Chubu Cuisine: Typical Food From the Region
Chubu is a mountainous region in the central part of Honshu island, including Mount Fuji. It reaches across the width of the island, and includes coastlines on both the Pacific and the Sea of Japan. Chubu’s central location means that it has become an important trade route both nationally and internationally.
The food in Chubu is heavily influenced by its alpine geography and coastlines. Clear water from the mountains feeds lowland agricultural landscapes, yielding fertile farmlands. The extensive and varied coastline is home to many marine delicacies. There are 9 prefectures in Chubu (Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama and Yamanashi) each of which has its own specialities and delicacies.
The top restaurants to visit in Chubu are Hijikata, with 3 Michelin stars, and Zeniya, with 2 stars. For more informal restaurants, the top recommended ones are Kousai in Toyama, Unagi-ka Shibafuku-ya in Nagoya, and Gotoku-tei for inago no tsukudani.
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What food is Chubu famous for?
Chubu is famous for miso and buckwheat dishes, has a strong fermentation culture, and a variety of local seafood specialities, often featuring species that are unique to the region, or that have been preserved for the inland regions. Inago no tsukudani, a dish of stewed locusts, and tatami iwashi, a snack consisting of dried sardines are 2 especially famous dishes.
There are 9 prefectures in Chubu, each of which has developed its cuisine in specific ways.
1. Aichi
Aichi contains the city of Nagoya, which has a prominent culinary heritage. Nagoya kochin chickens are a special breed from the region, and both miso and ogura, red bean jam, are produced in the area.
5 regional dishes include:
- Tebasaki and toriwase: 2 special dishes made with the Nagoya kochin chicken.
- Miso Katsudon: Breaded pork chops, covered in a deep umami flavored miso sauce.
- Miso-dengaku: grilled tofu in miso sauce
- Miso Nikomi Udon: hearty miso broth with vegetables, noodles, fishcake and chicken.
- Kishimen: a type of flat udon typical of the area.
2. Fukui
The temple of Eihei-ji in Fukui makes a famous sweet miso sauce. Several seafood species such as mackerel and snow crab are also loved in this region, and buckwheat is extensively cultivated.
5 delicacies of the region are:
- Seige: hotpot with female snow crab, miso and radishes.
- Eihei-ji goma tofu: a type of tofu made from arrowroot starch and sesame, with the famous miso sauce.
- Echizen oroshi soba: dashi stock with buckwheat soba noodles and radishes.
- Echizen kanimeshi: rice with crab meat and viscera.
- Saba bozushi: sushi with local mackerel and fermented vegetables.
3. Gifu
The region of Gifu is known as one of the top miso producers, and miso features prominently in its dishes. Mountain fruits and vegetables, such as chestnuts also play a part, as does the local magnolia tree.
5 speciality dishes of Gifu prefecture are:
- Hida beef: one of the best brands in Japan, highly marbled with fat.
- Hoba miso: mountain vegetables with miso paste, served on a magnolia leaf.
- Tsukemono misoni: pickled cabbage simmered in miso with dried sardines.
- Keichan chicken: miso-marinated chicken stir-fried with cabbage.
- Kurikinton: candied mountain chestnuts, traditionally eaten at New Year.
4. Ishikawa
Ishikawa has a strong fermentation culture, including the region’s famous fish sauce, ishiru. It’s also known for local seafood, hotpots and winter dishes.
5 of the best-known dishes in the region are:
- Kaburazushi: fermented yellowtail fish with turnips.
- Ishiru nabe: hotpot made with the region’s famous ishiru fermented fish sauce.
- Kanazawa curry: thick sweet curry sauce with pork cutlet and cabbage.
- Jibuni nabe: duck hotpot with vegetables in a bonito or soy broth.
- Fugu nukazuke: pufferfish ovaries salted and pickled for 3 years to remove the poison.
5. Nagano
The landlocked prefecture of Nagano is known in Japan as the king of buckwheat, which is used for dumplings, soba, and other regional and ancestral dishes.
5 dishes you might be served in Nagano are:
- Inago no tsukudani: locusts stewed in sweetened soy sauce.
