Hoto
A local Yamanashi dish of wide noodles in a hearty miso soup, warming both body and soul.
Hoto is a simmered noodle dish representative of Yamanashi Prefecture. The noodles are wider than typical udon and simmered in a hearty miso soup filled with ingredients.
The ingredients vary by restaurant, household, and season, and may include meat, seasonal vegetables, and mushrooms, but pumpkin is a common feature. The noodles are simmered with the flour used to keep them from sticking, which thickens the soup and helps it retain heat. Combined with the mild flavor of miso, this creates a simple, comforting taste of home in Yamanashi Prefecture.
Hoto has long been eaten as a staple in mountainous areas unsuitable for rice cultivation. Making hoto noodles was once considered part of a woman's preparation for marriage, and the dish has been passed down through generations as a cherished local flavor.
Highlights
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The wide, pleasantly chewy noodles make for a satisfying meal.
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It is a wholesome dish packed with meat, seasonal vegetables, mushrooms, and other ingredients.
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Flour from the noodles and ingredients such as pumpkin thicken the soup and help it retain heat.
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Yamanashi Prefecture has many restaurants specializing in hoto, making it easy to try this local dish.
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According to legend, Takeda Shingen, a warlord of the Warring States period, ate hoto as a meal in military camps.
Photos
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A local dish that warms both body and soul
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Known for its wide noodles
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Hoto noodles
Details
- Name in Japanese
- ほうとう
- Main Area Where It Is Traditionally Eaten
- Yamanashi Prefecture
- Main Ingredients
- Wheat flour, pumpkin, potatoes, daikon radish, carrots, napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, Japanese long onions, fried tofu, miso, mushrooms, and other ingredients