Regional food and famous sweets of Hokkaido
Seafood, dairy products, agricultural ingredients, and an especially strong culture of modern souvenir sweets.
Hokkaido is part of the Hokkaido & Tohoku region. This page lists the guides currently available in English.
36 guides in English
- Ashibetsu GatatanHokkaido
Gatatan is a lightly salted, starch-thickened soup crowded with small dumplings, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, pork, konnyaku, fish cake, vegetables and...
- Bibai YakitoriHokkaido
Bibai yakitori threads several chicken cuts, including meat, skin and organ pieces, together on a single skewer and grills them with simple seasoning.
- Hizu NamasuHokkaido
Hizu namasu combines paper-thin slices of the translucent cartilage at a salmon's snout with daikon in a sweetened vinegar dressing. The cartilage's...
- Hokkaido AgeimoHokkaido
Ageimo coats small whole boiled potatoes in a slightly sweet pancake-like batter and deep-fries them into golden balls with a fluffy shell and soft...
- Hokkaido Amanatto SekihanHokkaido
Hokkaido-style sekihan uses sweet amanatto beans in place of ordinary azuki, making a noticeably sweet version of celebratory glutinous rice.
- Hokkaido Chanchan-yakiHokkaido
Chanchan-yaki cooks salmon with cabbage, onion, mushrooms, and other vegetables under a savory-sweet miso sauce, usually on a griddle or in a large...
- Hokkaido IkameshiHokkaido
Ikameshi is a whole squid stuffed with glutinous and regular rice, then simmered until tender in a sweet-savory soy-based broth.
- Hokkaido ImomochiHokkaido
Hokkaido imomochi mixes hot mashed potato with potato starch, shapes the dough into flat cakes and pan-fries them until browned outside and chewy...
- Hokkaido IzushiHokkaido
Izushi layers fish such as salmon, herring or flatfish with cooked rice, rice koji, daikon, carrot, ginger and seasonings, then ferments the mixture...
- Hokkaido Jaga ButterHokkaido
Jaga butter is a Japanese dish of a hot steamed, boiled or baked potato split open and topped with butter. It is eaten throughout Japan but is...
- Hokkaido Kajika-jiruHokkaido
Kajika-jiru cuts winter sculpin into bone-in pieces and cooks the fish, liver and sometimes roe with daikon, potato and other vegetables in a...
- Hokkaido KirikomiHokkaido
Kirikomi cuts raw herring or salmon into small pieces and matures them with salt and rice koji, creating a creamy, sweet-salty fermented fish...
- Hokkaido KokuhanHokkaido
Kokuhan is Hokkaido glutinous rice cooked with black soybeans for funerals and memorial services. Unlike red celebratory sekihan, the rice remains...
- Hokkaido Lamb Shabu-shabuHokkaido
Lamb shabu-shabu swishes very thin slices of lamb, traditionally cut from a frozen meat roll, through hot broth and eats them with vegetables and...
- Hokkaido MamepanHokkaido
Hokkaido mamepan folds sweet simmered amanatto beans through a soft round bun, distributing intact beans through the crumb instead of enclosing smooth...
- Hokkaido Marusei Butter SandHokkaido
Marusei Butter Sand sandwiches rich butter cream, white chocolate and raisins between tender biscuits, balancing dairy richness with fruit acidity.
- Hokkaido Matsumae-zukeHokkaido
Matsumae-zuke marinates finely cut kombu and dried squid, often with herring roe, in a soy-based seasoning until the mixture becomes glossy and...
- Hokkaido MefunHokkaido
Mefun is a dark, soft shiokara-style delicacy made from the kidney running along a male salmon's backbone. Its concentrated marine flavor and strong...
- Hokkaido Nanko NabeHokkaido
Nanko nabe slowly simmers horse intestines, and sometimes horse meat, with miso until tender, producing a rich offal stew rather than a light tabletop...
- Hokkaido NishinzukeHokkaido
Nishinzuke ferments dried herring with cabbage, daikon, carrot, salt and rice koji. The vegetables stay pleasantly crisp while koji fermentation...
- Hokkaido RuibeHokkaido
Ruibe freezes salmon, trout or other fish and slices it before complete thawing, creating an icy first bite followed by gradually melting fat and...
- Hokkaido Sake TobaHokkaido
Sake toba is salmon cut lengthwise into strips, usually with the skin attached, then salted and dried in cold air. Drying concentrates the salmon's...
- Hokkaido SanpeijiruHokkaido
Sanpeijiru simmers salted salmon or herring with daikon, carrot, potato and leek in kombu broth.
- Hokkaido SanshozukeHokkaido
Sanshozuke ferments chopped green chili peppers, rice koji and soy sauce into a hot, salty and gently sweet condiment. Despite the similar sound, the...
- Hokkaido TakomanmaHokkaido
Takomanma is the ovary and cluster of large white eggs from the giant Pacific octopus, a rare seafood delicacy found mainly along Hokkaido's Pacific...
- Hokkaido WakasaimoHokkaido
Wakasaimo is a baked Hokkaido souvenir confection that uses white bean paste and strands of kombu to evoke the flesh and fibers of a small roasted...
- Hokkaido YokanpanHokkaido
Yokanpan usually sandwiches whipped, custard or butter cream in a soft bun and coats the top with fluid azuki yokan like chocolate icing on an eclair...
- Hokkaido ZangiHokkaido
Zangi marinates chicken thoroughly in soy sauce, ginger, garlic and other seasonings before coating and frying it until crisp.
- Ishikari NabeHokkaido
Ishikari nabe is a Hokkaido hot pot built around fresh salmon, including rich belly meat, bone-in cuts, and sometimes the head or other parts...
- JingisukanHokkaido
Jingisukan is Hokkaido's communal lamb or mutton barbecue, commonly cooked with onions, bean sprouts, cabbage, and other vegetables on a domed metal...
- Nemuro EscalopeHokkaido
Nemuro escalope places a thin pork cutlet over butter rice and covers it with demi-glace sauce.
- Nuta Miso-Vinegar SaladHokkaido
Nuta dresses blanched scallions, greens, seaweed, shellfish, squid or fish with a thick mixture of miso, vinegar, sugar and sometimes mustard.
- Obihiro ButadonHokkaido
Obihiro butadon covers rice with thick slices of pork grilled and repeatedly brushed with a sweet-savory soy tare.
- Shiroi KoibitoHokkaido
Shiroi Koibito is a famous Hokkaido confection consisting of chocolate sandwiched between thin, crisp langue de chat cookies. The white-chocolate...
- Southern Hokkaido Gokko-jiruHokkaido
Gokko-jiru simmers pieces of lumpsucker, its thick gelatinous skin and, when available, roe with kelp stock, soy sauce, green onion, tofu or seaweed.
- Squid OkizukeHokkaido
Ika no okizuke marinates whole cleaned squid or cut squid for hours or days in soy sauce seasoned with boiled-off sake, sometimes mirin, stock or...