Place
Aichi
愛知県
46 items
● 34 born here(Funa Miso, Gohei Mochi, Aichi Hakozushi, and more) / ● 4 raised here(Aiton, Mikawa Gyu, Nagoya Cochin, and more) / ● 8 prepared here(Hatcho miso, Kasu-zu, Mikawa mirin, and more) / ○ 3 known for it here
Born here34
- Funa Misoふな味噌crucian carp simmered for hours with soybeans in red misoCrucian carp is simmered slowly with soybeans for around five hours, then finished in a sauce of red miso and coarse sugar. A freshwater fish dish of the Kiso rivers' lower basin, made with fatty winter carp simmered until the bones soften through.
- Gohei Mochi五平餅pounded rice pressed flat on a skewer and glazed with misoFreshly cooked non-glutinous rice is pounded, pressed flat on a skewer, and grilled with a miso glaze. Said to have originated in the mountainous Chubu region, it's traditionally made the night before a festival praying for safety in mountain work.
- Aichi Hakozushi箱ずしvinegared rice pressed in a box under diagonal rows of toppingsVinegared rice is packed into a wooden frame, topped with shrimp, eel, shiitake, and egg arranged diagonally, and pressed. Placing toppings on the diagonal so everyone gets a fair share of each is said to be a feature of the Owari and western Mikawa style, made for celebrations.
- Hebo Meshiへぼ飯rice mixed with simmered giant hornet larvaeAdult and larval giant hornets are simmered sweet and savory, then folded into freshly cooked rice. Said to have served as a prized protein source across the mountains from Shinshu to Okumikawa, it's now more often served as a treat for guests.
- Iga Manjuいがまんじゅうa bean-paste bun coated in dyed sticky rice grainsSweet bean paste is wrapped in rice flour dough, then coated with dyed sticky rice grains. One account ties the name to the grains' resemblance to a chestnut's spiny husk, and in the western Mikawa region it's said to be offered to Hina dolls at the Doll Festival.
- Aichi Miso Oden味噌おでんOdenoden dipped from a pot of sweetened red miso at the tableA pot of sweet red miso sits in the center of the simmering pot, and daikon, tofu, and other ingredients simmered in dashi are dipped into it before eating. While soy-based Kanto-style oden spread in Edo, Aichi is said to have settled on dipping in soybean miso instead.
- Moroko Zushiもろこずしa small freshwater fish simmered sweet and pressed onto sushi riceMoroko, a small carp-family river fish, is simmered sweet and savory, then arranged diagonally over pressed sushi rice in a wooden frame. Said to be a form of hakozushi from the water towns of the Owari region, with dwindling moroko catches now sometimes substituted with hae.
- Aichi Zoni雑煮a plain clear-broth New Year soup of mochi and greens, deliberately unseasoned with misoSquare mochi and mochina, a traditional Owari green, are served in a plain clear broth for New Year — a notably simple zoni. It's speculated that using miso so often in daily cooking is exactly why a clear broth is chosen for this festive occasion, deliberately leaving miso out.
- Ankake SupagettiあんかけスパゲッティNagoya's thick, peppery take on spaghetti with meat sauceThe dish is traced to So-le, which opened in Nagoya's Higashi ward in 1961. At a time when spaghetti and meat sauce were still unfamiliar to Nagoya diners, the shop strained the sauce's solids out, added a peppery kick, and thickened it enough to cling to noodles, served on 2.2mm strands thicker than standard spaghetti.
- Arame to Rakkasei no Nitsukeあらめと落花生の煮付coarse kelp simmered sweet with roasted peanutsRehydrated arame — a coarse local kelp — and peanuts are boiled tender, then simmered down in sugar, soy sauce, and mirin. A standing side dish of the Atsumi peninsula, where sandy soil grows peanuts and the Ise Bay coast yields arame, said to be a fixture of the eastern Mikawa region.
- Betokon RamenベトコンラーメンBesides shoyu, miso, shio and tonkotsua garlic-and-chili stamina bowl born from a Manchuria repatriate's kitchenA garlic-and-chili stamina ramen said to have originated in Ichinomiya, Aichi, devised from a repatriate's memories of Manchurian cooking. Its name is said to come directly from what customers started calling it.
- Fuki no Nitsukeふきの煮付けa thick-stemmed local butterbur simmered in dashiButterbur, its bitterness drawn out, is simmered in dashi. Aichi Wase Fuki, a traditional local variety, is said to have been discovered in present-day Tokai City and spread across the Chita peninsula for its thick, fragrant stalks and crisp bite.
