Place
Fukui
福井県
31 items
● 28 born here(Atsuage no Nita, Bokkake, Chameshi, and more) / ● 1 raised here(Wakasa Gyu) / ● 2 prepared here(Hamana Miso, Heshiko) / ○ 3 known for it here
Born here28
- Atsuage no Nita厚揚げの煮たのthick fried tofu simmered in a sweet soy brothThick fried tofu, blanched and scored with a cross cut, is simmered sweet-savory in dashi, soy sauce, and mirin with a dash of ginger juice. Fukui leads the country in fried-tofu consumption, and this dish is said to have moved from a Honkoko feast dish into everyday cooking.
- Bokkakeぼっかけa thick vegetable broth poured hot over freshly cooked riceThick fried tofu, burdock, and shirataki noodles are simmered in a bonito broth and poured hot, broth and all, over freshly cooked rice — eaten for over a century since the early 1910s. In Katsuyama it is said to take a chazuke-like turn, topped with fish cake and mitsuba.
- Chameshi茶飯rice cooked in barley tea with roasted soybeansRoasted soybeans are steeped in hot roasted barley tea, and rice is then cooked in that same tea — a dish from the old post town of Imajo, said to descend from Nara's 'nara-chameshi'. It is said to be indispensable at memorial services, Honkoko, and for daughters visiting home.
- Choju Namasu長寿なますa sesame-miso salad of daikon, carrot, and fried tofuGround sesame is worked into a paste with miso, thick fried tofu, mustard, and vinegar, then tossed with shredded daikon, carrot, and snap peas — a New Year salad whose name literally wishes long life, also said to appear at memorial services and Honkoko.
- Decchi Yokanでっち羊かんa thin, watery winter yokan cut from a shallow traySweet red bean paste is set with agar, sugar, and a pinch of salt into a thin, water-yokan-like winter confection. It is said to have begun when a young apprentice, home for New Year from a Kyoto shop, stretched a bar of yokan with water to share with neighbors, eaten by the kotatsu.
- Echizen Oroshi Soba越前おろしそばCold buckwheat noodles topped with grated daikon and bonitoA cold soba from Echizen, Fukui, topped with grated daikon and bonito flakes. It is said to originate with a soba maker a local lord brought from Kyoto to promote buckwheat as an emergency food crop.
- Fu no Karashi-ae麩の辛し和えwheat gluten and cucumber dressed in hot mustard misoRehydrated wheat gluten and salted cucumber are dressed with local mustard, miso, and vinegar — a shojin dish for Honkoko. Fukui's mustard is milled whole without degreasing for a sharper aroma, and gluten from Echizen, tinted red in part, adds color, it is said.
- Gojiru呉汁Fukui gojiru — a miso soup thickened with ground soybean pasteSoybeans soaked overnight are ground into a paste called 'go' and stirred into miso soup — said to be one of the shojin dishes served at the Honkoko gathering. The soft, nutty richness makes it a nourishing winter staple in Fukui homes.
- Fukui Sōsu Katsudonソースカツ丼（福井）Fukui-style sauce-dipped pork cutlet rice bowlA thin pork cutlet dipped in Worcester sauce and set over plain rice, Fukui's take on katsudon. Said to descend from a Worcester sauce a Germany-trained cook unveiled in Taisho-era Tokyo before bringing it home to Fukui.
- Konbumaki昆布巻き／棒巻きFukui konbumaki — dried herring rolled in kelp and simmered softDried herring is rolled around a chopstick core in kelp and simmered until soft — a New Year good-luck dish said to trace back to Hokkaido kelp and herring reaching Fukui through the Kitamae-bune trade route via the port of Tsuruga. It is served whole at Obon and celebrations.
- Zoni雑煮Fukui zoni — a plain miso New Year soup of round mochi and turnipRound mochi and turnip are simmered in a kelp broth, finished with miso and a topping of bonito flakes — a plain New Year soup often served without other fillings, in an everyday soup bowl rather than a special one. In the Reinan area some households top it with brown sugar.
- Furu Takuan no Nimono古たくあんの煮物aged, sour takuan pickle simmered fresh againTakuan pickle left to age until the next year turns sour, so it is desalted and simmered fresh in dashi and soy sauce. Known locally as 'yomokonji' or 'daimyo-ni', it is said to reflect a household habit of not letting an aging pickle go to waste.
