Entries about udon

When people talk about Japan, unagi (eel) is something that usually pops into people's mind. Like sushi, Japan is very famous for their unagi and usually the image we have its a tender slice of eel with sweet sauce over a bowl of Japanese rice. This well-known unagi dish originated from Shizuoka prefecture which is located two prefectures away from Tokyo towards the south. However, Nagoya seems to have taken the simple unagi dish to whole new level. Although it has been part of Nagoya tradition and not something new, Nagoya has their own different way of eating this delicacy, actually three. This unagi delicacy which they have in Nagoya is called "hitsumabushi." O-hitsu meaning the wooden bowl they put the rice in and then musubi is the noun form of musubu which is to cover, in this case covering the rice with unagi pieces. With the name out of the way, now let me guide you through the three ways of eating "hitsumabushi." The first way is to scoop some rice into a separate bowl provided and then eat it as it is. This first way you can really savour the real taste of the unagi and the rice. The second way is to scoop some rice into the bowl again like the first way but this time add some of the "yakumi" or seasoned toppings to it. The toppings are usually toasted seaweed, spring onions and wasabi. You then mix it all up and eat it together with the unagi and rice. The third and last way is to eat it "ochazuke" style. To those who have had "ochazuke" might already know how to eat it but for those who do not know, I will guide you through it step by step. First of all like the first and second way you scoop the unagi and rice into the bowl. The next step is to add the "yakumi" on to the unagi and rice like you did in the second way. The last step for this third way is to add the "o-dashi." Pour the "o-dashi" into your bowl of rice and devour everything along with the hot broth. So, which way is the best way to eat it? Well, usually you will have enough to test out all three of the ways of eating "hitsumabushi" and have left over portions in the "o-hitsu" for you to savour the last bits the style of your choice. So the next time you find yourself in Nagoya, make sure to try out their "hitsumabushi."

Miso Nikomi Udon is one of Nagoya's most famous comfort foods. Ask anyone on the street and they will tell you that they know about the dish and love it. So, what makes the Miso Nikomi Udon so special than normal udon dishes in Japan? The answer would be the broth. The broth is made with Nagoya's famous Haccho miso, which has a stronger taste that white miso. This dish is very salty because the broth itself is made with bonito, soy sauce as well as Nagoya's famous Haccho miso paste. The soup is very thick, almost like a paste with various vegetables, rice cakes, chicken and egg as toppings. Locals usually have a side bowl to use as an eating vessel because eating the noodles in the hot clay pot is dangerous. Another thing locals like to do is order a side of white rice while they devour this dish and eat it like a side dish to the rice. This is somewhat a commoners' food and is a must try if you want to have what the locals have!

This dish is pretty well known all over Japan and 3 of its prefectures: Gunma, Nagano and Fukui all has their own signature way of making this great dish. In this blog post I'll be talking about specifically the Fukui style sauce Katsu don. So what is sauce katsu don? Well, to know about that you first have to know what a katsu don is. A katsu don is basically deep fried pork cutlet over rice. Usually they like to use a thick cut of pork sirloin to make the cutlet and then batter it and covering it with panko bread crumbs before deep frying it. Now sauce katsu don is basically the same thing but the deep fried pork cutlet itself is dipped in a sweet sauce (the sauce varies depending on the region you're eating it). In the Fukui style sauce katsudon, they have 3 slices of katsu (2 pieces of pork thigh meat cutlet and 1 piece of pork sirloin cutlet). Since the pork cutlets are thinly sliced, the meat stays juicy and tender but also maintain the crispiness from the deep-frying.

Oroshi soba is another really famous dish in Fukui. It is basically cold soba noodles with grated radish and katsuo as toppings. Unlike the normal type of soba where you have a sauce dish and you're suppose to take some noodles and dip it in, here you pour the sauce right in to the soba noodle dish itself and eat it. At the end you can pour the remaining juice in the soba plate to the sobayu (the water they boiled the soba in) and drink it.

• Important: Some restaurants might have sobayu provided and some not.

I have been to Miyazaki prefecture before but the last time around I didn't really eat lot. In order to make up for it I tried to eat more this trip to share some new local specialty dishes I've found. In this blog post I will be talking about a dish called the "hiyajiru", which basically means cold soup if you transliterated it directly from Japanese to English. The dish is separated into a bowl of cold soup and a bowl of hot steaming white rice. The cold soup is made from white sesame paste, miso paste, tofu and green onions. It was my first time ever trying the dish and didn't know what to expect but the waitress there was really helpful and she taught me how to eat it. The way you're suppose to eat is to pour some of the cold soup over the rice and eat it. The taste is a little bit sweet and salty with a very deep sesame flavour to it. If you're not allergic to sesame then I would recommednd trying this dish because those who like it will love it! There are many restaurants around Miyazaki city which serves this dish and the procedure of making the soup and the ingredients might also be different. Since I only had 2 days in Miyazaki prefecture and the first day I've spent in in Nobeoka city I could only try the "hiyajiru" at one shop. If you have the time I do recommend maybe trying a few more to see which shops' "hiyajiru" suits your tastebuds more!

The Obihiro butadon is a famous local dish in the region of Tokachi in Hokkaido. Every butadon in the nation of Japan looks up to the butadon in Obihiro because that's where it was originated from. In this version of the butadon the slices of pork are marinated in a sweet sauce and grilled to perfection. You order according to how many slices of pork you want in your bowl of rice (usually the slices of pork you can order and written on the menu). Some shops like to decorate their pork slices with green peas while others chooses not to. I believe that the butadon tastes amazing with or without the peas on top of the sliced pork. Although there are very limited slices of pork on the bowl of rice the sauce helps out a lot in devouring the left over white rice. If you are open in trying new food and have a sweet tooth then I will definitely recommend this dish for you.

Obihiro butadon I had near Obihiro station.