Imoni
芋煮DishSep to Dec
Imoni is Yamagata's autumn pot of taro, beef, konnyaku and leeks in a sweet soy broth, and it suits anyone who wants to eat the way the prefecture gathers. The trade-off is setting: the classic bowl comes from a pot on a riverbank in autumn, so a ski-season bowl comes from an inn or restaurant kitchen instead.
Where to eat Imoni · 2 places
The agriculture ministry traces imoni to the mid-1600s at Nagasaki in Nakayama, the last landing for boats on the Mogami River. Boatmen waiting days for merchants to collect their cargo cooked taro from the nearby village of Koshio with dried cod from the hold in a pot on the bank. Beef went in from around 1930, at the start of the Showa era.
Inland Yamagata still makes it with beef and soy sauce. On the Shonai coast round Tsuruoka the pot takes pork and miso, since the area raised pigs, and in the Mogami area it fills with wild vegetables and mushrooms. Once the pot is half eaten people tip in udon, and lately curry roux, to finish it.
Imoni-kai, the outdoor imoni party, is how Yamagata eats it. Supermarkets sell the ingredients and rent pots, firewood and mats in the season, and each mid-September Yamagata city cooks for thousands at the Japan's No.1 Imoni Festival in a pot 6.5 metres across, stirred with a new excavator. Soba shops also put imoni soba and imoni ramen on their menus.
Worth knowing
- Visit in mid-September for the Japan's No.1 Imoni Festival on the riverbank in Yamagata city.
Quick answers about Imoniよくある質問
What is in Yamagata imoni?
Taro, beef, konnyaku and green onions in a soy broth sweetened with sugar and sake. Some households add mushrooms or burdock.
What is the difference between inland and Shonai imoni?
Inland Yamagata uses beef and soy sauce. The Shonai coast uses pork and miso, a habit the agriculture ministry links to the area's pig farms.
How do you order Imoni?
Ask for imoni by name. In Yamagata city expect beef in soy broth; in Tsuruoka and the rest of Shonai expect pork in miso. If the pot is shared, save room for the udon at the end.
When is Imoni in season?
Imoni: Autumn into winter, when the taro is dug. The riverside parties belong to autumn, and inns and restaurants serve it through the cold months.
Where can you eat Imoni in Japan?
Places we list for Imoni include Tachinomi En, Yamagata Imoniya.