Place
Fukushima
福島県
47 items
● 40 born here(Aizu Ramen, Aizu Curry Yakisoba, Aizu Sōsu Katsudon, and more) / ● 5 raised here(Aizu Gyu, Aizu Jidori, Date-dori, and more) / ● 2 prepared here(Ika Ninjin, Sangohachi-zuke) / ○ 2 known for it here
Born here40
- Aizu Ramen会津ラーメンShoyu — soy sauceflat, curly hand-pulled noodles in clear soy brothFlat, thick hand-made noodles in a clear soy broth. Said to trace back to a Aizuwakamatsu diner owner bringing home a taste learned in Yokohama — a second soy ramen lineage that grew up apart from Kitakata's, in the same Aizu region.
- Aizu Curry Yakisoba会津カレー焼きそばsauce yakisoba topped with a curry roux in FukushimaA dish from Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima: sauce yakisoba topped with curry roux. It's said to trace to a diner called Tommy Food, which began ladling curry over its yakisoba, catching on especially among young diners for its low price and filling size.
- Aizu Sōsu Katsudonソースカツ丼（会津）Aizu-style sauce-dipped pork cutlet rice bowlAizu's sauce katsudon, doused in a thick sweet-savory sauce. Its origin has several competing accounts, none settled, but all point to it being refined through everyday improvisation on Taisho-era Western food.
- Aizu Yamajio Ramen会津山塩ラーメンShio — saltsalt ramen made with mountain saltSalt ramen seasoned with mountain salt drawn from hot-spring water — rounder than sea salt.
- Anko no Tomoaeあんこうのとも和えboiled monkfish tossed with its own pan-fried liverMonkfish liver is pan-fried and worked with miso and sugar into a paste, then tossed with boiled monkfish meat and dried daikon strips — a dish of Soma. It is said to have started as a feast served in May to thank neighbors who helped with rice planting.
- Anpogaki no Namasuあんぽ柿のなますsemi-dried persimmon in a vinegared daikon-carrot saladAnpogaki, persimmon peeled and dried in the sun, is shredded together with daikon and carrot and dressed in vinegar and sugar — a New Year dish. Cultivation is said to trace to a man named Shichiemon, who planted persimmon trees in Yanagawa, now part of Date, in the Edo period.
- Basashi馬刺しraw horse meat sliced thin and dipped in hot-mustard misoRaw horse meat, eaten thin-sliced, is said to trace to feeding horse meat to the wounded during the Boshin War — a taste of Aizuwakamatsu. In this inland city, where fresh fish was hard to come by, sashimi is said to mean horse before it means fish, and it is dipped in a hot-mustard miso unique to the area.
- Bodara-niぼうたら煮bone-dry salt cod, soaked a week and simmered soft over daysBodara, cod dried bone-hard, is soaked in water for about a week and simmered over several days in soy sauce and sugar until even the bones soften — a New Year dish of Aizuwakamatsu. In an inland city where fresh seafood rarely arrived, it is said to have been valued as a source of protein.
- Daikon Mochi大根もちgrated heirloom daikon and rice flour pan-fried like okonomiyakiAizu akasuji daikon, a heirloom turnip with red-streaked skin, is grated and mixed with scallion, tiny shrimp, and rice flour before being pan-fried — a dish of Koriyama, cooked much like okonomiyaki. Its selling point is the daikon's flavor staying intact, since the variety holds its shape well.
- Egoえごseaweed simmered down and set firm, sliced like a savory jellyEgo-gusa, a seaweed, is simmered for about thirty minutes until it dissolves, then poured into a mold and chilled firm — a dish of Nishiaizu. Said to have been brought from Niigata in the late Edo period as a bar snack and to have taken root in Nishiaizu, once a post-station town, it is usually eaten with hot mustard and soy sauce.
- Fukushima Tori Paitan福島鶏白湯Shio — saltchicken broth from the prefecture's three brand hensA cloudy chicken broth built only on Fukushima's three brand hens — Aizu Jidori, Kawamata Shamo, and Date-dori. A relatively young local ramen, created by five shop owners banding together against post-disaster rumor damage.
- Harako Meshiはらこ飯rice piled high with soy-marinated salmon roeSalmon roe, its thin membrane carefully removed, is marinated in sake and soy sauce and piled thick over freshly cooked rice — a dish of the Hamadori coast. It is said to have grown up alongside the salmon fishery of the Ukedo River, where Fukushima's first salmon hatchery is said to have been built.
