Chagayu (tea rice porridge) is a local dish found mainly in eastern Yamaguchi Prefecture, in which rice is cooked in tea brewed from bancha (coarse green tea) or similar. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' 'Uchi no Kyodo Ryori' (Our Local Cuisine) lists the Yanai, Suo-Oshima, Iwakuni and Hagi districts as the main areas where it has been handed down. Roasted bancha is put in a cloth tea bag (chabukuro) and boiled, and once the tea has turned a deep color, the bag is removed and unwashed rice is added and cooked. It has a light, smooth texture and is said to be often eaten hot in winter and chilled in summer. In Yamaguchi Prefecture, it is said that in the early 17th century the Kikkawa clan, lords of the Iwakuni Domain, encouraged it to save rice, and it spread throughout the prefecture. In Suo-Oshima and Yanai, where sweet potato cultivation thrived, the faintly sweet 'imogayu' (sweet potato porridge), made with sweet potatoes, has also long been popular. While it is spoken of as a rice-saving dish, there is also a view that sees it as 'furyu-shoku' (a food of refined taste), since each household has its own secrets for cooking it. Because it is easy to digest, it continues to be eaten today as a healthy food.
Origin
Chagayu is said to have originated in the Nara region and took root in various places as a local food. In Yamaguchi Prefecture, it is said to have begun when the Kikkawa clan, which moved from Izumo to Iwakuni after the Battle of Sekigahara, encouraged it to save rice. From there, it is said to have spread to Yanai City, Suo-Oshima Town and other parts of the prefecture. However, this is an oral tradition, and there are also theories that it was the wisdom of a land with little farmland where rice was precious, or that it was brought by the coastal cargo ships (kaisen) that plied the Seto Inland Sea.
History
'Nihon no Shokuseikatsu Zenshu 35: Kikigaki Yamaguchi no Shokuji' (Collected Records of Japanese Dietary Life 35: Oral Accounts of Yamaguchi Food), a compilation of oral accounts of life from the Taisho era to the early Showa era, records that on Suo-Oshima people 'had chagayu morning and evening to save rice.' Children sometimes cooked it themselves and ate it as kobiru (a snack between meals). On Okikamuro Island, part of Suo-Oshima, chagayu was cooked as 'hashirigai' (porridge eaten before heading out) before going fishing, and also for Buddhist memorial services. It was also served as settai (hospitality offerings) at the spring Daishi-ko gatherings, but this chagayu settai ended in 2012.
Features
A distinctive feature of Yamaguchi's chagayu is that roasted bancha is put in a cloth tea bag and boiled in a small-mouthed iron kettle called a kansu. Once the tea has colored deeply, the bag is removed, the rice is added without washing, and it is cooked over high heat, just short of boiling over. It is eaten as soon as the rice no longer has a hard core, and porridge that has gone soft and swollen over time is not favored. Depending on the ingredients added, it is sometimes called by different names such as 'imoja,' 'mameja' and 'dangoja.'
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
It is an everyday home-cooked dish and is said to be often eaten chilled in summer when people have little appetite. A 2015 study reported that on Okikamuro Island it is eaten routinely as a meal like ochazuke (rice with tea poured over it) that rests a tired stomach. In and around Yanai City, it can be enjoyed at eateries and ryokan (Japanese inns), and it is sometimes cooked at events that pass on local food traditions.
FAQ
Q. How is it different from Nara's Yamato Chagayu?
A. The basic method of cooking rice in tea is almost the same, and some studies consider the methods of chagayu in different regions to be nearly identical. Yamaguchi Prefecture's version carries the tradition that the Kikkawa clan of the Iwakuni Domain encouraged it to save rice. The popularity of imogayu made with sweet potatoes in Suo-Oshima and Yanai is another regional characteristic. On Okikamuro Island, habu tea is said to be used instead of hojicha.