Place
Shiga
滋賀県
32 items
● 28 born here(Aka Konnyaku Ni, Amenoio Gohan, Biwamasu Sashimi, and more) / ● 2 raised here(Omi Gyu, Omi Shamo) / ● 2 prepared here(Omi Gyu no Misozuke, Zeitaku Ni) / ○ 2 known for it here
Born here28
- Aka Konnyaku Ni赤こんにゃく煮Omi-Hachiman's iron-red konjac simmered in soy sauceKonjac dyed reddish with iron oxide, a specialty of Omi-Hachiman, is pan-simmered with bonito flakes and soy sauce. The color holds even after cooking, and the dish is a fixture at ceremonial meals and school lunches alike.
- Amenoio Gohanあめのいおご飯rice cooked whole with Lake Biwa troutA whole Lake Biwa trout, migrating upstream to spawn, is set atop rice and cooked together; "amenoio" means "rain fish," a name tied to the trout's autumn run after rainfall. The flesh and roe are flaked and mixed through the rice, traditionally made in large pots for gatherings.
- Biwamasu Sashimiビワマス刺身raw slices of Lake Biwa's endemic troutBiwamasu, a trout found only in Lake Biwa, is filleted and served raw as sashimi. The fish grows richest from early to midsummer and is prized locally as "the jewel of Lake Biwa" — a fish so scarce that it rarely reaches markets beyond the lakeshore.
- Chojifu no Karashi Ae丁字麩のからしあえsquare wheat gluten and cucumber in mustard misoChojifu, a square baked wheat gluten unique to Shiga, is paired with cucumber and dressed in mustard-miso vinegar. The gluten also appears in Buddhist vegetarian meals, and its chewy texture with a refreshing tang makes the dish a staple at family gatherings.
- Dongame Jiru泥亀汁miso soup of scored eggplant and sesameEggplant scored with a crosshatch pattern is simmered in dashi, then finished with miso and ground sesame. Said to originate in the merchant town of Gokasho, the name compares the muddy look of the sesame in the broth and the eggplant's scored skin to a turtle's shell.
- Ebi Mameえび豆Lake Biwa river shrimp simmered sweet-savory with soybeansFreshwater shrimp from Lake Biwa are simmered sweet-savory with soybeans. Inexpensive and long-keeping, the dish is eaten as everyday fare, but is also served at New Year's with a wish for long life — that one might live, like the bent-backed shrimp, into old age.
- Funa-zushiふなずしfermented crucian carp, the archetype of Japan's oldest sushiRoe-bearing crucian carp from Lake Biwa, salted and then packed in rice to ferment for half a year or more — the archetype of narezushi. Sharply sour and pungent, some eat the rice too, others scrape it off.
- Gori no Tsukudaniごりの佃煮Lake Biwa goby simmered down with sansho pepperSmall Lake Biwa gobies known locally as gori are simmered down in soy sauce with whole sansho peppercorns. Fresh gori appear only briefly in early summer, but the preserved version is sold year-round and often bought as a souvenir.
- Hasu Gyodenはす魚田grilled Lake Biwa hasu fish glazed with sweet misoHasu, a rare carnivorous freshwater fish native to Lake Biwa, is salted and grilled, then brushed with a sweetened miso glaze. Because the fish weakens quickly once netted and rarely reaches wider markets, this member of the "eight Lake Biwa delicacies" has stayed a local specialty.
- Hitokawa Zushiひとかわすしa box sushi pressed in four or five colorful layersVinegared rice and colorful toppings such as dried shiitake, carrot, and shredded egg are layered four or five times in a wooden mold and pressed. Served by lifting off one layer at a time, the sushi can feed twenty to forty people at once, making it a fixture at large gatherings.
- Ibuki Soba伊吹そばsmall-grained buckwheat from the slopes of Mount IbukiAn heirloom buckwheat grown on the slopes of Mount Ibuki in Maibara, Shiga. Small-grained at 4.5 millimeters or under, its thick inner skin gives it a green tint and a strong aroma, and it's said to be prized for its umami and sweetness.