- Hattoはっとうbuckwheat and glutinous rice dough cut into diamonds and boiledBuckwheat flour and glutinous rice flour, mixed equal parts, are kneaded, cut into diamonds, boiled, and coated in sweetened, salted perilla seed — a dish of Hinoemata. One account traces its name to an Edo-period ban on eating milled grain, when it is said to have been made and eaten in secret.
- Hokki Meshiほっきめしrice cooked in the broth of local surf clamsRice is cooked in the broth of surf clams simmered in soy sauce, the clams folded back in as the rice steams and finished with shiso — a dish of Soma. Matsukawa-ura, Fukushima's only lagoon, has been known as a surf clam ground since the Meiji era, and the dish is said to have begun as food fishermen ate aboard their boats.
- Junen Botamochiじゅうねんぼたもちrice balls coated in roasted, sweetened perilla seedBalls of glutinous rice are coated in junen, perilla seed roasted and sweetened, in place of the usual red bean paste or soybean flour. The seed is said to add ten years to your life if eaten — junen literally meaning ten years — which gives the dish its distinguishing ingredient.
- Junen Hiyadareじゅうねん冷やだれcold udon dipped in a nutty roasted perilla-seed saucePerilla seed, ground and roasted, is mixed with miso, sugar, and soy sauce and thinned with water into a dipping sauce for cold udon — a summer dish of Samegawa. It is often served with fragrant garnishes like scallion, myoga, and shiso leaf.
- Kitakata Ramen喜多方ラーメンShoyu — soy saucesoy broth with thick, flat, wavy noodlesA clean soy-sauce broth with thick, flat, wavy noodles. It draws on the area's abundant groundwater and brewing tradition.
- Koi no Arai鯉のあらいfresh raw carp rinsed in cold water and served with hot mustard misoCarp full of small bones, usually bought already prepared from a fishmonger, is eaten raw as is — a dish of Koriyama. Served with a hot-mustard vinegared miso, it is said that only carp as fresh as Koriyama's, raised on Lake Inawashiro's mineral-rich water, can be eaten this way.
- Koi no Kanroni鯉の甘露煮carp simmered a long while in sugar, syrup, and soy sauceCarp cut into chunks is simmered a long while in sugar, starch syrup, soy sauce, and sake, then left overnight to soak up the sauce — a dish of Koriyama. It uses carp farmed with little of the fish's usual muddiness in ponds fed by Lake Inawashiro, and is said to have started as festival-day food.
- Koikoku鯉こくcarp and tofu simmered into a hearty miso soupCarp fillets are simmered with wood ear mushroom, tofu, and scallion and finished with miso — a hearty soup of Koriyama. The broth takes on a deep carp flavor, and it is said to be made especially for new mothers, in the hope it helps milk come in after childbirth.
- Konnyaku no Shiraaeこんにゃくの白和えsimmered konnyaku strips folded into sweetened mashed tofuKonnyaku and carrot, cut into strips, are simmered in soy sauce and sugar, drained, and folded into mashed tofu seasoned with sugar and salt — a dish of Hanawa. Hanawa is known as a konnyaku-growing town, and this sweetish side is said to have been made for weddings and funerals there.
- Koriyama Black郡山ブラックShoyu — soy saucedark soy broth of KoriyamaA near-black soy broth that drinks milder than it looks.
- Oshu Koriyama Tonkotsu Ramen奥州郡山とんこつラーメンTonkotsu — pork boneKoriyama Tonkotsu Ramen — a Kurume-taught pork-bone bowl in FukushimaA pork-bone ramen from Koriyama City, Fukushima. Learned from sister-city Kurume, it's a bowl that still carries the bond forged by Meiji-era settlers.
- Kozuyuこづゆa scallop-broth vegetable soup served in shallow lacquer dishesWood ear mushroom, taro, fiddlehead fern, and other ingredients — seven or nine kinds — simmer in a scallop broth and are ladled into shallow lacquered Aizu-nuri dishes. An odd number of ingredients is said to be lucky, and at wedding banquets, guests could refill the dish as many times as they liked.
- Kyabetsu Mochiキャベツ餅stir-fried cabbage tossed with freshly pounded rice cakeCabbage stir-fried with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin is tossed with freshly pounded mochi — a dish from the Ose district of Koriyama. It is said to have been dreamed up by farmers who grew both rice and cabbage for themselves, a way to work through a surplus of each without tiring of it.
