# Yanagi-batto ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Yanagi-batto

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Northern Region

## Main Ingredients Used
Buckwheat Flour, Firm Tofu, Carrot, Daikon Radish, Burdock Root, Shimeji Mushroom

## History, Origin, and Related Events
The cool climate of Northern Iwate makes it difficult to grow rice, which has led to the continued production of cereals that grow well in harsh environments, such as Japanese millet, foxtail millet, and buckwheat. As a result, many dishes incorporating cereals were created, one of which is "Yanagi-batto," made with buckwheat flour. During the Edo period, the Nanbu clan that ruled the area prohibited farmers from eating thin-cut soba noodles because they took a long time to cut, and thus were considered a luxury. People began making willow-shaped dumplings with buckwheat flour, and were able to continue to eat soba by saying "this isn't soba, it's Yanagi-batto.”The "Yanagi (willow)" in the name "Yanagi-batto" refers to the shape of the dumpling, and "batto" is said to come from the word "hatto," which means to ban something. The dumplings are formed into a willow shape because willows sprout the earliest in the spring and wither latest in the autumn, and thus are said to represent the wish for health and longevity.Depending on the region, it is also called Yanagi-battou, Yanagi-ba, Yanagi-dango, and Suri-dango. The texture is springy and chewy.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
It is eaten during the winter as a source of nutrients and to warm up the body. It is easier to make than thin-sliced soba noodles, so it is often made quickly if there isn't enough to eat for dinner.

## How to Eat
Buckwheat flour is kneaded and formed into the shape of a willow leaf with an indentation in the center, then simmered in a soy sauce or miso broth with mushrooms and vegetables such as daikon radish and carrot. These days chicken is also added, making it a popular dish among young people.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(An outline of the stories, about the preservation society, social media use, and modern ideas like commercialization etc.)In addition to being served at restaurants, it is often made during hands-on, experiential tours as an easy to make standard cuisine of Iwate. "Artisans of the Cuisine of Iwate Prefecture" are recognized for passing down the regional cuisines of Iwate, and some of these artisans are making “Yanagi-batto.”

## Ingredients
- Buckwheat flour: 150g
- Firm tofu: 100g
- Lukewarm water: 25cc
- Carrot: 40g
- Burdock root: 40g
- Daikon radish: 50g
- Shimeji mushroom: 40g
- Freeze dried tofu: 1 pack
- Pickled mustard leaf: 30g
- Dried sardine: 30g
- Water: 1,600cc
- Miso: 50g

## Recipe
1. 1. Knead buckwheat flour, crushed firm tofu, and lukewarm water together in a bowl. Adjust the amount of water until it becomes as firm as an earlobe.
2. 2. Place the dough from step 1 onto a cutting board and stretch it into a cylinder of about 1 cm in diameter. Tear into pieces of about 5 cm, then thinly flatten with both hands into the shape of a willow leaf.
3. 3. Put the dried sardines in water and heat to make dashi broth.
4. 4. Cut the carrot, burdock root, and daikon radish into thin rectangles. Rehydrate the freeze dried tofu and slice into thin rectangles. Remove the salt from the pickled mustard greens and cut into 3 cm pieces.
5. 5. Simmer the carrot, burdock root, daikon radish, and shimeji mushrooms in the broth from step 3. Once the vegetables are cooked, add half of the miso. As it begins to boil, at the Yanagi-batto from step 2 and simmer. Add the remaining miso at the end and season to taste.
6. 6. Turn off the heat, add the freeze dried tofu and pickled mustard greens, then it is ready to serve.

## Provider Information
provider : "Iwate Prefecture Food Artisan" (Misaho Kubota)

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