[Kameyama]

The New Year period has finally come to an end, and the rice cakes that we have been eating little by little for the New Year are finally running out. I love rice cakes so much that I want to eat them all year round, but today is the last day of January, so I am going to put "New Year's rice cakes" to rest here and welcome "Risshun" on February 4, the beginning of spring on the calendar. As I think about how I should eat the last rice cakes, and as the number of rice cakes decreases, I think about kameyama, which I have never eaten before.

"Kameyama" is a Kansai term for "zenzai", which is a sweet red bean paste with no soupiness. First of all, zenzai is made by boiling azuki beans sweetened with sugar and pouring it over rice cakes or shiratama dango (white bean curd dumplings). There are various theories as to the origin of the name "kameyama," one of the types of zenzai. One theory is that it was named after a place called Kameyama in Tanba, which is famous for producing azuki beans. Another theory is that Mr. Kameyama from Gifu Prefecture opened a store called "Kameyama-ya" in Tenma, Osaka, in the latter half of the Meiji period (1868-1912) and sold a menu of rice cakes topped with mashed sweet bean paste, which became so popular that the name kameyama was coined.

When it is decided to make kameyama, the first step is to boil azuki beans. This time, we chose dainagon azuki beans, which are large and do not easily fall apart when cooked. The azuki beans are larger than usual. As an azuki lover, that alone is exciting and makes me feel very luxurious. The azuki is carefully boiled, and the rice cakes are thoroughly cooked on a grill to get the ideal charred round rice cakes. The rice cakes are placed in a Seiryugama's Kobachi and covered with so much azuki that the rice cakes are no longer visible. For a break from the rice cakes, salted kelp, and green tea make you feel like you are in a little sweet shop. The combination of the fluffy azuki beans and the fragrant baked rice cakes was a perfect ending to the New Year's rice cakes.

Seiryugama's Kobachi
https://www.shokunin.com/en/seiryu/kobachi.html
Appi Urushi Studio's Chopsticks
https://www.shokunin.com/en/appi/hashi.html
Tsujiwa Kanaami's Tetsuki Yakiami
https://www.shokunin.com/en/tsujiwa/tetsuki.html

Reference
https://news.1242.com/article/351541