Kiritanpo Nabe

Kiritanpo nabe is a hot pot associated with Akita, particularly Odate and Kazuno. Cooked rice is pounded, shaped around wooden skewers and toasted. The rice cylinders are cut into shorter pieces and simmered in chicken broth seasoned with soy sauce. Chicken, burdock, mushrooms, green onions and seri, a water-dropwort herb, are familiar ingredients; some recipes also use konnyaku noodles.^[1][2]

Tanpo is the name for the rice on its skewer, while kiritanpo refers to the cut pieces used in the pot. Hinai-jidori chicken is closely associated with the dish. It is especially made around the new-rice harvest, when families gather to mark the season and the completion of farm work. In Odate, tanpokai gatherings celebrate freshly harvested rice through shared kiritanpo meals.^[1]