Ingredients (serves 2–4)
For damako
・1 cup rice (or double the amount)）
・200 cc water (or double the amount)
1,500 cc water
5–6 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sake
3 tbsp nam pla (or shottsuru) fish sauce
4 niboshi / dried sardines (optional)
1 chicken thigh
1 gobo / burdock root
1/2 bundle water celery
8 tied ito-konnyaku / konjac jelly noodles
1/2 negi / Welsh onion
1 pack maitake mushroom
How to make
1. Cook the rice, transfer to a bowl while hot, and pound with a damp pestle until the grains are about half of the original size (this state is called han-goroshi—literally “half-killed”). Wet the palms, divide the rice into about a dozen portions, and roll into small balls. Let sit for several hours and allow the surface to dry.
2. Steep the dried sardines in water (amount provided in ingredients list) for several hours. Shave off slices of the burdock root and soak in a bowl of water to remove the scum. Chop the chicken thigh into chunks, slice the Welsh onion diagonally, and cut the water celery into 5 cm pieces, setting the roots aside.
3. Place the dried sardines, burdock root, and chicken in a pot. Bring to a boil over high heat and remove the scum. Add the water celery roots, Welsh onion, and seasonings.
4. Add the remaining water celery (save a small amount to garnish), maitake mushroom separated by hand, and damako. Serve in a bowl and garnish with water celery.
Damako-jiru is a soup dish and an essential local specialty of the winter in Akita. I learned this recipe from a gentleman I met during a trip to Lake Tazawa, in the city of Semboku. Akita is famous for kiritanpo, made by pounding freshly cooked rice, forming it into long hollowed-out cylinders around thick cedar skewers, and toasting over an open hearth. Damako is a ball-shaped version that’s easier to make and thus often made at home. Take freshly cooked rice, pound it until the grains are about half of the original size, roll into balls, and allow the surface to dry so that the balls don’t lose their shape while simmering.
A distinctive key ingredient is the water celery roots, which are strong-flavored and provide a delicious accent. Locals might make the soup with Akita Prefecture’s specialty Hinai chicken. The savory flavor is further enhanced usually with shottsuru, Akita’s unique fish sauce made with Japanese sandfish, but here I substituted it with the more readily available Thai nam pla. Like many dishes in Akita, this one is on the salty side, so adjust the amount of soy sauce as you like.
Even if you do make a salty pot of soup, the damako will balance it out, since the dried surface will keep the soup from seeping into the center. If I could tell the gentleman at Lake Tazawa that I tried out his recipe, he might say “Good for you. Tasty, wasn’t it?” in his thick Akita accent. It certainly was. In fact, it was so tasty that my sigh of satisfaction nearly came out in the Akita accent too! Damako-jiru is the perfect dish for the winter. I promise it will give you a burst of energy to beat the cold weather.
minokamo | Cookery expert / Photographer
Gifu Prefecture native minokamo’s culinary adventures were inspired by her fond childhood memories of cooking with her grandmother. She researches, writes about, and arranges regional dishes that capture, through their preparation and presentation, sensory enjoyments inspired by local climate, history, and lifestyles. Ryori tabi kara tadaima(Back from a Cooking Journey; Fudosha), published in September 2020, is a collection of recipes from minokamo’s visits to homes up and down Japan. Kona 100 mizu 50 de tsukuru suiton (Suiton Recipes—Flour 100 Water 50; Gijutsu-Hyoron) is now out.
