Okkirikomi
おっきりこみNoodle
Okkirikomi is Gunma's farmhouse stew of wide, unsalted wheat noodles simmered raw with root vegetables in a miso or soy broth, and it is mostly a home dish that a few restaurants serve in winter.
The name
おっきりこみ
おっ切り込みFrom kirikomu, to cut into: the dough is cut straight into the pot.
japanese
Wikipedia gives the cutting-in story as the usual explanation and lists several regional names, from hoto in northern Gunma to nibouto in the east.
Where to eat Okkirikomi · 1 place
The cook rolls wheat dough without salt, cuts wide noodles straight into the pot and lets them simmer raw with daikon, taro or potato and other vegetables. That cutting-in gives the dish its name. Because the noodles go in unboiled, their flour thickens the broth, so a bowl holds its heat on a snowy evening. Northern and western Gunma mostly make it with miso, and the soy-brewing east uses soy.
Gunma treats it as part of its wheat-flour food culture, and on 20 March 2014 the prefecture selected the dish for recording as an intangible folk cultural property. It is also on the national list of 100 local dishes of farming, mountain and fishing villages.
Worth knowing
- Leftover okkirikomi reheated the next morning has its own name, okkirikomi no tatekkaeshi, and some people pour it over rice.
Quick answers about Okkirikomiよくある質問
What is the difference between okkirikomi and udon?
Okkirikomi noodles are made without salt and go into the broth raw, so they thicken it. Udon noodles are salted and boiled first.
Where can I eat okkirikomi in Minakami?
Soba-dokoro Kubota, in front of Minakami Station, serves okkirikomi in winter with local vegetables, mushrooms and mugi-buta pork.
How do you order Okkirikomi?
Look for okkirikomi on winter menus at soba and udon shops; it comes as a single bubbling bowl or pot.
When is Okkirikomi in season?
Okkirikomi: Winter. The flour on the noodles thickens the broth, which makes it a cold-weather dish, and some restaurants serve it only in winter.