Regional dishes in Japan
Invitation to variety of Regional dishes in Japan
Hi. I’m Yukako who lives in the northern part of Europe, and teaches and tells people about Japanese traditional culture such as tea ceremony, kimono, etc. offline and online.
This time I would like to introduce regional dishes in Japan! Many of you may know “okonomiyaki” or “tako-yaki”, but we have a lot more! Let’s check this out!
Regional dish: Wanko soba
Wanko soba is a famous regional food from Iwate prefecture. This dish is known for the unique way in which it’s served and eaten. Soba means buckwheat noodles, and in the style of wanko soba, there will be a bunch of small bowls with small amount of soba prepared, and you compete how many bowls you will have eaten up at the end. Servers repeatedly pour another ball of soba as soon as diners empty their bowls. Even you say, “Stop”, they wouldn’t stop pouring until you completely close the bowl with a lid. It sometimes seems a battle between servers and diners!
Miyagi prefecture produces a famous regional food called zunda mochi. Mochi is a rice cake, and it’s made from water, sugar, soybeans and zunda bean paste. Miyagi is also known as a rice-growing region, and has dozens of other rice cake dishes. These dishes are for social events throughout the year and celebrations.
Kozuyu is a regional dish from Fukushima prefecture. The ingredients are gingko nuts, carrots, jelly ear, mamefu (bean-shaped pieces of gluten), and a few others. They are mixed in the clear broth made from dried muscles and flavored lightly with soy sauce, sake, and other seasonings. This dish is prepared on ceremonial occasions and the soul food for people in Fukushima!