- Mame Kazunoko豆数の子flat yellow soybeans tossed with soy-marinated herring roeHiyashimame, a flat, yellow-tinged green soybean, is soaked overnight, boiled, and tossed with herring roe marinated in sake and soy sauce — a New Year dish. It is said to be a fixture of the osechi spread made across Fukushima.
- Miso Kanpuraみそかんぷらsmall unshippable potatoes fried and glazed in sweet misoSmall potatoes, boiled skin-on and called kanpura locally, are pan-fried, softened with a splash of water, and finished in a sweet miso glaze — a dish of Furudono. It is said to have grown out of a way to use up potatoes too small to sell, from farms that grew them for shipment.
- Namie Yakisobaなみえ焼そばFukushima yakisoba built on noodles about three times the usual thicknessAround 1955, an izakaya near Namie Station on the Joban Line is said to have started serving yakisoba made with noodles roughly three times the usual thickness. Kept simple with just pork and bean sprouts under a rich sauce and typically finished with a shake of chili pepper, it became a registered regional trademark in 2017.
- Aizu Nozawa-juku Miso Ramen会津野沢宿味噌ラーメンMisohearty ground-meat-and-vegetable miso brothA rich miso ramen built on ground meat and plenty of vegetables, simmered down for body. A bowl that has held on for over 30 years in Nozawa, a post-town in snowy Nishiaizu, on the Niigata border.
- Ohiraおひらsmoke-dried river dace simmered with mountain and river ingredientsDace caught with reddened bellies at spawning time are smoke-dried for stock, then simmered with maitake mushroom, kelp, burdock, and tofu — a New Year dish of Tadami. It is said to take its name, ohira, from the flat bowl it is served in, prepared on New Year's Eve to eat the next day.
- Sanma no Popo-yakiサンマのポーポー焼きminced saury patties grilled the way fishermen ate them at seaAutumn saury are minced bones and all, mixed with miso, ginger, scallion, and potato starch, formed into patties, and grilled until browned — a fisherman's dish of Iwaki. The name is said to come from the popping sound the fish's oil made flaring up over charcoal on deck.
- Shimidofu no Tamagotoji凍豆腐の卵とじfreeze-dried tofu stir-fried with greens and eggSliced tofu is left out in the cold wind for about two weeks until dried into shimidofu, then rehydrated, stir-fried with the local shinobuna green, and finished with beaten egg — a dish of southern Fukushima City. The strong northwesterly wind called Azuma-oroshi is said to be what makes the drying possible.
- Shingoroしんごろうgrilled rice-cake skewers glazed with sweet perilla-seed misoMashed rice is shaped into egg-sized balls, skewered, grilled over an open hearth, then brushed with junen-miso — sweetened perilla-seed paste — and grilled again — a dish of Shimogo and Minamiaizu. It is said to be named for a young man, Shingoro, who used rice as a stand-in for mochi he could not afford.
- Shirakawa Ramen白河ラーメンShoyu — soy saucesoy broth with hand-pulled noodles and char siuKnown for hand-pulled, flat wavy noodles. Shops typically serve the soy broth with generous slices of char siu.
- Donko Jiruどんこ汁a miso soup built on a hardy coastal fish and its liverDonko, formally called ezo-isoainame, a fish found from Hokkaido down to Fukushima's Hamadori coast, is simmered with daikon, napa cabbage, and carrot and finished with miso — a soup of Soma. It spoils fast enough that only locals eat it raw, and autumn through winter, when the liver fills out, is said to be its season.
- Tachi Soba裁ちそばPure buckwheat noodles cut like folded cloth, no binder usedA 100%-buckwheat soba from Hinoemata, Fukushima, made with no binder at all. Layered sheets of dough are cut with a knife as if cutting cloth, giving the noodle its name, tachi-soba ("tailored soba").
- Tsuyu Nishimeつゆ煮しめdried herring and straw-wrapped tofu simmered in a seasoned brothTsuto-dofu, tofu wrapped in straw for better keeping, simmers in dashi with dried herring, taro, and kelp, seasoned with soy sauce and sugar — a dish of Minamiaizu. It is served at weddings, funerals, and festivals as an accompaniment to sake, and is said to still be served at local events.
