Entries about veggies

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.

Kiritanpo Nabe is a dish famous in the Northern part of Akita prefecture. Kiritanpo is a type of food made resembling the form of a sausage. Unlike sausages, kiritanpo is made out of rice mashed into a paste and formed into a cylinder form on a stick and is usually cooked near a fireplace. These kiritanpo are then cut in half and put into the nabe (hotpot with vegetables and meat) for boil. Since the kiritanpo cook fast, anything more than a few minutes will make it soggy and break up so it is best to let it sit for 2-3 minutes and take it out of the nabe to eat. If you drop by Akita prefecture, this is a must try local dish!

Before putting the ingredients in.

Kritanpo Nabe.

Champon is another Nagasaki delicacy. Unlike Sara-udon, this dish is a soup noodle dish. The broth itself is made with chicken and pig bones and topped with seafood and vegetables. The noodles used is the thick type designed for using in Champon.

Champon at a restaurant in the Chinatown in Nagasaki.

In Nagasaki prefecture there is a mysterious dish called Sara-udon. Though this dish seems to be everywhere you go in Nagasaki, the easiest place to find it will be the Chinatown in Nagasaki city. This dish consists of noodles covered in a clear-whitish ankake sauce with seafood, veggies, pork and kamaboko. If you think of it, it kind of resembles another dish in Chinese cuisine called the Cantonese-style Chow Mein. The only difference between this dish and the Cantonese-style Chow Mein is that you can choose your noodles. There are two types of noodles you could choose from, number one is a thick type noodle (champon noodles) while the other one is a thin and crunchy type noodle. Though the default is the thin and crunchy type, some local Nagasaki people like the thick type noodles more. The correct way to devour this delicacy is to pour worcester sauce over it first then eat it. A lot of tourists over look this dish because they think of Japan as only famous for sushi (sashimi), ramen and kobe beef. However this is not true. There is more to Japanese cuisine than just sushi, sashimi, ramen and kobe beef and this dish here is one full of taste and history. If you drop by Nagasaki, this dish is a must try.

Sara-udon I had in one of the restaurant in Nagasaki's Chinatown.

Curry rice is probably Japan's most famous and favourite comfort food along with gyudon. However in Aizu-Wakamatsu (Fukushima Prefecture) they serve curry in a different way. Here, aside from rice, they serve curry with yakisoba. Yes, I mean that type of yakisoba with the stir-fried veggies, meat, noodles and sauce. After plating the delicious yakisoba, they pour curry along side it to create a perfect combination of gourmet goody. This might sound weird but the sweet taste from the yakisoba goes superbly well with the spiciness of the curry. If you ever drop by Fukushima prefecture please consider visiting Aizu-Wakamatsu not only for its great onsens but also great gourmet food like Curry Yakisoba!

Curry Yakisoba