Tanuki soup

In ancient Japan, tanuki soup was a soup with soya paste prepared with the addition of the meat of a Japanese raccoon dog ^{[4] [5]} , however, Buddhist monks, bhikkhus , who could not eat meat, came up with fried grated ice cream jelly made from sesame oil instead amorphophallus cognac (kori-cognac) ^[2] , with which, when a well-ground okara was added there, they received misosira with an almost indistinguishable taste. This recipe entered the Buddhist cuisine ^[6] .

At the sojutsu school Hojoin-ryu , founded by monk Hojo-in Innay from the Kofuku-ji temple in Nara , traditional tanuki soup is served during the January training ceremony ^[3] . In a diary entitled “Neifu kiji” ( 寧府 紀事 紀事 ) by Kawaji Toshiakira, who was then prefect ( 奉行 奉行 bugyo :) Nara, there is an entry dated January 25, 1848, which mentions this tradition and its history ^{[7 ]} . Also, in the Juni sanctuary in Iwasaka in the city of Sakurai , Nara Prefecture, the raccoon soup from Konnyaku is being prepared for the feast during the Shinto Naorai meal ( Japanese 直 会 ) on January 4. The soup is hot, but since there is a layer of oil on top, steam does not leave it, and the soup does not seem to be hot; it is said that such a soup is a “trickster”, for which he is nicknamed “tanuki soup” ^[8] .

In the ancient kitchen, meat of a raccoon dog and a badger was used during the preparation of soup ^[5] . Raccoon dog meat has an unpleasant odor, so it was prepared mainly from animals caught between November and February (during these months there was no ban on “bad” types of food). Garlic , ginger , alcohol and other ingredients, up to pine needles ^[5] , were used to eliminate odor. There is an assumption that soybean paste was also added to the soup for the same purpose - to get rid of the smell of a raccoon dog ^[9] .

The story of Japanese essayist and journalist Koseki Sato “Tanuki Soup” ( п ぬ き 汁 ) tells how he once brought together gourmet friends and arranged a meeting with eating all kinds of tanuki dishes. This story was written in 1940, when, due to economic difficulties associated with the Japanese war in China, civilian rice consumption was sought to be reduced to the rear by expanding the list of foods used for food - which led to the idea of ​​cooking raccoon dog food. According to the results of meatballs ( niku dango ) with spices and miso soup, they tasted good, it was impossible to chew steak and meatballs diced in bread, and suimono ( Japanese 吸 い 物 , drinking soup) smelled so bad that they couldn’t drink it. Based on this, the story concluded that a raccoon dog can probably be eaten with the participation of a first-class cook, but that ordinary people cannot cook such a kitchen, and that dishes made from this meat are not suitable for replacing rice ^[10] .

In ancient times, Japan did not make a clear distinction between a badger and a raccoon dog, so the badger soup was also called "tanuki soup" ^[11] . According to the testimonies, it turned out from a badger of good taste ^{[12] [13]} .