- Isaza Mameいさざ豆Lake Biwa's endemic isaza goby simmered sweet-savory with soybeansIsaza mame simmers Lake Biwa's endemic isaza goby with soybeans in soy sauce and mirin. The bean's earthy richness meets the fish's mild flavor, and around Lake Biwa's northern shore the dish is said to appear at both everyday meals and formal gatherings.
- Junjunじゅんじゅんsukiyaki-style hot pot of beef, chicken, or lake fishA sukiyaki-style hot pot made with beef, chicken, or lake fish, its name said to echo the simmering sound of the pot. Local ingredients such as Omi beef or the lake's isaza goby rotate in with the seasons, making it a year-round dish.
- Kamo-nabe (Nagahama)鴨鍋（長浜）Soy-based & yosenabeKamo-nabe — wild duck hot pot, a winter specialty of Nagahama on Lake BiwaFatty duck sliced thin and simmered with napa cabbage, onion, burdock, and water dropwort in a Japanese-style broth. It is a representative winter taste of Nagahama in northern Shiga, and its season runs from November to March.
- Koayu no Sansho Ni小あゆの山椒煮small Lake Biwa ayu simmered with sansho pepperKoayu, small ayu that never grow large because of Lake Biwa's limited feed, are simmered sweet-savory with ginger and sansho pepper to tame the freshwater fish's aroma. Cooks avoid stirring too roughly so the delicate fish stay whole.
- Kofuku Mame幸福豆griddled disks of roasted soybeans and flourRoasted soybeans are folded into a wheat-flour batter and griddled into flat discs. In rice-growing Shiga the batter is sometimes made with rice flour instead, and the humble snack was traditionally eaten during breaks from farm work.
- Kogyo no Tempura湖魚の天ぷらtempura of Lake Biwa's small native fishSmall fish native to Lake Biwa — koayu, isaza goby, or smelt — are battered and deep-fried. Because each fish has a different season, some combination is available almost year-round, and freshly fried, the fish loses the aroma freshwater fish are sometimes known for.
- Kurumi Goboくるみごぼうburdock root bound in a sweet edamame pasteBoiled edamame is mashed into a sweetened paste and tossed with par-boiled burdock root. The dish is offered at the autumn "gonbo festival" held at Sansho Shrine in Koka's Shigaraki area, where it is said that eating it brings a year of good health.
- Oae Dangoおあえ団子rice-flour dumplings wrapped in tofu-vegetable shira-aeRice-flour dumplings are wrapped in a shira-ae dressing of tofu mashed with carrot, shiitake, and greens. Mildly sweet enough to serve alongside tea, the dish from the Moriyama and Yasu area is traditionally made for Buddhist memorial gatherings.
- Saba no Bozushi鯖の棒ずしpressed rod-shaped sushi of vinegar-cured mackerelSalt-cured, vinegar-set mackerel is rolled around vinegared rice and pressed into a log-shaped sushi. Made with mackerel carried along the old Saba Kaido route, it has long been a festival treat at the Otsu and Nagahama float parades.
- Saba Somen鯖そうめんsomen noodles simmered in grilled mackerel brothGrilled mackerel is simmered in a sweet-savory sauce, which is then used to season somen noodles. The dish traces back to mackerel carried along the old "Saba Kaido" route from Wakasa, and to a custom of sending preserved mackerel to newly married daughters during the busy rice-planting season.
- Decchi Yokan丁稚羊羹bamboo-leaf-wrapped azuki yokan thickened with flourA simple steamed yokan made by mixing sweet azuki paste with flour and wrapping it in bamboo sheath. Landlocked Omi had little access to agar, so flour was used as a binder instead, giving the confection its chewy texture and faint bamboo aroma.
- Itoko Niいとこ煮azuki beans simmered with taro or pumpkinAzuki beans are simmered with taro or pumpkin in a slightly sweet broth, traditionally made for Buddhist memorial gatherings and the winter solstice. The pumpkin version is favored around Lake Biwa's east shore, the taro version in the north.
