Meat ── Brand pork
Toukibi Buta
pork raised on Hokkaido-grown feed corn
Raised on feed that is 98% Hokkaido-grown, centered on feed corn grown as a rotation crop in South Sorachi's rice paddies — the kernels go to the pigs, the stalks and leaves back into the soil.
- Origin: Hokkaido
- About 850 km north of Tokyo
What it's made of
Raised on a feed centered on Hokkaido-grown corn, said to give the fat a light finish with none of the usual heaviness. Relying little on imported grain is said to carry through into a steadier flavor as well, with a lean meat mild enough to let the ingredient itself come through, and a whiteness said to carry none of the odor sometimes tied to imported feed.
How it's made
Raised on feed that is 98% Hokkaido-grown, centered on feed corn grown as a rotation crop in South Sorachi's rice paddies. The kernels go into the feed, while the stalks and leaves left after harvest are said to be tilled back into the soil as green manure, closing the loop within the region, with raising at SPF-certified farms said to be part of the standard, and the practice said to have spread to neighboring JA co-ops beyond South Sorachi.
Why it took this shape
Around South Sorachi, feed-corn cultivation is said to have spread from around 2008 as a rotation crop meant to break the continuous-cropping strain of autumn wheat and soybeans. Corn's deep roots are also said to improve drainage, so a rotation planted to protect the paddies ends up feeding pigs — a closed loop distinctive to this land, born from the pressing problem of fields worn down by growing the same crop year after year.
Before you go
Dishes in the same style
- AitonA breeding line improved by Aichi Prefecture from three strains of stock pig. Several of the prefecture's local brand porks, including Mikawa Pork, are said to be built on this base.
- Awa BitonRaised in the mountains of Awa City, Tokushima, at about 400 meters, on a feed centered on rice. Handlers are said to adjust the feed mix daily and avoid genetically modified crops where possible.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Hokkaido
- Asahikawa RamenSoy-sauce broth built on seafood and pork bones, topped with lard so it stays hot. A response to the region's severe winters.
- Asahikawa HorumenA local dish that crosses Asahikawa's two soul foods — soy-sauce ramen and grilled pork offal. Pork offal, cleaned and prepped to remove its odor, sits on a soy-based broth. It was devised in Asahikawa in the 2010s.
- Gatatan RamenAshibetsu's local dish gatatan, turned into ramen: a salt broth thickened with potato starch, loaded with vegetables, meat and seafood, and finished with a stream of beaten egg.
- Bibai no TorimeshiChicken and onion are cooked into rice with soy sauce, sugar, and sake — said to trace back to a Meiji-era landowner in Bibai's Nakamura district who had tenant farmers raise chickens, then served them to guests.
- Bibai YakitoriOne skewer carries the whole bird — offal, skin and all.
- Biratori WagyuJapanese Black raised in Biratori, Hidaka, founded on breeding cattle brought from Shimane in 1962 — finished slowly through harsh winters, said to give the meat a notably deep flavor.