Protected local food
Sendai Seri
仙台せり
Japanese water dropwort from Natori and southern Sendai in Miyagi, with bright green stems and white roots. It is the star of seri nabe, Sendai's famous hot pot eaten roots and all.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 27 March 2024
- Region
- Tohoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 仙台せり
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 宮城県名取市（旧増田町）、仙台市太白区
Green leaves, white roots
Sendai seri has bright green leaves and stems and clean white roots. It smells fresh, tastes rich and stays crisp. It has been grown in the former Masuda town, now Natori city, and in Taihaku ward of Sendai, Miyagi, since the Edo period, when farmers began improving wild seri from wetlands fed by the Natori River's underground water.
Even Date Masamune wrote about it
The area has been famous for seri across Japan for centuries, and a verse about seri by the warlord Date Masamune survives. Seri goes into Sendai zoni, the New Year soup, and many everyday dishes.
Seri nabe
In recent years seri nabe, a hot pot where the whole plant goes in, roots included, has become a Sendai speciality.
Good to know
- Seri nabe season is roughly October to March. Many Sendai izakaya serve it.
- Compare with Kahoku Seri, long-stemmed seri from Ishinomaki.
Questions travellers ask
Do you really eat the roots?
Yes. In seri nabe the roots are the best part, crunchy and full of flavour.
What is seri in English?
Japanese water dropwort or Japanese parsley.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.