Kanko-yaki is a local dish handed down since the Edo period in the Tsukui area of Midori Ward, Sagamihara City — a simple grilled-and-steamed dumpling made by wrapping seasonal ingredients such as wild greens and mushrooms, azuki beans, kabocha squash, and pickles in kneaded wheat-flour dough, then grilling it before steaming it through. Because the mountainous Tsukui area was unsuited to rice cultivation, wheat and bean farming flourished there from early times, and a wheat-based flour-food culture took root. In the Edo period, the dough was filled with uruka (salted ayu-fish innards) or miso and steam-baked in the hot ash of a hearth, and the dish was enjoyed as a meal or snack between farm work. The name is said to derive from its resemblance in shape to the kakko, a drum used in gagaku (Japanese court music). In 2007, it was selected as a local dish of Kanagawa Prefecture in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' 100 Local Dishes of Farming, Mountain, and Fishing Villages.
Origin
The Tsukui area is mountainous and unsuited to rice cultivation, so wheat and bean farming flourished there from early times, and a flour-food culture centered on wheat took root. In the Edo period, uruka (salted ayu-fish innards) or miso wrapped in wheat-flour dough was steam-baked in the hot ash of a hearth, and this is considered the origin of Kanko-yaki.
History
Kanko-yaki was long made in each household as a lunch or snack between farm work, but in 1992 the women's division of the local chamber of commerce and industry took the lead in establishing the cooperative Irori-bata Kobo, and the dish was commercialized as part of a local revitalization effort. It was sold for many years afterward at local-specialty corners in the Tsukui area, but sales were suspended around 2019 as producers aged. Today the women's division of the Tsukui Chamber of Commerce and Industry runs outreach classes and cooking workshops at local elementary schools, working to pass the dish on to the next generation and revive it.
Features
Seasonal ingredients such as dried shredded daikon, shimeji and other mushrooms, kabocha squash, azuki beans, pickles, butterbur, chestnuts, and sweet potato are wrapped in kneaded wheat-flour dough, which is then grilled and steamed — a two-step cooking method that defines the dish. A stamp is pressed into the surface of the dough for each type of filling, so that the filling inside can be identified at a glance.
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
Born in the mountainous Tsukui area, where rice cultivation was difficult, Kanko-yaki reflects a flour-food culture centered on wheat farming and the wisdom of making full use of seasonal wild greens and vegetables; it also served as a portable meal that could be eaten quickly between farm work.
FAQ
Q. What is the origin of the name 'Kanko-yaki'?
A. It is said to be named because the appearance of the dough, wrapped around ingredients and grilled, resembles the kakko, a type of drum used in gagaku (Japanese court music).