- Shinshu soba: allegedly the best soba noodles in Japan.
- Gohei mochi: rice cake skewers with miso sauce.
- Oyaki: an ancient buckwheat dumpling, wrapped around a filling of mountain vegetables.
- Soba gaki: buckwheat dough, served grilled, fried or dipped in soups or sauces.
6. Niigata
With salmon from the Miomote river and ayu sweetfish, Niigata has a range of delicious freshwater fish. It also cultivates a special rice variety: koshihikaro.
5 local delicacies are:
- Salmon yakizuke: grilled salmon marinated in soy sauce
- Hegi soba: ultra-smooth noodles made with seaweed.
- Sasadango: mochi sticky rice with mugwort and sweet red bean paste.
- Ayu no ishiyaki: a fisherman’s dish, made from the ayu sweetfish, cooked on river stones.
- Noppeishiru: a soy based soup thickened with yams, containing vegetables cooked in sesame oil.
7. Shizuoka
Shizuoka is the nation’s top producer of green tea and wasabi, and has a range of unique seafood from the Yui harbour.
5 regional dishes from the area are:
- Tatami iwashi: dried baby sardines, pressed into a cracker. Used as a soup garnish, or eaten as an izakaya snack.
- Sakura ebi: a unique shrimp of Yui Harbour, exceptionally sweet and mild, usually eaten raw.
- Wasabi zuke: wasabi root pickled in sake lees, served as a snack or a side dish.
- Shizuoka oden: a strongly flavored oden dish, with the broth made from soy and beef stock, and all ingredients skewered.
- Shizuoka green tea: a huge variety of different strains and flavors.
8. Toyama
Toyama has a wealth of speciality seafood from Toyama bay. It’s also a major rice producing region, and the number one cultivator of myoga.
5 delicacies of the region are:
- Masazushi: sushi with salted trout, pressed with rice into a circle and sliced like a pie.
- Black ramen: noodles in a distinctive dark broth, served with lots of pepper.
- Myoga zushi: sushi with Japanese myoga ginger.
- Shiro-ebi: a species of shrimp unique to Toyama Bay. Usually eaten fried or as sashimi.
- Hotaru-ika: “firefly squid”, a bioluminescent species eaten boiled with vinegar or mustard.
9. Yamanashi
Yamanashi is a heavily forested, landlocked prefecture. These features influence the cuisine, with barley, wheat, game and preserved seafood all playing a significant part.
5 specific dishes of the area include:
- Hoto: a dumpling-textured noodle-type dish, with kabocha pumpkin, served in a miso broth.
- Inobuta nabe: hotpot with inobuta (wild boar cross) pork meat and enoki mushrooms.
- Yoshida udon: a firm-textured barley udon noodle, often served with horse meat.
- Awabi no nigai: preserved abalone, traditionally served during celebrations.
- Kofu torimotsu-ni: caramelized chicken gizzards with soy.
What restaurants do you go when eating in Chubu?
Savor Japan picks Unagi-ka Shibafuku-ya in Nagoya as its top choice for Japanese cuisine in the city, and also singles out Kayabuki-an on the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa for special praise.
The Japan Times suggests Kousai in Toyama as a top pick for Toyama Bay seafood, and recommends going on a night fishing tour to see and eat the famous bioluminescent squid of the area.
The specialist Nagano website Unique Nagano recommends Gotoku-tei as the best place to eat inago no tsukudani.
Zeniya restaurant in Ishikawa is a fine -dining Japanese kaiseki restaurant recommended by multiple restaurant guides, including Relais & Chateaux, that won two Michelin stars in the 2021 guide. Hijikata, in Aichi is a holder of 3 Michelin stars from the 2019 guide.
How does Chubu differ from other regional Japanese food?
Chubu differs from other regional Japanese food because it has both coastlines and extensive alpine regions. The landlocked mountains provide game, freshwater fish, and foraged ingredients, and the coastlines have a range of unique seafood, and preservation methods.
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Caroline first opened the doors to her own apartment in Berlin to guests, which was soon sold out. She then became the head chef of Muse Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg, for eight years, renowned for “international comfort food.”