Place
Kochi
高知県
36 items
● 31 born here(Chate no Aemono, Chunichi Soba, Ginburo Zushi, and more) / ● 3 raised here(Tosa Akaushi, Tosa Hachikin Jidori, Tosa Jiro) / ● 2 prepared here(Goishicha, Tofu no Umezuzuke) / ○ 4 known for it here
Born here31
- Chate no Aemonoチャーテの和え物chayote, sliced raw and tossed while still crispChayote, a squash-family vine native to tropical America and known locally as chate, is tossed raw into a light dressing — an autumn home dish in Kochi. A single vine can bear over a hundred fruit, so it's mostly grown for the household or shared with neighbors, and it's especially popular in the mountains where it grows easily.
- Chunichi Soba中日そばBesides shoyu, miso, shio and tonkotsuChinese noodles in udon stockA local noodle dish from Akaoka, Kochi's Konan City, pairing Chinese noodles with udon stock. Dried baby sardines and shredded kelp are the standard toppings, said to have grown from a shortcut sparing the effort of both udon and ramen kitchens.
- Ginburo Zushi銀ぶろうずしsushi rice mixed with a rare local bean grown by only a few familiesGinburo, a kidney bean grown only for home use in a district of Otoyo Town, is simmered sweet and folded into vinegared rice with root vegetables. Regarded as a bean of long life and good fortune, it's traditionally made for festivals and celebratory banquets.
- Guruniぐる煮a big-batch winter simmer of daikon, taro, and whatever root vegetable was on handDaikon, carrot, taro, and other root vegetables are simmered together in a dashi made from dried baby sardines and soy sauce — a winter side dish. The name is said to come from "guru," Tosa dialect for a group of companions, and the dish was long made in bulk and reheated meal after meal.
- Ha Ninniku no Nuta葉にんにくのぬたa vinegar-miso dressing of ground garlic greens, poured over raw fishGarlic greens are chopped, ground, and mixed with miso, vinegar, sesame, and sugar — a traditional Kochi condiment said to trace back to a Korean import. It's commonly spooned over raw fish like yellowtail in place of soy sauce, and both its name and the fish it accompanies vary by area.
- Hachiku to Endo no Nimono淡竹とエンドウの煮物slender purple-skinned bamboo shoot simmered with fresh peasHachiku, a slender, purple-tinged bamboo shoot with a mild flavor, is simmered in dashi and finished with fresh green peas just coming into season — an early-summer simmered dish in Kochi. It pairs hachiku, which follows the earlier moso bamboo to market, with peas harvested around the same time.
- Hange Dango半夏だんごa wheat dumpling wrapped in myoga leaf, made for the day farm labor gets a restWheat dough is wrapped around sweet red bean, then wrapped again in a myoga leaf and steamed — a confection from Otoyo Town. It's made on hange, July 2nd, to mark a rest from farm labor, and is said to be offered to the paddy field's guardian deity too. It also goes by the name myoga dango.
- Himeichi to Mikan no Karashiniひめいちとみかんの辛子煮a small sea-bream stand-in simmered with citrus peel and hot mustardHimeichi, a small fish caught in Tosa Bay, is simmered slowly over low heat with seeded hot mustard and citrus peel. Prized as an affordable stand-in for sea bream, the long simmer softens even the bones, and it was traditionally made in bulk at year's end to keep through the season.
- Imo no Kuki no Itameniいもの茎の炒め煮Sweet Potato Stem Stir-simmer — the leaf-stalk of the vine, cooked crisp-tender in dashiThe leaf-stalk of the sweet potato vine is stir-fried, then simmered sweet and salty in dashi — a Kochi staple side dish. Said to have grown from farm households making use of stems that thrive in the hot, humid climate, it's often finished with red chili and sometimes bulked out with fried fish cake.
- Imobera Azukiいもべらあずきdried sweet potato slow-simmered soft and folded with sweet red beanSweet potato is boiled whole, dried, sliced into rounds, and dried again into what's called yudebera, then simmered sweet with red bean — a confection from Ino Town. The same dried potato goes by "Higashiyama" elsewhere in Kochi, and it once served as a snack eaten between stretches of farm work.