- Gonzaごんざ／ごんじなますdaikon and pounded soybean simmered together plainSoftened soybeans pounded flat and dried — called 'uchimame' — are simmered plainly with shredded daikon in soy sauce. Passed down in eastern Fukui city, it is said to have been served at men's gatherings during Honkoko and as a snack when neighbors shared a bath.
- Happa Zushi葉っぱずしa block sushi of salted trout wrapped in tung tree leavesThin slices of salted trout and ginger are laid on vinegared rice, wrapped in tung tree leaves, and pressed under weight — a block sushi from along the Kuzuryu River. Its pale pink color is considered fitting for celebrations, and it is said to be made the day before a festival or Obon.
- Hazushi葉ずしsweet bean sushi wrapped in tung tree leavesSushi rice mixed with sweet kidney beans, hijiki, and shiitake is individually wrapped in the oily, fragrant leaf of the tung tree — a pressed sushi from Fukui city's Denga and Tannan districts. The leaf keeps rice from sticking and aids preservation, and is said to be a favored gift for Obon and autumn festivals.
- Honkosanほんこさん／報恩講料理the shojin meal served at Jodo Shinshu's autumn memorial gatheringAt Honkoko, Jodo Shinshu's biggest annual memorial gathering, participants are served a shojin meal of seasonal vegetables and beans built around one soup and three sides — dishes like gojiru and otsubo layered together into what is said to have become an everyday family taste.
- Houba Meshiほうばめしrice and sweetened soybean flour pressed in a magnolia leafFreshly steamed rice is dusted with sweetened soybean flour and pressed between two magnolia leaves — a dish marking the end of rice planting in Fukui. The leaf's scent seeps into the rice and makes it easy to carry, said to be the treat for the 'satsukiage' harvest-wish celebration.
- Kashiwa Mochi柏餅a rice cake filled with sweet bean paste, wrapped in oak leafRice-flour dough is steamed, pounded, wrapped around sweet bean paste, and folded in an oak leaf — a rice-planting celebration sweet from Obama and Wakasa town. It is prepared for each community's 'god of the rice paddy' festival between mid-May and July, and shared with relatives.
- Maruyaki Saba丸焼き鯖a whole mackerel skewered and slow-grilled over charcoalA butterflied mackerel is threaded on bamboo skewers and slow-grilled over charcoal for about 25 minutes — a Wakasa specialty said to have begun in Ono as a treat handed out to farmers after rice planting, eaten with ginger and soy sauce.
- Namagusa Jiruなまぐさ汁a clear soup built on whole grilled mackerelWhole mackerel grilled on a skewer is flaked into a clear broth with wheat gluten, tofu, and mushrooms — a dish from Obama's Shinbo district. Despite its 'raw-smelling' name it carries no fishy edge, and is said to mark the end of a fast or a celebration.
- Nishin-zushiにしんすしherring and daikon sushi that followed the Kitamae trade ships to FukuiA fermented Fukui sushi layering daikon radish with dried herring in rice koji — a dish telling the story of kelp and herring the Kitamae ships carried down the Sea of Japan coast, sharing its lineage with Ishikawa's daikonzushi.
- Otsuboおつぼsweetened azuki beans simmered with lightly salted taroAzuki beans simmered soft with sugar are combined with lightly salted taro — a shojin dish for Honkoko, traditionally served in the small bowl also called 'otsubo'. It is said to be indispensable owing to a tradition that the priest Shinran was fond of azuki beans.
- Sabanutaさばぬたvinegar-cured mackerel dressed with miso and mustardFatty Wakasa mackerel is cured in vinegar, skinned, and tossed with scallion and a mustard-miso dressing in this Obama dish, locally also called 'nota' or 'dorozu' — a piquant side meant to sharpen the appetite.
- Satoimo no Koroni里芋のころ煮taro simmered down until glossy and thickTaro, its skin merely scraped rather than peeled, is simmered without pre-boiling in soy sauce and mirin until the surface turns glossy and thick — a dish from the snowy Okuetsu region known for its taro, said to be served as a shojin dish at Honkoko and celebrations.
- Seigeせいげfemale snow crab simmered with grated daikon and misoThe legs and shell of female snow crab are simmered in a clay pot with grated daikon, finished with miso and a scrap of rock nori — a fishermen's dish from the Kono district of Minami-Echizen. The shell is said to lend a good broth, eaten over rice or alongside sake.