- Uchimame to Kirikonbu no Nimono打ち豆と切り昆布の煮物pounded soybeans and shredded kelp simmered togetherUchimame, green soybeans pounded flat with a wooden mallet and dried, are simmered with shredded kelp, daikon, and fried tofu — a dish of Aizuwakamatsu. In a snow country where winter yields little fresh produce, it is said to have grown out of combining keeping foods with long shelf lives.
- Yamato Soba山都そば100%-buckwheat noodles from a mountain hamlet in AizuA 100%-buckwheat soba, made with no binder, from Yamato in Kitakata, Fukushima. Cold spring water flowing from Mt. Iide and a cool climate suit the crop, and the noodle was branded as a local revitalization project in the late Showa era.
- Zakuzakuざくざくroot vegetables and chicken cut into cubes and simmered in dashiTaro, carrot, burdock, and konnyaku are cut into rough cubes — zaku-zaku — and simmered in a dashi of dried sardine or the like, seasoned with soy sauce — a dish of Nihonmatsu. An Edo-period text describes it as vegetables cut small, and it is said to have long been served at weddings, funerals, and festivals.
Raised here5
- Aizu Gyu会津牛fed local rice straw across the temperature swings of the Aizu basinSteers and heifers of Japanese Black raised in the Aizu basin, fed mainly local rice straw — the basin's sharp seasonal swings are said to suit fattening, making it Fukushima's leading brand.
- Aizu Jidori会津地鶏a near-extinct heirloom breed brought back from the brinkA lineage said to have been brought to Aizu by Heike clan refugees, saved from near-extinction and re-established through crossbreeding by Fukushima prefecture; reportedly fattened for 90 to 170 days.
- Date-dori伊達鶏modeled on France's Bresse fowlSaid to be created after a producer visited France's Bresse region and spent about three years researching a bird suited to southern Tohoku's climate; an unusual line bred from red fowl on both sides, reportedly known for its crisp texture.
- Hayama Kogen Buta麓山高原豚pork from a breeding farm at the foot of Mt. HayamaTraces to a breeding farm the prefecture's former economic federation built at the foot of Mt. Hayama, straddling Kawamata and Nihonmatsu. A Landrace-Yorkshire-Duroc cross, fed to keep the pork odor down.
- Kawamata Shamo川俣シャモa silk town's cockfighting fowl turned table birdSaid to descend from shamo fighting fowl favored by Kawamata's prosperous silk merchants, refined over years of research into raising them for the table; registered as a Geographical Indication product.
Prepared here2
- Ika Ninjinいかにんじんshredded squid and carrot steeped in a sweet soy marinadeShredded dried squid and carrot are steeped in a marinade of soy sauce and coarse sugar — a Fukushima City staple. Said to have begun as a keeping food for the region's snowbound winters, the squid's chewy bite and sweet-salty marinade are known for making rice disappear fast.
- Sangohachi-zuke三五八漬けvegetables pickled in a rice-malt bed named for its 3:5:8 ratioVegetables pickled in a bed of salt, rice malt, and rice mixed roughly 3:5:8 — a fermented-rice pickle from around Nihonmatsu, Fukushima. A koji food dating to the Edo period, it is said to have been valued as a ready-made side dish during the rice-planting season.
Known for it here3
- HirameヒラメWhite fishKnown sourceolive flounder — a lean, prized winter flatfishThe flatfish distinguished from karei by 'eyes on the left', at its best in winter. Wild fish raised in rough surf develop a notably firm, chewy bite, and thin-sliced sashimi is often kombu-cured to deepen its flavor.
- KoiコイFreshwater fishcarp — a freshwater fish long simmered for hearty winter mealsAn inland river fish long simmered for winter meals, whether as sweet-savory umani or miso-based koikoku soup. Know-how for purging its muddy notes is passed down, and spring-fed ponds raise fish with less of that flavor to begin with.Carp farming grew out of ponds fed by the Asaka Canal built in the Meiji era, making this city one of Japan's leading producers.
- Juwari Soba十割そばsoba noodles made from 100% buckwheat flour, with no wheat binderSoba made from buckwheat flour and water alone, with no wheat flour or other binder added. Also called kikouchi-soba, the dough is fragile and prone to breaking, which demands real skill from the maker, but it is said to let buckwheat's own aroma and flavor come through undiluted.The area is said to have kept making unbound, 100%-buckwheat soba, favored by cold-spring water off Mt. Iide and a cool climate suited to growing buckwheat. The village is said to preserve a unique method, tachi-soba, in which unbound, all-buckwheat dough is layered and cut as if cutting cloth.