Senbeijiru
What is Senbei-jiru?
Senbeijiru
Senbeijiru (せんべい汁・せんべいじる) is a local and traditional dish eaten mainly in Hachinohe City and surrounding areas in Aomori Prefecture, and is one of the soup dishes and nabe dishes also called “Hachinohe Senbei jiru”. Aomori’s Local Cuisine. Local Cuisine of Aomori.
Senbeijiru is selected as one of the 100 best local dishes of Aomori Prefecture, together with “Ichigoni”.
It is a dish in which meat such as chicken or pork, vegetables such as carrots, leeks, and burdocks, mushrooms such as shimeji mushrooms and maitake mushrooms, and konnyaku threads are cooked in a pot with Nanbu senbei (a type of rice cracker) in a soy sauce-based broth.
It is said to have originated in the Hachinohe domain around the time of the “Great Tempo Famine (1833-1837)” that occurred about 200 years ago during the late Edo period (1603-1867).
It is said that senbei was originally used as a substitute for Suiton or Hittsumi, because it was easier to preserve.
The “senbei” used for senbei soup is not the widely distributed “Nanbu senbei,” but specially made for nabe (hot pot) called “kayaki senbei,” “otsuyu senbei,” “nabe senbei,” or “senbei for nabe,” which are made to be less likely to fall apart in the cooking process. They are chewier than suiton and absorb the broth well, giving them a delicious flavor. They are eaten in homes in Hachinohe and the surrounding area, and are also served at izakaya (Japanese-style pubs) and ”Michi no Eki” (roadside stations).
