Kiritanpo Akita Rice Cake Skewer Cuisine

Ingredients

• For the kiritanpo
• 600 g Japanese short-grain rice, freshly cooked, still hot
• 8 cedar skewers or moistened wooden chopsticks, 15 cm length; moisten before use
• For the yakitanpo glaze
• 3 tbsp saikyo-style white miso, thinned with mirin to a brushable consistency
• 1 tbsp mirin, used to thin the miso
• For the kiritanpo nabe
• 1.2 litres hinai-jidori chicken stock, made from Akita hinai-jidori free-range chicken; not substitutable
• 200 g hinai-jidori chicken pieces, bone-in preferred for stock depth
• 1 burdock root (gobo), scrubbed, shaved or cut into thin diagonal slices
• 2 leeks, cut into 4 cm lengths on the diagonal
• 100 g mushrooms, wiped clean, stems trimmed
• 1 bunch mitsuba (Japanese trefoil), roots trimmed, cut into short lengths

Method

1. 1
   Turn the hot freshly cooked rice into a large wooden bowl or mortar. Pound with a wooden pestle 30 to 40 times — the target is a half-mochi texture: the mass holds together and most grains are broken, but irregular pockets of whole or half-crushed grain remain throughout. The rice is ready when it coheres into a rough paste that still shows visible texture, not a smooth, elastic mochi.
2. 2
   Divide the pounded rice into 8 equal portions. Moisten your hands. Press each portion firmly around a skewer or moistened chopstick, forming a compact cylinder approximately 15 cm long and 3 cm in diameter. The cylinder must be dense enough to hold its shape on the skewer without sliding; press at the base and smooth upward to seal any cracks.
3. 3
   Grill the skewered kiritanpo over charcoal, or toast in a dry ridged pan over medium-high heat, turning to expose all sides. This step decides the dish: the exterior must develop a true Maillard crust — golden to deep amber, faintly resistant to the finger — while the interior remains softly packed, not heated through to uniformity. The cedar skewer, if used, imparts its resinous aroma during this stage; that cedar-smoke note is the defining regional aromatic of kiritanpo and cannot be recovered later.
4. 4
   For yakitanpo: thin the saikyo-style miso with mirin to a fluid, brushable paste. In the final 2 minutes of grilling, brush the glaze evenly over the exterior. Return to heat briefly until the miso caramelises to a glossy, fragrant coat. Serve directly from the skewer.
5. 5
   For kiritanpo nabe: remove the grilled kiritanpo from their skewers and cut each cylinder into 4 sections. Bring the hinai-jidori stock to a steady simmer in a clay or cast-iron nabe pot. Add the chicken pieces, burdock root, and leeks; simmer until the burdock is just tender and the chicken is cooked through. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 further minutes. The broth should smell clean, deeply savoury, and specifically of hinai-jidori — a richer, more mineral note than standard chicken stock.
6. 6
   Add the kiritanpo sections in the last 5 minutes only. They will absorb broth and expand; each piece should soften at the surface while retaining a faintly packed interior — yielding to pressure but not dissolving. Scatter the mitsuba over the pot at the moment of serving. The kiritanpo is ready when it offers slight resistance at the centre and has taken on the colour and aroma of the broth.