- Inaka-zushi田舎ずしmountain-vegetable sushi from a coast that seafood didn't easily reachA Kochi sushi topped only with mountain ingredients — myoga ginger, taro-stem ryukyu, konjac — devised, it's said, in inland areas where seafood was hard to come by. No fish appears anywhere in it.
- Itadori no Aburaitameいたどりの油いためa tart, crunchy mountain shoot, salted or frozen for year-round eatingThe young shoots of itadori, a mountain-growing knotweed, are peeled, blanched to draw out their tartness, then stir-fried in oil and seasoned with soy sauce and sugar. Since the shoots appear only in spring, they're salted or frozen for storage and eaten from the pantry year-round.
- Kashikiriかしきりacorn flour, leached of bitterness for two days, set into a tofu-like blockAcorns are ground, then leached of bitterness over some two days of repeated water changes, and worked into a tofu-like block. Once widely eaten across the mountains as emergency food in lean years, it survives today only in southern Aki City, where it's treated as a rare local dish.
- Katsuo no Tatakiかつおのたたきbonito seared over an open flame, then salted and slapped by handBonito is filleted, seared over an open flame (traditionally straw), sliced thick, salted, slapped by hand, and dressed with a yuzu-vinegar or soy sauce. Said to have started as food fishermen made on board, it's a fixture of sawachi platters, with the finishing touch varying by area and household.
- Kibinago no Hokaburiきびなごのほおかぶりvinegared kibinago fish wrapped around a ball of seasoned tofu pulpSmall kibinago fish are butterflied, cured in vinegar, and wrapped around a ball of tofu pulp that's been pan-toasted and seasoned with vinegar — a variant of tamazushi, sushi made with pulp instead of rice. The wrapped shape is said to resemble a head wrapped in a cloth, and Sukumo City promotes it as a local specialty.
- Kirazu Mochiきらずもちmochi rice stretched with tofu pulp, wrapped around sweet red beanSticky rice dough stretched with tofu pulp, called kirazu locally, is wrapped around sweet red bean paste — a confection passed down only in the Ogawa district of Sakawa Town. Made from the pulp left over from pre-New Year's tofu-making, it was also served as a good-luck food, its name playing on "not cutting" a bond.
- Kobu Zushiこぶずしsushi rice rolled in kelp alone, no filling at its coreVinegared rice is rolled in kelp alone, with nothing at the core — central Kochi uses thin white sheet kelp for itakobu-zushi, while the west uses kelp simmered sweet and salty for kurokobu-zushi. It's also packed into the boxed take-home gifts given to guests at celebrations.
- Konchinこんちんburdock kneaded into wheat batter and pan-fried into a snackShaved burdock is worked generously into a batter of medium-strength wheat flour and pan-fried on both sides — a snack from Otoyo Town. It's said to use the same local wheat flour that once stood in for rice when it was scarce, and it also finds a place on sawachi platters.
- Koshimeshiこうし飯winter-harvested rock nori worked into New Year's Eve riceRice cooked with dried baby sardines or minced fish is finished with rock nori called menori, gathered by wading chest-deep into the winter sea — a New Year's Eve dish from Otsuki Town. The name is said to derive from "koshimeshi," rice for seeing out the year, and it long stood in for the more common year-end soba noodles.
- Kure no Nimono暮れの煮物whale meat simmered with daikon and kelp for New Year's EveWhale meat is simmered with daikon, carrot, konjac, and shredded kelp — a New Year's Eve dish in Kochi. Eating something so large is said to carry a wish for one's children to grow into something big themselves, and the whaling town of Muroto has long carried the tradition.
- Kyuri to Kawaebi no Nimonoきゅうりと川エビの煮物river prawns simmered with cucumber until glossy with starchRiver prawns caught in rivers like the Shimanto and a local trailing cucumber are simmered in dashi and thickened with a cornstarch slurry — a summer dish in Kochi. A traditional method using bundled brushwood traps is still used to catch the prawns, once the reward of a child's day playing in the river.