- Furofuki Daikonふろふき大根daikon simmered soft and topped with sweet red misoBeveled daikon is simmered in dashi, then topped with a sweet miso paste made from red soybean miso. Fitting for a prefecture known for daikon, the miso's deep richness and bitterness is said to pair well with the daikon's dashi-sweetened flavor.
- Haze Tsukudaniはぜ佃煮goby fish simmered down in dark tamari soy sauceGoby fish is simmered down thick in tamari soy sauce. The Mikawa Bay coast is said to carry a long habit of preserving local fish as tsukudani, and the goby's face, likened to an elder's, is said to symbolize long life — a fixture of New Year's osechi.
- Himakajima Takomeshiたこ飯rice cooked with raw octopus until it turns faintly pinkRaw octopus is cut into chunks and cooked into the rice from the start. While simmered octopus is more common elsewhere, Aichi's version cooks it raw, turning the rice a faint pink that gives it the nickname "sakura rice" — a fisherman's dish from Himakajima, the "octopus island."
- Jojokiriじょじょきりhand-cut wheat noodles simmered in a sweet red bean brothWheat dough is rolled thin, cut into fine noodles, boiled, and served in a sweet broth of red beans and sugar. Its name is said to come from the noodles' resemblance to loach, once eaten as a between-chores snack on Atsumi peninsula farms.
- Juroku Sasage no Gomamiso Ae十六ささげのごま味噌和えlong yardlong beans dressed in sesame misoBoiled juroku sasage — long yardlong beans — are dressed in a sauce of red miso, ground sesame, and mirin. Named for the sixteen beans said to fill each pod, this summer vegetable dish from western Owari is said to be essential at Obon offerings.
- Kakimawashiかきまわしrice folded together with chicken simmered in its own fatChicken, burdock, and carrot stir-fried in chicken fat are folded thoroughly into cooked rice. Also known in Aichi as torimeshi, it's said to have grown from finding a good way to eat hens no longer laying eggs.
- Kashiwa no HikizuriかしわのひきずりSukiyaki-style (simmered in warishita)a chicken sukiyaki finished with a raw egg dipChicken and vegetables are seared in a pot, seasoned with sugar and soy sauce, and dipped in raw egg — a chicken sukiyaki. Aichi's poultry farming has long thrived, giving rise to the Nagoya Cochin breed in the early Meiji era, and this dish is said to be an unusually rare chicken sukiyaki nationwide.
- Kiinai Okowa黄いないおこわsticky rice steamed golden with gardenia seed and black beansSticky rice is soaked with gardenia seed and steamed with black beans into a golden-colored dish. Said to have begun as a stand-in for costly red rice at the Boys' Festival, dyed instead with easily found gardenia, it's said to stand alongside Oita's ouhan.
- KishimenきしめんWide, flat wheat noodles from the Nagoya areaA wide, flat noodle recorded in Edo-period writings as Owari's name for what Edo called himokawa. It is widely eaten across Aichi Prefecture, centered on Nagoya.
- Korai-kei Ramen好来系ラーメンShoyu — soy saucea Nagoya lineage born from a broth simmered too hot by accidentA ramen lineage said to have spread from one shop founded in Chikusa, Nagoya. Its milky-looking broth, simmered for hours from chicken bone and dried fish, is surprisingly light, and the style has been carried on by shops that later branched from it.
- Kushi Asari串あさりclams threaded on a skewer and dried whole in the sunLive clams are strung by the siphon onto a skewer and sun-dried for a full day. A tradition of the Mikawa Bay coast, said to rank among the country's top clam harvests, the dish is said to have once been offered to the Edo shogunate and remains essential to the Kamezaki festival.
- Miso Dengaku味噌田楽skewered tofu grilled and topped with sweet red misoTofu is skewered, grilled, and topped with a miso glaze. Its name is said to come from the resemblance to dengaku hoshi, dancers who performed to drums at rice-planting time, with regional versions ranging from the Mikawa area's rice-and-tofu set to Owari's fried wheat gluten version.
- Miso Nikomi Udon味噌煮込みうどんFirm noodles simmered in red miso broth, served bubbling in its potAn Aichi specialty said to have first been served at eateries in Ichinomiya in the early Meiji era. Firm noodles are simmered in a broth built on soybean miso and brought to the table still bubbling in its clay pot.
- Nimiso煮味噌root vegetables simmered and reheated repeatedly in red misoDaikon, carrot, taro, and other root vegetables — whatever's on hand — are simmered in red soybean miso. Made in a big batch and reheated the next day, the miso is said to sink in deeper each time, with what goes into it varying widely from house to house.
