山梨県·郷土料理
Houtou
The aroma of miso wafts from the bubbling iron pot. The wide noodles are chewy, and the sweetness of the melted pumpkin dissolves into the broth, warming you to your very core. Houtou is a signature local dish of Yamanashi. Thick noodles made from kneaded flour are simmered together with vegetables like pumpkin in a miso-based soup. In the mountainous regions where rice was difficult to cultivate, people grew wheat and relied on its flour, turned into noodles, to sustain their lives. While there is a popular legend that 'Takeda Shingen used his sword to chop the ingredients while in camp,' this is considered a later folk myth; instead, it is said that the prototype originated from a dish called 'Hakutaku' brought from China. "It's delicious, this pumpkin houtou"—with words like these, it remains a beloved dish enjoyed in homes to this day.
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