Kencho is a home-style dish of Yamaguchi Prefecture in which tofu, daikon radish and carrots are stir-fried in oil and then simmered in a sweet and savory sauce of soy sauce and sugar. It is made throughout the prefecture and enjoyed as an everyday side dish. Depending on the household or area, aburaage (fried tofu), konnyaku, chicken, dried shiitake mushrooms, taro and other ingredients are added. Its sweet and savory seasoning goes well with rice, and because it tastes better the more the flavor soaks in, people are said to have once made a large batch at a time and eaten it while reheating it. The 1989 publication 'Nihon no Shokuseikatsu Zenshu 35: Kikigaki Yamaguchi no Shokuji' (Collected Records of Japanese Dietary Life 35: Oral Accounts of Yamaguchi Food) describes it as 'a winter feast made by the potful.' There are two theories about the origin of the name: one connects it with 'kenchen' of Nagasaki, and the other with Kencho-ji Temple in Kamakura. Kencho also appears on school lunch menus, and it is sometimes made into a soup called 'kencho-jiru' (kencho soup).
Origin
There are various theories about the origin of the name. One is that it derives from Nagasaki's 'kenchen,' in which finely cut vegetables and tofu are stir-fried and made into a soup or steamed dish. Nagasaki's kenchen is said to have emerged in or after the Edo period and to have been a dish for special days such as Buddhist memorial services. The other theory connects it with Kencho-ji Temple in Kamakura, holding that it originated from a soup of stir-fried vegetables and tofu eaten in the Kamakura period. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' introduction states that, because it is an everyday dish in Shimonoseki and because of the city's history as a trading hub, the Kencho-ji theory is considered the more likely.
History
Its recipe is also recorded in 'Kikigaki Yamaguchi no Shokuji' (1989), a compilation of oral accounts of Yamaguchi Prefecture's traditional meals. Daikon and carrots are cut finely and stir-fried in oil together with aburaage, then tofu is added and the dish is seasoned with soy sauce. In a 2017 survey by a Yamaguchi University research group of parents of junior high school students in the prefecture, more than 90 percent of respondents said they use daikon, tofu and carrots. Based on the survey, the research group has proposed regional versions of the recipe for use in classes.
Features
Drained tofu is stir-fried together with daikon and carrots cut into ginkgo-leaf shapes (quarter rounds) or similar. In the survey mentioned above, about 70 percent of people stir-fried the vegetables first and then added the tofu. It is seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sake and so on, then covered and simmered for about 10 to 15 minutes to finish. Vegetable oil is the most common choice, but about 30 percent of people use sesame oil. Regional differences were also seen: in the Iwakuni area many people add chicken, burdock root and dried shiitake, while in the Nagato area many add konnyaku and taro.
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
Kencho is a very familiar home-cooked side dish in Yamaguchi Prefecture. In the Yamaguchi University survey, 92 percent of respondents said they make it as an 'everyday' dish, and about 60 percent learned how to make it from their own parents. It has also been included on school lunch menus, and Sanyo-Onoda City introduces arrangements such as the 'kencho omelet,' in which kencho is wrapped in egg.
FAQ
Q. Are kencho and kenchin-jiru the same dish?
A. They are different dishes. Kencho is a simmered dish with little liquid, in which tofu, daikon and carrots are stir-fried and simmered in a sweet and savory sauce. Kenchin-jiru is a soup made by stir-frying vegetables and tofu, and its name is also said to be a corruption of 'Kencho-jiru' (建長汁), the soup of Kencho-ji Temple. Both have theories linking them to Kencho-ji Temple, but in Yamaguchi, kencho is also made into a soup called 'kencho-jiru' (kencho soup).