From the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | |
| Duck meat | 120 g (12 slices) |
| Sudare-fu (rolled wheat gluten) | 1 piece |
| Taro (optional) | 4 |
| Fresh shiitake | 4 |
| Spinach or Japanese parsley (seri) | 1/4 bunch |
| Hana-fu (flower-shaped wheat gluten, optional) | 4 pieces |
| Flour | as needed |
| Seasonings and liquids | |
| Sauce: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, mirin, sake | 2 tablespoons each |
| Sauce: sugar | 1 tablespoon |
| Sauce: dashi stock | a little over 2 1/2 cups |
| Wasabi | as desired |
Jibuni is said to be a dish of the samurai class that has been eaten since at least the Edo period. Meat coated in flour and simmered gives it a thick, glossy sauce.
Nobody is sure where it came from. One story says that the Christian lord Takayama Ukon learned it from a missionary and brought it to the Kaga domain. Another says that Okabe Jibuemon, who served as Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s supply officer, brought it from Korea. A third says that Russians who drifted ashore taught it.
The name is also uncertain. It may come from Okabe’s “Jibu,” or from the sound of the dish bubbling, “jibu-jibu.”
Funaki Dennai, a “kitchen-knife samurai” who worked in the Kaga domain’s kitchen, wrote down several dishes and their recipes in a book, “Ryori Chikara-gusa,” including “jibu-jibu-ni.”
While the dish began among samurai, ordinary people are said to have made jibuni in autumn and winter with migrating birds they caught.
Over time it was served in the style of fine restaurants and used as a dish of presentation (“kenjo-ryori”). From then on it is said to have been served in a special wide, shallow, thin bowl.
At home it is a dish for guests and special days. It is also served at restaurants that offer local dishes.
Duck meat is cut into large slices, coated in flour, and simmered with sudare-fu and vegetables in dashi and soy sauce. The flour keeps the flavor of the meat in and thickens the sauce, which keeps the body warm even in a cold winter.
Depending on the season, seafood in season may be added. Wasabi is placed on top, and its fresh heat goes well with the soft duck.
Duck meat is a luxury food, so at home people sometimes use aigamo (a duck) or chicken instead.
Jibuni appears in a film about the Kaga domain and is well known locally. It is still served in restaurants, boxed lunches and delicatessens.
There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.