- Miso Katsu RamenみそカツラーメンMisobite-sized fried pork on a miso brothA Kochi ramen with bite-sized fried pork cutlet set on a miso-based broth. In Kochi, "miso katsu" is understood to mean this ramen by default, said to have grown out of a diner's once-popular cutlet set meal.
- Mushidai蒸し鯛a whole sea bream stuffed with seasoned tofu pulp and steamedA whole sea bream is stuffed with seasoned tofu pulp, carrot, shiitake, and egg, then steamed whole — a celebratory dish in Kochi. Considered essential to the feasts called okyaku, it's said every household once kept its own steamer just for this dish.
- Nabeyaki Ramen鍋焼きラーメンShoyu — soy sauceramen served boiling in an earthen potOld-hen soy ramen served still boiling in an earthen pot, with a raw egg and chikuwa dropped in.
- Negi to Satsumaimo no Nutaねぎとさつまいものぬたleek and sweet potato dressed in sweet vinegar misoBoiled leek and sweet potato are tossed in a white-miso-based sweet vinegar dressing — a dish from Nankoku City. Said to swap in sweet potato for the squid used in the more common negi-to-ika no nuta, it grew out of local research into using homegrown produce.
- Ryukyu no Sunomonoりゅうきゅうの酢の物the crisp leaf-stalk of taro-leaf vine, dressed in yuzu vinegar with hairtailThe crisp leaf-stalk of the taro-leaf vine, known locally as ryukyu, is salted and tossed with hairtail or another fish that's been steeped in yuzu vinegar, ginger, and sesame — a summer standard in Kochi. One theory traces the name to Okinawa, though it's said to be unconfirmed, and the fish used varies by area.
- Saba no Sugata Zushiさばの姿ずしa whole mackerel, cured and packed with sushi rice, head and tail intactMackerel is butterflied, cured in salt and vinegar, and packed tight with sushi rice, finished with the head and tail set upright — a fixture of sawachi platters. Its seasoning leans harder on vinegar and salt than Kyoto's saba-zushi, said to suit the leaner blue mackerel more commonly caught off Kochi.
- Sawachi Ryori皿鉢料理a single vast platter piled with sushi, sashimi, and simmered dishes for a partySashimi, seared bonito, sushi, simmered dishes, and fried food are piled onto a single platter roughly 36 to 39 centimeters across — a style of feasting in Kochi. Served at gatherings called okyaku, the number of platters set out is said to signal the scale of the party.
- Taimo no Korobashi田芋のころばしtaro rolled in sesame after a long, slow soy-sugar simmerTaro, called taimo in Kochi, is slowly simmered down in soy sauce and sugar, then rolled in roasted sesame — a dish from Sakawa Town. The name is said to come from rolling the taro over the sesame, and as a symbol of a family's growing lineage, it also appears on festive sawachi platters.
- Tsugani Jiruつがに汁a soup pounded whole from a live river crab, shell and allA live mitten crab called tsugani, caught in rivers like the Shimanto, is pounded whole, shell included, and the resulting stock is used to simmer eggplant and taro-leaf stalk — an autumn soup in Kochi. The crab is said to be at its best in autumn as it heads downstream to spawn, and a closed season now protects the stock.
- Zenmai no Itameniぜんまいの炒め煮mountain fern, dried and re-hydrated, stir-simmered with fried tofuZenmai fern, repeatedly boiled and sun-dried until fully cured, is re-hydrated and stir-simmered with fried tofu — a dish from Otoyo Town, known for its zenmai. The repeated drying is said to soften the fern's fiber, and the dish is a regular on sawachi platters.
Raised here3
- Tosa Akaushi土佐あかうしKochi's own line of Brown Japanese cattle, bred nowhere elseA line of Brown Japanese cattle, one of wagyu's four breeds, bred only within Kochi Prefecture and known for its reddish-brown coat — fattened around 28 months, with a lean, juicy character.
