[Yamaguchi Prefecture's Local Cuisine, Kawara-Soba]
Kawara-soba is one of the local dishes of Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. It is a dish of hot kawara (clay tiles) topped with cha-soba (soba containing green tea), ingredients, and condiments, and served with warm men-tsuyu (a sauce made from soy sauce and noodles). The most common ingredients are a broiled egg and slices of beef, often topped with small onions, nori (seaweed), sliced lemon, grated daikon, chili, and other condiments.
Kawara-soba is said to have originated in 1877, during the Satsuma Rebellion, the last civil war in Japan, when Satsuma soldiers used tiles to grill and eat wild plants and meat in between battles, and was first served to guests at a ryokan in Kawatana Onsen, a hot spring resort in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Since then, it has spread throughout Yamaguchi Prefecture as a local delicacy, and is also eaten daily in households in the prefecture. At home, boiled cha-soba noodles are usually stir-fried on a hot plate or frying pan and served with ingredients instead of using a kawara tile. One of the most famous long-established kawara soba restaurants in Kawatana Onsen is Takase. Takase's chasoba is said to be made by kneading together Uji green tea from Kyoto and buckwheat flour from Hokkaido. I have actually visited the restaurant and eaten it. When the dish arrives, the rich aroma of tea first rises from the steam of the hot tile. When dipped in the men-tsuyu, the taste is surprisingly light. The noodles gradually burn and crisp up on the kawara tile, making it a dish that can be enjoyed for its texture at the same time.
How about Rikucho Ogasawara's Onigiri Iron Plate for enjoying kawara soba at home? By thoroughly oiling the entire surface, the kawara soba will not stick to the surface and can be used as if it were a teppan (griddle). In this case, I used pork slices instead of beef, topped with a broiled egg, green onion, sliced lemon, and grated daikon and chili. As you can see, there may be unexpected uses other than grilling onigiri.
Local cuisine is a sublimation of the history and products of each region as food suited to the climate of a certain region, and this kind of cultural propagation can also be seen in the world of traditional crafts. For example, each clan encouraged the production of lacquerware during the Edo period (1603-1867), and traditional regional techniques are still passed down today, such as Tsugaru-nuri in Aomori, Hidehira-nuri in Iwate, Wajima-nuri in Ishikawa, Kanazawa lacquerware with its gorgeous gold leaf and gold powder maki-e, and Shunkei-nuri in Hida-Takayama. When experiencing the local cuisine and traditional crafts of each region of Japan, be sure to take in the unique history and climate of the region behind the cuisine and crafts.
Rikucho Ogasawara's Onigiri Iron Plate
https://www.shokunin.com/en/rikucho/onigiri.html
Rikucho Ogasawara's Frying Pan
https://www.shokunin.com/en/rikucho/fryingpan.html
Honma Kazuo Shoten's Straw Pot Stand M
https://www.shokunin.com/en/honma/nabeshiki.html
Seiryugama's Sobachoko
https://www.shokunin.com/en/seiryu/soba.html
Appi Urushi Studio's Chopsticks
https://www.shokunin.com/en/appi/hashi.html
Kikkougama's Broad Bean Chopstick Rest
https://www.shokunin.com/en/kikkou/soramame.html
References
https://www.kawarasoba.jp/kawarasoba.php
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%93%A6%E3%81%9D%E3%81%B0
https://www.sirogohan.com/recipe/kawara/ (reference recipe)
