Okuzukake

In the southern part of Miyagi, around Shiroishi, this is made at the spring and autumn equinoxes and at Obon. It is shojin cooking, entirely vegetarian, prepared for the days when the household is turning its attention toward its dead.

Several different kinds of vegetable, tofu, fried tofu, and small wheat gluten balls are simmered together in the water that was used to rehydrate dried shiitake. Then shiroishi umen noodles go in, and at the end the whole thing is thickened with kudzu starch.

These days potato starch is often used in place of kudzu.

Shiroishi umen is a local noodle, slightly thicker than somen, and made without any oil, which is the reason it is regarded here as being easy on the stomach. The bowl works three ways: hospitality for people who have gathered for a memorial service, an offering placed before the household altar, and an ordinary dish eaten at an ordinary meal.