- Takefu Ekimae Chuka Sobaたけふ駅前中華そばShoyu — soy saucethe old-fashioned clear noodle soup near Takefu StationA clear, golden-broth chuka soba tied to the area around Takefu Station in Echizen, Fukui. Scallions, kamaboko, and ham float on top, keeping an unpretentious, old-fashioned gentleness the shops there are said to have preserved along with the name itself.
- Tobitsuki Dangoとびつき団子mochi dumplings coated in sweetened cowpea beansA dough of glutinous and non-glutinous rice flour is boiled and coated with cowpea beans soaked in sugar water — an Obon sweet from around Awara city. The name is said to come from the pale red beans looking as if they had 'jumped onto' the mochi, its sweetness kept modest.
- Tsuruga Ramen敦賀ラーメンShoyu — soy saucenight-stall soy ramen of a harbor townChicken-and-pork soy broth, raised by the night stalls of a harbor town.
Raised here1
Prepared here2
- Hamana Misoはまなみそa sweet-fermented paste of malted rice, beans, and pickled eggplantSweet rice-malt amazake is mixed with bean koji, soy sauce, and salted eggplant, weighted down and left to ferment for about twenty days — a winter keeping food said to descend from 'hama-natto', a favorite of Tokugawa Ieyasu, adapted to Fukui's climate. It pairs well with sake.
- Heshikoへしこmackerel salted and then aged for months in rice branSalted mackerel is packed in rice bran for around half a year along the Wakasa and Echizen coast. Once the bran is brushed off it can be grilled, flaked over rice, or used as sushi topping — said to have been a winter protein source in lean months.
Known for it here6
- KoshihikariコシヒカリKnown sourcethe standard-setting sticky rice grown nationwideA benchmark for stickiness and sweetness since its 1956 debut, said to stay tasty even cooled; Niigata's Uonuma region grows the most celebrated version nationwide. Its planted area is said to be the nation's largest, and it's often used as a parent line for newer varieties.Said to have been bred at Fukui's agricultural experiment station in 1956.
- IchihomareいちほまれKnown sourceFukui's homage to Koshihikari's birthplaceBred, it's said, by Fukui — where Koshihikari was born — to live up to that legacy; noted for large, glossy grains and pronounced sweetness. Its name is said to mean 'the greatest honor in Japan', chosen through a public naming contest.Said to have been bred with pride in the prefecture's role as Koshihikari's birthplace.
- AmadaiアマダイWhite fishtilefish — a delicate pink fish prized in Kyoto as 'guji'A pink-skinned fish with a subtle sweetness, known in Kyoto as 'guji'. Fish caught in Wakasa Bay were lightly salted and carried inland along the old Saba Kaido route, a history that made lightly-salted Wakasa amadai prized in Kyoto cuisine.As the starting point of the old 'Saba Kaido' route, this port salted tilefish from Wakasa Bay lightly and carried it on foot to Kyoto.
- ZuwaiganiズワイガニShrimp and crabthe winter crab whose regional names double as brand tagsThe signature winter crab of the Sea of Japan coast. Its flesh is delicately sweet and flakes easily, with rich roe whether boiled or grilled. The same species is tagged and named differently at each port, so the landing site becomes the brand.Its fishing history is documented back to the Muromachi era; landed crabs get Japan's first branded yellow tag, applied dockside.
- Tororo Konbuとろろ昆布Known sourcekelp shaved into threads after a vinegar cureKelp softened in vinegar, layered and pressed, then shaved thin off the surface into fine threads. Light and fluffy with a tangy savoriness, wrapped around rice balls or floated in clear soup. Its processing craft is said to have developed at a historic Kitamaebune trading port.During the Edo period, the trade of vinegar-curing kelp brought by Kitamaebune ships is said to have developed into an industry here.
- Nukazukeぬか漬けvegetables (and sometimes fish) fermented in a living rice-bran bedVegetables (and in some regions, fish) fermented in a nuka-doko — rice bran mixed with salt. Lactic bacteria and yeast in the bed give it a distinctive sourness, and the bed itself is stirred daily and passed down as a household's own particular flavor.Heshiko — mackerel and other fish salted, then further pickled in rice bran — is said to have served as a vital protein source through hard winters.