- Oni Manju鬼まんじゅうa steamed dumpling studded with cubed sweet potatoCubed sweet potato is folded into a batter of flour and sugar, then steamed. Said to have spread as a stand-in staple for rice during wartime and postwar food shortages, its name is said to come from the potato cubes' resemblance to an ogre's horns.
- Oshimonおしもんrice flour dough pressed into floral molds and tinted for the Doll FestivalRice flour dough kneaded with hot water is pressed into molds, then tinted with coloring once unmolded. Offered to Hina dolls at the Doll Festival, it's called oshimon around Nagoya and okoshimon in surrounding areas, said to be set out alongside iga manju in western Mikawa.
- Renkon no Nimonoれんこんの煮物lotus root simmered in a sweet soy dashiLotus root, cut into easy-to-eat pieces, is simmered in dashi with soy sauce and mirin. Said to have spread as an alternative to rice farming in flood-prone, below-sea-level Aisai, it's also eaten at New Year as a lucky charm for seeing through to the future.
- Sumiso Somen酢味噌そうめんchilled somen noodles dressed in sweetened vinegar-misoA dressing of miso, vinegar, and sugar is poured over boiled somen noodles. In a prefecture where soybean miso runs deep, the vinegar is said to lighten the dish for summer, its roots said to overlap with the vinegar-brewing tradition around Handa.
- Taiwan Mazesoba台湾まぜそばbrothless noodles tossed with spicy minced pork, garlic, and a raw egg yolkTaiwan mince, the topping from Taiwan ramen, is tossed straight onto boiled noodles with no broth at all — said to have been born in 2008 at a single Nagoya shop, moments before a failed batch was about to be thrown out.
- Taiwan Ramen台湾ラーメンShoyu — soy sauceNagoya's chili-laced minced pork ramenSoy broth fired with chili and garlic under seasoned minced pork. Born in Nagoya — not found in Taiwan.
- Tamagotoji Ramen玉子とじラーメンBesides shoyu, miso, shio and tonkotsua Nagoya bowl finished with egg poured in at the last momentA ramen said to trace back to a food stall in Nakamura, Nagoya, finished with egg poured in and set to a soft, custardy texture by the broth's own heat alone. Long-simmered Mikawa chicken and pork bone broth gains a mellow, silky edge from it.
- Togan Jiruとうがん汁winter melon simmered in a thick chicken and mushroom brothPeeled winter melon is simmered in dashi with chicken and dried shiitake, then thickened with potato starch. In Aichi, said to rank among the country's top winter melon producers, its watery, mild flavor is said to have made it useful when summer heat dulls the appetite.
Raised here4
- Aiton愛とんAichi's own bred line, the base for several local pork brandsA 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.
- Mikawa Gyu三河牛one of Japan's oldest beef-cattle regions, tracing to Edo-era pack cattleJapanese Black raised in Aichi's Mikawa region, tracing to Edo-era cattle kept at Shinshiro and shipped to Shikoku as pack animals — branded for beef as postwar demand for meat grew.
- Nagoya Cochin名古屋コーチンJapan's first registered domestic chicken breedDeveloped in the Meiji era by two former Owari-domain samurai brothers and reportedly Japan's first officially recognized practical chicken breed, said to be reared for 120–150 days — more than twice a standard broiler.
- Okazaki Ouhan岡崎おうはんa dual-purpose bird bred at a national livestock farmA purely domestic, dual-purpose breed said to be developed at the national Livestock Improvement Center's Okazaki farm from a cross of Barred Plymouth Rock, prized for meat, and Rhode Island Red, prized for laying; reportedly reared about 120 days from chick.
Prepared here8
- Hatcho miso八丁味噌Okazaki's deep-black, two-year soybean misoA soybean miso named for the district '8 cho' (about 870 meters) west of Okazaki Castle, where it has long been brewed. Made from only soybeans and brine, aged over two years in wooden barrels under stone weights, it develops a near-black color and a deep, slightly astringent umami.
- Kasu-zu粕酢Handa's sake-lees red vinegar that shaped Edo sushiA reddish vinegar brewed from sake lees, said to have been developed in the Edo period by a sake brewer in Handa, Aichi. Because it offered strong umami at a lower cost than the pricier rice vinegar of the day, it is credited with helping fuel the spread of nigiri sushi in Edo.
- Mikawa mirin三河みりんthe mirin brewing heartland of coastal AichiA mirin-brewing region centered on Hekinan, Aichi, favored since the Edo period by a climate suited to fermentation and easy access to sea transport. It is said to have begun when leftover sake lees were distilled into shochu, used to brew mirin, and shipped to Edo, where it spread.
