For traveler friendly "washoku" info
For traveler friendly "washoku" info
Thick spongy noodles and Bolognese sauce!
This dish is made by adding stir-fryied cabbage and bean sprouts to fried noodles flavored with a special Worchester sauce, and topping with a tomato sauce and white ginger. The dish was created in the 1960s using the rare (at the time) flavor of Neapolitan pasta as a base. The dish has become favored by many Niigata residents and it is now known outside the prefecture as a local specialty.
A crunchy outer layer with a juicy inside!
Niigata’s tare katsu-don (crumbed pork fillet on rice) is not topped with the usual beaten egg but with a simple, original sauce (tare). The fillet sinews are cut before cooking, making it amazingly tender. An exquisite balance of sweet and salty flavor is created with the stock from vegetable soup, pure soy sauce and castor sugar. The sauce is also delicious with rice.
The light sweetness of spongy brown sugar!
Said to have originated in Shibata city, “poppo yaki” is a simple local snack with a delicate sweetness. This snack is delicious both freshly baked and chilled with its faint sweetness of brown sugar and unique texture. Its name comes from the sound of the steam when baking: it sounds like the “poppo” (choo choo) noise of a steam train.
Filled with the flavor of snapper and bonito!
“Snapper cha-zuke” is a dish of rice topped with flaked grilled snapper and things like nori and salmon roe, all covered in a special soup and full of the flavor of the sea. The dish has won top awards at both the “International Local Food Championship” and the “Local Food on Rice Championship”.
Curry flavored and juicy meat!
Half a chicken bettered and deep-fried, kara-age style. The juicy meat and crunchy fried skin with a curry flavor will make your mouth water. This is a dish familiar with local people who, when they hear “kara-age”, often associate it with a half-chicken, not the usual pieces of thigh meat.
Rich noodles full of fatty pork!
This dish comprises of thick, udon-like noodles in a soup whose surface is covered in pork fat with onion as a topping. The rich, fishy flavor of the soup in this unique dish makes quite an impression. Ramen noodle fans from all over Japan come in search of this local dish.
The flavor of Singapore’s outdoor markets!
A local chef born in Singapore recreated the flavor of the outdoor markets he remembered from childhood to make this stir-fry noodle dish. Flavored with spices, the flat noodles give this dish a unique texture. The dish is also available as a soup.
Aromatic specialty rice balls!
Moist, chewy mugwort rice cakes made with local rice and filled with sweet bean paste made from delicately roasted and ground Hokkaido azuki beans make up this famous sweet of Niigata. There are unusual varieties with vegetables or seaweed as well. You can also take in the experience of making your own rice balls (bookings are required by one day prior).
You will not get sick of the flavor of this strong soup, where fresh ginger has been stewed with pork knuckles. With the sharp flavor of soy sauce, this local ramen noodle dish delivers a rich, deep flavor. It goes perfectly with home made noodles and char sui roasted pork fillet.
A deep, black yaki-soba (fried noodles)!
Black yaki-soba has appeared as a local delicacy of Itoigawa in recent years. Noodles flavored with squid ink and sauce are fried up with the squid entrails to give a real depth to the flavor. There are a variety of ways to eat this dish depending on the store (for example, topped with an egg).