- Tosa Hachikin Jidori土佐はちきん地鶏named for Kochi's spirited local womenSaid to be completed by Kochi's livestock experiment station from a cross of the native Tosa-kukin, large shamo and white Plymouth Rock; its name reportedly borrows a local dialect word for a lively, spirited woman, and rearing is said to run 80 days.
- Tosa Jiro土佐ジローoffspring of a rare pheasant-like native fowlA compact breed said to come from crossing the natural-monument Tosa-jidori cockerel with a Rhode Island Red hen; spread through Kochi from the 1980s and reportedly reared for 120–150 days.
Prepared here2
- Goishicha碁石茶Fermented and bancha teasKochi's twice-fermented, go-stone-shaped teaA post-fermented tea from Otoyo, Kochi Prefecture, made through two stages of fermentation — an aerobic mold fermentation followed by a lactic acid soak. Named for its square-cut, sun-dried pieces said to resemble go stones, it carries a distinctive sweet-and-sour flavor.
- Tofu no Umezuzuke豆腐の梅酢づけfirm mountain tofu, charcoal-grilled then steeped in plum vinegarFirm tofu, a specialty of the mountainous Tsunoyama district, is charcoal-grilled repeatedly and then steeped in plum vinegar for a week to ten days. The vinegar turns it a vivid red, and its saltiness means it's traditionally sliced thin and eaten as a drinking snack.
Known for it here6
- KatsuoカツオRed-fleshed fishbonito — the fast-swimming icon of early-summer JapanA migratory fish riding the Kuroshio current north each spring, lean in early summer and richer once it turns south in autumn. Seared with straw as tataki or served raw, with flavor prized most near the ports the current runs closest to.The Kuroshio current runs just offshore of Tosa Bay, where pole-and-line fishing has long thrived and where straw-seared tataki is said to have originated.
- KanpachiカンパチWhite fishKnown sourcegreater amberjack — a firmer, leaner relative of yellowtailRelated to yellowtail but firmer and leaner, at its best in summer. Wild fish come from Kuroshio-adjacent waters while farmed ones grow in calm bays, so firmness and fat content vary noticeably by where the fish was raised.
- AyuアユFreshwater fishsweetfish — a river fish with the scent of watermelonA river fish that grazes algae off clean streambed stones, giving it a distinct watermelon-like scent. Salt-grilled and famously caught by tomo-zuri decoy fishing — the clearer the river, the more that scent is said to stand out.On the Shimanto River, often called Japan's 'last clear stream', traditional methods like torch fishing still bring in ayu.
- KueクエWhite fishlongtooth grouper — a rare, prized winter grouperA large grouper sometimes called the 'phantom fish' for its scarcity. At its best in winter, commanding high prices raw or in hot pot — Kuroshio-facing ria coastlines shelter its juveniles, so both wild and farmed fish center on those waters.The Kuroshio-facing ria coastline around Kashiwajima serves as both fishing ground and farm site, making the town a leading source of kue.
- UtsuboウツボOther stylesmoray eel — a fearsome-looking fish eaten deep-fried in KochiA fierce-looking fish that nonetheless features in the local cooking of places like Kochi, served deep-fried or seared as tataki. Its tough skin demands skilled prep, and Kuroshio-adjacent fishing towns are where the custom of eating it took hold.Close to Kuroshio-facing fishing grounds, distinct prep methods that make use of its tough skin — like deep-frying — became rooted as local cuisine.
- Katsuobushi鰹節Known sourcesmoked, dried bonitoBonito boiled, smoked, and dried, shaved into flakes and eaten over rice or used to make dashi. Passing through the stages of arabushi, hadaka-bushi, and kare-bushi is said to concentrate its umami further at each step.In the mid-1600s, a man from Kishu named Jintaro is said to have devised the smoking method here at Usa-ura, later refined by a local named Yoichi into something close to today's process — credited as the birthplace of katsuobushi-making.