Kujo green onion（Kujonegi）
Yoshie Doi
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| Spanish Leek Calzots Charcoal-grilled green onion dish |
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Enjoy grilled green onion calsots at a restaurant in Barcelona, Spain March 2018
Every household in Kyoto keeps Kujo green onions in the refrigerator, and this Kujo green onion is a typical Kyoto vegetable. It has been cultivated around Kujo since the Heian period and is called Kujo Negi. In the Zoku Nihon Koki, there is a record of the cultivation of Mizu-onion in Kujo Village, located in present-day Kujo, Minami Ward, Kyoto City. Was Kujo Village suitable for cultivating green onions?
According to records, it was originally transplanted from the province of Naniwa in 711, when Fushimi Inari Taisha was built. And because high-quality green onions were cultivated around present-day Kujo in Kyoto City, they are called Kujo green onions. Right around Kujo, there is Toji Temple, and since Kobo Daishi was chased by a giant snake in this area and hid in a field of green onions and escaped safe, farms near Kujo celebrated the fair21 as a way of paying tribute to the green onions. It is customary not to eat green onions on days. This history is already 1300 years old.
One time, my daughter, who was learning traditional Edo-period cooking at a Kyoto-style restaurant, recreated the simmered Kujo green onion and sweet potato that was eaten during the Edo period. It was a taste that I could not imagine until I ate it, but I remember that it was surprisingly delicious.
The green leaves of Kujo green onions contain a lot of carotene and vitamin B, and adding them to miso soup, sukiyaki, udon noodles, and soba noodles can help prevent colds. Recently, daikon radish and Kujo green onion pickles are also on sale. Dashimaki with Kujo green onions is also established.
And in winter, it reminds me of grilled green onions I ate in Spain. Calzots is a local dish of Spain, made by grilling green onions on a charcoal fire for 30 minutes. I was handed a paper apron and plastic gloves, and I ate it with salsa romesco sauce while cutting the grilled green onions. As a result, the waiters and chefs of the restaurant erupted in applause. It seems that there was no one who ate so deliciously. After all, is it because I am used to eating Kujo green onions? It was like eating Kujo green onions.
Perhaps it is a production area with a similar climate to Kyoto. It is a local dish of Tarragona in the Catalonia region, but we can also enjoy it in restaurants in Barcelona. It’s a popular dish, so it’s best to make a reservation.
If we can enjoy this way of eating Kujo green onions in Kyoto and deepen the vegetable friendship city through food, vegetable diplomacy will be realized.
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