- Moriguchi-zuke守口漬けa meter-long daikon pickled whole in sake lees, a Nagoya specialtyA slender daikon over a meter long, pickled whole in sake lees — a Nagoya specialty. Like kasuzuke made from the local kaimori melon, it is said to have grown out of the sake-lees culture of the nearby Chita peninsula.
- Nishio no Matcha西尾の抹茶By growing regionNishio matcha — Aichi's registered matcha brand regionMatcha from Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, said to account for roughly a fifth of national production. Tencha production is said to have taken off in earnest from the Meiji era, and in 2009 'Nishio no Matcha' became the first tea-industry regional brand registered specifically for matcha.
- Shiro shoyu白醤油the amber-pale, wheat-forward soy sauce of MikawaBrewed mainly from wheat with only a small amount of soybean, this soy sauce is nearly amber in color and notably sweet. Hekinan, Aichi is said to be its birthplace, and it is prized for seasoning dishes — such as shiro-dashi — where a pale color matters.
- Tamari shoyu溜醤油the thick, nearly all-soybean soy sauce of the Tokai regionA thick, deeply savory soy sauce brewed mainly from soybeans with little or no wheat. The Tokai region — Aichi, Mie, and Gifu, especially around Handa on the Chita Peninsula — is its main production area, growing out of the same brewing tradition as the region's soybean miso.
- Toyohashi Chikuwa豊橋ちくわa 190-year chikuwa from Mikawa BayToyohashi chikuwa has been made since the late Edo period in a town wedged between the Pacific and Mikawa Bay. Sitting on the Tokaido trade route is said to be what let it spread nationwide, with the same method continuing for over 190 years.
Known for it here8
- WatariganiワタリガニShrimp and crabKnown sourcethe swimming crab with paddle-shaped hind legsNamed for its paddle-shaped hind legs, an able swimmer. Prized for the rich roe under its shell and the broth it releases when simmered whole, used in soup or pasta alike, in season autumn through winter.Mikawa Bay has long been a notable fishing ground for this crab.
- AsariアサリShellfishKnown sourcethe everyday clam of miso soup and sand-digging outingsA small bivalve familiar from beach clam-digging outings. Once purged of sand, it releases a strong broth in sake-steaming or miso soup, its flesh springy, best filled out just before spring spawning.Mikawa Bay is also known for clam-digging and asari fishing.
- AosaアオサKnown sourcea bright green seaweed that thrives where fresh water meets the seaA green seaweed that thrives in brackish water near river mouths. Dried, it turns deep green and is used as a briny-aromatic garnish in soup, tempura, and to finish okonomiyaki; fresh it is quite bitter, so it typically circulates dried.Mikawa Bay around Isshiki port is one of Japan's leading producing areas.
- Unagi no Kabayakiうなぎの蒲焼Kabayaki — eel split, skewered, and grilled under a sweet soy glazeEel is split, skewered, and grilled under repeated coats of a sweet soy glaze. Eastern Japan steams the fish before grilling while the west grills it straight through, and even how the fish is split differs by region.Hitsumabushi — chopped kabayaki mixed into rice and eaten three ways: plain, with condiments, and as a dashi-doused rice bowl — is the city's signature preparation, listed by the official Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau site as one of the defining dishes of "Nagoya meshi."
- Chikuwaちくわfish paste grilled around a stickChikuwa is fish paste wound around a stick and grilled into a hollow tube. Its name is said to come from its cross-section resembling a cut bamboo stalk, and it's said to be the older of the two forms, predating board-mounted kamaboko.Sitting between the Pacific and Mikawa Bay for a steady year-round catch, and serving as a Tokaido post town for distribution, are said to be why chikuwa-making has continued here since the late Edo period.
- Kasuzuke粕漬けKnown sourcevegetables re-packed again and again in sake lees until they turn amberA family of pickles made by repacking salted vegetables again and again in aged sake lees. The lees' sugar and umami are said to seep in over time, turning the vegetable a deep amber — a method that took hold especially where sake breweries were plentiful.
- Ebi FuraiエビフライFriedKnown sourceEbi fry — breaded, deep-fried shrimpBreaded, deep-fried shrimp. The leading theory traces it to applying the cutlet's breading method to shrimp, with its spread as a Nagoya specialty said to date only from after the war.
- Matcha抹茶Matcha and powdered teastone-ground powdered tea from shaded leafTea made by stone-grinding tencha — shaded leaves that are steamed and dried without rolling — into a fine powder. Because the whole leaf is consumed rather than steeped and discarded, it's said to carry its full nutrients and umami, and it's also the tea used in the formal tea ceremony.Accounts for over 80% of Aichi Prefecture's tencha output, and is said to be the first region nationwide registered as a regional brand specifically for matcha.