“Hoba-yaki” smells good and whets one’s appetite
Published in
1 min readJun 21, 2017
Hoba is the dried leaf of Honoki: a Japanese Big-leaved Magnolia. It is used in several recipes from the Gifu prefecture such as hoba-miso and hoba-yaki. It is believed to have antibacterial properties. “Hoba-yaki” means “to bake on a hoba leaf” in English. Mountain vegetables, mushrooms, and beef are all put on hoba with miso and it is then slowly roasted over a charcoal fire. The roasted leaf smokes these ingredients and adds a smoky flavor to them. The nutty smell of roasted miso and the savory smell of barbecued meat whets one’s appetite. It goes well with sake and just-cooked rice.