- Tofu Dengaku豆腐田楽skewered tofu grilled with sweet miso glazeFirm tofu is skewered, grilled, brushed with a sweet miso glaze, and grilled again until lightly charred. Popular as a vegetarian dish in temple-dense Shiga, it is traditionally made for Buddhist memorial gatherings and the winter solstice, and was once a specialty along the old Tokaido road.
- Shijimi Jiruしじみ汁miso soup with Lake Biwa's endemic seta shijimi clamA miso soup built on seta shijimi, a clam found only in Lake Biwa, simmered in a kelp-based broth. Plumper and richer than other shijimi species, it is said to taste best in spring before spawning, though catches have grown scarce in recent years.
- Shoi Meshiしょいめしsoy-seasoned rice cooked with root vegetablesBurdock, carrot, dried shiitake, and fried tofu are simmered in dashi and soy sauce before rice is added and cooked through, a specialty of the Shinasahi area of Takashima. Traditionally eaten at festivals, its name is said to echo the festival chant "wasshoi," among other theories.
- Uchimame Jiru打ち豆汁miso soup with hand-pounded flattened soybeansSoybeans, steamed and hand-flattened one by one with a wooden mallet before drying, are simmered with turnip and taro into a miso soup from Lake Biwa's snowy north. Once a vital winter protein source, it is also served at Buddhist memorial gatherings.
- Yaki Moroko no Dorozu焼きもろこのどろ酢grilled honmoroko dipped in miso vinegarHonmoroko, a minnow found only in Lake Biwa, is grilled on skewers and dipped in "doro-zu," a muddy-colored sauce of miso, sugar, mustard, and vinegar. The roe-bearing fish of winter and spring are considered best, and though endangered in the wild, farmed stock keeps the dish on tables today.
Raised here2
- Omi Gyu近江牛among Japan's oldest beef brandsAmong Japan's oldest beef brands — the Hikone domain once presented it miso-cured to the shogun.
- Omi Shamo近江しゃもseven years in the making at Shiga's research centerSaid to be created by Shiga's livestock technology center by crossing shamo onto a hen line of New Hampshire and Barred Plymouth Rock; reportedly reared 140 days or more, about 2.5 times a broiler's period.
Prepared here2
- Omi Gyu no Misozuke近江牛の味噌漬Omi beef cured in white miso before grillingOmi beef is cured in white miso for several days, then wiped clean and pan-grilled. One account traces it to the Edo-period Hikone domain, which presented miso-cured beef to the shogunate as a medicinal offering — an early chapter in the history of what is considered Japan's oldest branded beef.
- Zeitaku Niぜいたく煮desalted old takuan pickle simmered in dashiOld, over-salted takuan pickle is soaked to draw out the salt, then simmered again in dashi and soy sauce. The name, meaning "extravagant simmer," is said to reflect the trouble of turning a pickle back into a cooked dish, and it remains a fixture at Buddhist memorial meals.
Known for it here2
- FunaフナFreshwater fishcrucian carp — the fish behind Japan's oldest sushiA river fish including the Lake Biwa-endemic nigorobuna, fermented with rice into funazushi, often called the ancestor of all sushi. Its true flavor is said to come only from the lake the endemic species calls home, sustaining an ancient narezushi craft.The lake-endemic nigorobuna is salted and long-fermented with rice here, keeping alive the ancient narezushi method.
- Sukiyakiすき焼きSukiyaki-style (simmered in warishita)thin-sliced beef simmered in sweetened soy sauce with vegetablesThin-sliced beef seared in an iron pan, simmered in sweetened soy sauce with vegetables and dipped in beaten raw egg. Eastern Japan simmers everything in a pre-mixed sauce while the west sears the meat first and seasons as it goes.Omi beef is raised across the Omi region including Omihachiman, and long-established restaurants featured on the city's tourism site serve a "sukiyaki set" as a signature dish. Lying along the old Nakasendo highway, the area is said to have developed a beef-eating culture earlier than many other parts of Japan.