 Soba withtororo | |
| Type | Side dish,food staple |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Associatedcuisine | Japanese cuisine |
| Serving temperature | Cold |
| Main ingredients | Yamaimo ornagaimo, water |
Tororo (Japanese:薯蕷, とろろ) is a Japaneseside dish made fromgrating raw yams such asyamaimo (Japanese mountain yam) ornagaimo (Chinese yam).
The flavorless dish uses ingredients such aswasabi (a pungent paste made from the wasabi plant),dashi (Japanesestocks), and choppedspring onions, to give it more flavor. It has a white and sticky texture and is also served as an ingredient in various dishes, such as being paired with various types of noodles, such assoba (Japanese buckwheat noodles) andudon (wheat flour noodles).
Its ubiquity in various dishes makes it a staple ofJapanese cuisine andculture, being featured in many literary and art works made by people such as poetMatsuo Basho, artistHiroshige, and Edo period priestAnrakuan Sakuden.
The termtororo (とろろ), comes from theJapanese sound symbolism oftorotoro (トロトロ or とろとろ), which expresses that something is sticky, slimy, or syrupy.[1]
InJapanese grammar, onomatopoeias usually function asadverbs, though they can also function asverbs with the auxiliary verbsuru (する, "do"); withtorotorosuru (とろとろする or トロトロする), meaning the state of a solid object turning into a viscous liquid.[2]
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Tororo is usually made from raw yam of either of two species, namelyyamaimo (Dioscorea japonica) and/ornagaimo (Dioscorea polystachya).[3]
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Before grating, the yam's roots and the peel are removed to avoid itchiness from the calcium oxalate crystals present on those parts of the plant. Even though they possess these crystals, they are not present on thepith, unlike other tubers.[4]
Traditional grating uses asuribachi, a traditional pottery bowl similar to amortar, grinding the yam along the surface of it slowly until the amount of yam present on it is enough so that asurikogi, a traditionalpestle, can mix it by lifting it to incorporate air for a more viscous texture.[5] Many modern processes of makingtororo use agrater for a faster process.[6]
Tororo is usually plain, but other ingredients such assoy sauce,dashi, andmiso (soybean paste), are added for other recipes such asmugitoro (tororo over rice) andsuitoro (clear soup) to enhance the flavor and change the texture.[7]
The stickiness oftororo gets prevalent during grinding, which is said to be themucilage found in the yam dissolving the cells by grinding and hydrating them. Another theory suggests that grinding the yam makes it stickier, which also happens when the grinded-up yam is cooked.[8] The chemical composition of the mucilage has not yet been found.[9] Theories from the Chemical Society of Japan suggest that the substance is made ofmannans andproteins, which have the same characteristics whenGinkgo biloba is ground.[10][11]
The main ingredient oftororo (yams) contains a high amount of vitamins and minerals such asthiamine (vitamin B1),vitamin C,calcium, andpotassium,[12] as well asmicronutrients such aspotassium,zinc, andiron.[13]
In a study by the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the consumption oftororo lowersblood sugar andinsulin. Due to the raw nature of the food, it is more difficult to digest due to the presence ofmucin,dietary fiber, and uncooked rawstarch intororo.[14]
Tororo is served cold and is consumed on its own, but can also be used as a side dish for other dishes or as an ingredient to other dishes. It is usually flavorless but other condiments such aswasabi,dashi,miso, and choppedspring onions are added for flavor or for other dishes.[15]
Tororo is often used as an inexpensive topping on many dishes such asnattō (fermented soybeans),udon, andfish. Whentororo is accompanied with diced fish (usuallytuna), the dish is calledyamakake.Yamakake can also be used when referring tosoba topped off withtororo.[15]
One of these foods is calledmugitoro gohan (tororo over rice) (also known astororo-meshi andtororo-kake-meshi when made), a dish made by pouringtororo over barley rice.[14]
Many soups, such assoba noodle soups, are paired withtororo.Tororo is mixed up with ingredients such assoy sauce,miso, anddashi before being put as an ingredient in a soup calledtororo-jiru (tororo soup) to add more flavor.Mugitoro gohan is often paired up with soup, with the combination being calledkotozute-jiru.[16]
Tororo is referenced in literary works such as theSeisuishō, a book made byEdo period priestAnrakuan Sakuden in 1623, coining the termkotozute-jiru (literally meaning word soup), from thedouble meaning of the wordiiyaru, which can mean to say (using words) or to eat.[16]
In theEdo period,Mariko-juku, one of the stations in the53 Stations of the Tōkaidō,tororo-jiru is known as a famouslocal food in the area. PoetMatsuo Bashō, wrote a poem about the local specialty entitledUme-wakana Maruko no Yado no Tororo-Jiru in his anthologySarumino.[17] It is written as a specialty of the area in theTōkaidōchū Hizakurige, a comicpicaresque novel composed by writerJippensha Ikku.[18]
Featured on theukiyo-e prints by artistHiroshige,The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, one print featuresMariko-juku, the 20th station of theTōkaidō, of ateahouse servingtororo-jiru.[19][20]
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