Mizutaki is a hot pot dish that represents Hakata, made by simmering chicken bones and bone-in chicken for a long time to produce a cloudy broth, then cooking ingredients such as chicken, napa cabbage, and tofu in it and eating them with ponzu sauce. Despite its name, mizutaki, meaning 'water-simmered,' the broth is not clear — long, slow cooking causes collagen to dissolve out, giving Hakata-style mizutaki its signature rich, white broth. It is said to have originated in 1905 (Meiji 38), when Hayashida Heizaburo, a native of Nagasaki, combined the Western consomme technique and the pai tang (white broth) method of Chinese cuisine that he had learned in Hong Kong, and began serving the dish at his Hakata restaurant, Suigetsu. Fitting for Hakata, a port city with a long history of exchange with overseas cultures, mizutaki is a dish that absorbed an outside food culture and adapted it in its own distinctive way; it has also been selected by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' 'Our Regional Cuisines' as a signature dish of Fukuoka.
Origin
Mizutaki is said to have been devised by Hayashida Heizaburo, who was born in Nagasaki and later traveled to Hong Kong, where he learned Western cuisine and Chinese cooking. Drawing on consomme soup and the Chinese pai tang broth technique for inspiration, he is said to have created the dish and begun serving it in 1905 at his restaurant Suigetsu, which he opened in Hakata's former Susaki-machi district.
History
Hakata, a port city with a long history of exchange with overseas cultures, had fertile ground for taking in food cultures that arrived from abroad and developing them into something distinctly its own. Mizutaki emerged from this environment during the Meiji era and, through the Taisho and Showa eras, became firmly established as a hot pot dish representative of Hakata. It has since been selected by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' 'Our Regional Cuisines.'
Features
The defining feature of the Hakata style is a rich, cloudy broth made by slowly simmering chicken bones and bone-in chicken for a long time. Diners first taste the broth on its own, then add ingredients such as chicken, napa cabbage, and tofu, cooking them in the pot and eating them with ponzu sauce and condiments. It is customary to finish the meal with zosui (rice porridge) made using the remaining broth, so that none of it goes to waste.
Main Ingredients
Famous Shops
水たき元祖 水月
福岡県福岡市中央区平尾3-16-14
A restaurant said to have been founded in 1905 and regarded as the birthplace of mizutaki. It deliberately has no branches, preserving its flavor through a single line of succession.
博多水たき 新三浦 博多本店
福岡県福岡市博多区石城町21-12
A long-established restaurant with more than 110 years of history. All seating is in private or semi-private rooms, with lunch starting around 6,000 yen and dinner around 10,000 yen and up.
FAQ
Q. If it is called mizutaki, why is the broth cloudy rather than clear?
A. The name mizutaki, meaning 'water-simmered,' is said to come from the fact that the chicken is started in cold water, not from the color of the broth. Long, slow simmering causes collagen to dissolve out of the chicken bones and skin, producing a rich, white broth.