warabi (bracken)
ingredient / ingredient-warabi
わらび
Warabi (bracken) is a food ingredient treated in Yamagata Prefecture’s official local-cuisine records as a sansai eaten after aku removal.
Photographs (captions in Japanese)
The coiled young shoots of Pteridium aquilinum (warabi) starting to unfurl in spring. However, this plant is the North American variety var. pubescens, which differs from the variety eaten in Japan (var. latiusculum). It should be taken as one example showing the young shoots of the same species.
Shown: Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescensPart / state: Young shoots (fiddleheads) that have just emerged from the ground and are still coiled in a spiral. Several shoots that have not yet unfurled branching from the stem
Photo: Thayne Tuason / CC BY-SA 4.0 / original image / ledger's original image
Scope and provenance of the photo
Identification: Identified as labelled in the source. The source page states the scientific name as Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens (a plant from Washington State, North America), a different variety from the taxon usually found in Japanese warabi (var. latiusculum). It is treated as a reference photograph showing the form of young shoots of the same species, and re-identification by a specialist has not been done.
Image shown: The 1920 px version from Wikimedia Commons. No cropping or color changes by NIGAMI LAB. For display, a WebP capped at 1200 px wide is served; the ledger's original image can be checked from the link above.
On this page (8 sections)
Reading the bitterness
Warabi is treated in records of Yamagata local cuisine as a sansai eaten after aku removal. The same records state that warabi is generally used in tataki, ohitashi, simmered dishes, miso soup, and other preparations after aku removal. However, this is a recorded cooking practice, and the records do not show how much any particular compound or bitterness is reduced by aku removal.
Warabi tataki, recorded as one specific dish, is introduced in northern Yamagata as a taste of spring combining warabi with miso and Japanese pepper leaves. However, this is one example in the record and does not cover regional or household differences. The record alone does not show what aku removal changes, or how, including with respect to bitterness.
「煮あえっこ」 (niaekko), from the Shimokita region of Aomori Prefecture, is recorded as a dish that keeps warabi from being an ingredient used only in spring. Warabi and zenmai picked in season were preserved by salting or drying, and used in home cooking from autumn to winter, in ceremonial occasions, and in the vegetarian dishes of Koshōgatsu (Little New Year). In modern times, the record notes, they are often boiled and frozen after harvesting. This is a record of how the handling of the same preserved food has changed over time.
The published niaekko recipe uses 180 g of warabi for a batch of 10 servings eaten over 2 to 3 days from a large pot. The ingredients are cut into thin strips, tofu, carrot, and burdock are stir-fried, then warabi and fried tofu are added, and daikon and seasoning are put in and brought to a boil. Salted warabi is rehydrated in water over time before cooking. This is one recipe record from the Shimokita region, and there are also regional and household differences.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Confirmed the cooking practice of using it after aku removal and that the reduction rate is unknown. / Confirmed the description of the ingredient composition of warabi tataki.
Checked for this overview: Used to describe the Shimokita region's preservation method, the season it is eaten, and modern frozen storage / Used to describe the 10 servings, 2 to 3 days, 180 g of warabi, and the ingredients and steps / Connects the description of rehydrating salted warabi in water over time with the regional limitation
Follow the connections
warabi (bracken) →is prepared through→ aku-nuki (blanch-and-soak treatment)
warabi tataki (pounded bracken) →includes→ warabi (bracken)
Hypotheses and recipe candidates for this entry are on the Japanese page.
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Sensory (1)
Scope: Layer: food. A summary of a study funded by a 1986 fiscal-year Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (sensory evaluation). The effect of aku-nuki with ash or baking soda cannot be read from the summary.
Note: What was compared was the heating method (boiling versus frying). The number of panelists and the values are not in the summary.
Show data
ingredient-warabi —has_perceived_bitterness_affected_by→ (the claim sentence above)How processing and cooking change it (2)
Scope: A public local-cuisine record on warabi from Yamagata Prefecture
Note: A recorded cooking practice; it does not give a reduction rate for any specific compound or for bitterness from aku removal.
Show data
ingredient-warabi —is_prepared_with→ process-aku-nukiScope: 1 niaekko recipe, referencing the 「食の文化伝承ガイドブック（青森県）」 (in translation: "Food Culture Heritage Guidebook (Aomori Prefecture)"), published on a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries page
Note: One example, which the page notes has regional and household differences. The 10 servings are treated as the amount eaten over 2 to 3 days from a large pot. This is not a source that measured flavor or bitterness.
Show data
ingredient-warabi —is_used_in→ (the claim sentence above)Culture (2)
Scope: Local-cuisine records from northern Yamagata Prefecture
Note: The records describe it as a taste of spring combining miso and Japanese pepper leaves.
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dish-warabi-tataki —includes→ ingredient-warabiScope: A record of food customs concerning niaekko in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' 「うちの郷土料理」 (in translation: "Our Local Cuisine")
Note: A record of one dish from the Shimokita region of Aomori Prefecture. This is a description that lists warabi and zenmai together, not a survey showing the frequency of each preservation method or the proportions across the whole region.
Show data
ingredient-warabi —is_preserved_by→ (the claim sentence above)