokobu," it has become an indispensable dish for weddings and other celebratory occasions. It is made by stir-frying shredded kelp and simmering it with pork broth, soy sauce, sugar, and other ingredients, giving it a rich, sweet, and spicy flavor. Boiled pork tripe is added, which blends well with the kelp and creates a unique flavor. It is also said that adding the pork broth several times during the simmering process, although it is time-consuming, makes the dish even tastier. When cutting dried kelp into strips, it is easier to cut if it is soaked in water, folded, and wrapped around another piece of kelp to hold it in place so that it does not slip. It is also said that adding pork broth several times, although it is time-consuming, makes the dish tastier.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Kombu is a dish served as a celebratory dish because of the word "yorokobu," but nowadays it is made as a daily home cooking.

## How to Eat
Wash kombu, rehydrate in water, and cut into strips. Cut boiled pork ribs, konnyaku, fish paste, and fried tofu into strips. Put seasonings such as sugar, soy sauce, and mirin in a pot and heat, seasoning the sanshin and konnyaku first. In another pot, fry kombu in oil, add pork broth, cover with a drop-lid, and simmer. Add the konnyaku and sampan meat with all the broth and simmer. When most of the broth is gone, add fish paste and fried tofu.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the people who have passed down the tradition, preservation groups, use of SNS, and modern efforts such as commercialization, etc.)In addition to being commonly made at home, it is also served at Okinawan home-style restaurants in the prefecture. As one of Okinawa's representative local dishes, it is also served at school lunches in Okinawa and other prefectures.

## Ingredients
- Kelp (or chopped kelp): 40g
- Pork tripe: 60g
- Konnyaku (konnyaku): 40g
- kamaboko (fish paste): 30g
- Fried tofu: 30g
- Pork broth: 2 cups
- Salad oil: 1 tbsp.
- sugar: 1 tbsp.
- mirin (sweet cooking sake): 1／2 tbsp.
- sake: 1 tbsp.
- soy sauce: 1 tbsp or more
- salt: pinch

## Recipe
1. 1. Wash and rehydrate kelp, drain, and cut into 3-4 mm strips.
2. 2. Boil whole pork and cut into strips.
3. 3. Cut konnyaku, fish paste and fried tofu into strips.
4. 4. Put sugar, mirin, sake, and soy sauce in a small saucepan, heat, and season pork and konnyaku.
5. 5. Heat oil in a pan, add kombu (kelp) and saute well. When kombu is well coated with oil, add pork stock, cover with a lid and simmer slowly until kombu is softened.
6. 6. Halfway through cooking, add the pork and konnyaku from 4 with their juices.
7. 7. When the broth is almost gone, add fish paste and fried tofu, mix, taste, and season with salt.

## Provider Information
provider : Ryukyu cuisine researcher Tomoko Anji

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