Tōge no Kamameshi is rice cooked in dashi and topped with nine things: chicken, burdock root, shiitake, bamboo shoot, a quail egg, chestnut, apricot, green peas and red pickled ginger. Each is prepared on its own before it goes into the pot, and they are not all seasoned the same way. The shiitake is done in the style of Kantō, the bamboo shoot in the style of Kansai.
The nine, one by one
| Topping | How it is prepared |
|---|---|
| Chicken | Young chicken raised in Japan, coated in a sauce made to Oginoya's own recipe |
| Burdock root | Shaved by hand with a knife, the cut called sasagaki |
| Shiitake | Dried shiitake grown on logs, soaked in water each day, then seasoned a little strongly |
| Bamboo shoot | Cut into fan shapes to fit the pot, seasoned with light-colored soy sauce |
| Quail egg | Oginoya starts from raw quail eggs, to keep the texture and the flavor |
| Chestnut | Simmered in syrup, from chestnuts that are neither bleached nor colored |
| Apricot | Sweet and tart in balance |
| Green peas | Small, and bright green |
| Red pickled ginger | Colored with pigment from purple sweet potato |
Two regions in one pot
The shiitake and the bamboo shoot sit side by side, but they come from two different schools of seasoning. The shiitake is seasoned in the Kantō manner, the cooking of the Tokyo region, with a slightly stronger flavor. The bamboo shoot is done in the Kansai manner, the cooking of the Osaka and Kyoto region, with light-colored soy sauce.
Before the meal existed, Takamizawa Mineji of Oginoya stood on the platform every day and asked travelers what they wanted, and the answer was something warm and homelike that was also a pleasure to look at. The bright green of the peas is what completes the look of the pot.
The rice underneath
The rice is Koshihikari, selected and milled by Oginoya itself. It is cooked with Rishiri kombu and a dashi made to the company's own recipe. The rice and the toppings are then packed into an earthenware pot of Mashiko ware.
The small container on the side
Pickles come with the pot in a separate container. The container is shaped like a small pot itself, and it holds five kinds of pickles.
References
- Oginoya online shop: What makes Tōge no Kamameshi taste the way it does
- Oginoya: Tōge no Kamameshi in the ceramic pot
- Oginoya: The story behind Tōge no Kamameshi
Image credits (resized for display):
