Shizuoka's food cultureKnow

Shizuoka Prefecture is one of the top prefectures in Japan for bonito catches. Omaezaki Port, located at the southernmost tip of Shizuoka Prefecture, is one of the ports with the highest catches in the prefecture. Bonito caught in May is called "Hatsukatsuo" (first bonito) and is especially popular. The "bonito flags" that are hung around Omaezaki Port to coincide with Boys' Day have become a seasonal feature of the summer.

"Gawa" is a "chilled miso soup" made by chopping raw bonito, cucumber, pickled plum, green shiso, etc. and adding them to water with miso, and is said to have originated as a soup made by fishermen on board boats when they went out catching bonito. It is said that it came to be called "gawa" because of the "gawagawa" sound that is made when adding ice and stirring to dissolve the miso. Although it was originally a fisherman's meal, it is also often served on the summer tables of ordinary households in Omaezaki. *Source: Shizuoka Prefecture Official Website

Ingredients used

Bonito, onion, cucumber, green shiso, ginger, pickled plum, miso

How to eat

Chop the cucumber, onion, ginger, green shiso, and spring onion, finely chop the bonito, add the miso paste and pickled plums with the seeds removed, and beat together until well blended. Add ice water, dilute, add the chopped vegetables, stir, and it's done. It goes well with white rice or somen noodles.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Our local cuisine）

Image source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Our Local Cuisine)