Regional food and famous sweets of Hokkaido

G

Hizu namasu thinly slices the translucent cartilage at a salmon's nose, salts and vinegar-dresses it, and combines it with daikon namasu. Its defining...

H

Bibai yakitori alternates chicken skin, thigh and several offal parts such as liver, heart, gizzard and kinkan with local onion on one skewer, then...

Chanchan-yaki steam-grills salmon with cabbage, onion, mushrooms and other vegetables, then mixes them with a sweet-savory sauce of miso, sugar, mirin...

Ikameshi fills small cleaned squid with glutinous and regular rice, then simmers it in a sweet-savory soy sauce until the grains absorb the squid...

Hokkaido imomochi are pan-grilled cakes made by mashing cooked potatoes, mixing in potato starch, and shaping the dough into rounds or ovals. They are...

Izushi layers fish, vegetables, rice and rice koji and lets them undergo lactic fermentation in Hokkaido's cold season. Salmon, herring, hokke...

Jaga butter is a hot steamed, boiled or baked potato split open so butter melts into the center. It is cooked throughout Japan but is especially...

Jingisukan grills lamb or mutton with onions, bean sprouts and other vegetables on a characteristically domed pan. Fat and seasoning run from the...

Kajika-jiru is a Hokkaido fish soup that simmers bone-in pieces of kajika with skin, liver and vegetables such as daikon, carrot, potato and leek...

K

Kokuhan is glutinous rice steamed with black soybeans and served in parts of Hokkaido at funerals and Buddhist memorial services. The rice is...

Lamb shabu-shabu cooks paper-thin lamb slices in gently simmering broth and serves them with dipping sauce. Unlike grilled jingisukan, it lets excess...

Matsumae-zuke is a Hokkaido preserved food made by marinating finely cut kombu kelp and dried squid in a soy-based seasoning. The kelp releases a...

Mefun is a Hokkaido delicacy made by salting and maturing the dark kidney tissue that runs along a salmon's backbone.

Nishinzuke combines dried herring with cabbage, daikon, carrot, rice koji, and salt. Fish savoriness, crisp vegetables, koji sweetness, and gentle...

Ruibe freezes salmon, trout, or other seafood and slices it before complete thawing. It begins icy and crisp on the tongue, then releases the fish's...

Sake toba is salmon cut into long strips, salted, and dried in cold air in Hokkaido and northern Japan. Traditional skin-on pieces are firm and...

Sanpeijiru is a Hokkaido soup of salted salmon or herring simmered in kombu broth with daikon, carrot, potato, and leek. The preserved fish supplies...

Sansho-zuke is a fermented Hokkaido and northern Tohoku condiment made from chopped green chilies, rice koji, and soy sauce. It combines direct chili...

Ika no okizuke marinates squid in a seasoning based on soy sauce, sake, and mirin. The flesh becomes savory and slightly sticky; products using the...

Hokkaido mamepan is soft bread with whole sweetened beans, often kintoki beans, distributed through the dough. Unlike anpan, it does not hold one...

Takomanma is the ovary of octopus, especially willow octopus in Hokkaido. Long rice-like eggs fill a translucent sac and turn white when cooked.

Wakasaimo uses Hokkaido white-bean paste, not sweet potato, to reproduce a small roasted sweet potato. Fine kombu strands imitate fibers, while a thin...

Yokanpan coats bread with a thin layer of azuki yokan, much as chocolate coats a pastry. In Hokkaido it appears as cream-filled twists, round buns...

Z

I

Marusei Butter Sand is Rokkatei's rectangular biscuit sandwich filled with cream made from white chocolate, butter produced entirely from Hokkaido...

Ageimo is the signature snack of Nakayama Pass in Hokkaido: small boiled potatoes covered in a thick, lightly sweet batter, deep-fried and usually...

Nemuro escalope places a thin pork cutlet over butter rice containing chopped bamboo shoot and covers it with demi-glace sauce, usually beside salad...

Obihiro butadon places grilled, relatively thick slices of pork over rice and coats them with a reduced sweet-savory soy glaze.

Shiroi Koibito is ISHIYA's trademarked Hokkaido confection: a thin langue-de-chat biscuit sandwich holding a specially made sheet of chocolate. The...

G

In Utashinai, nanko means horse intestine simmered until tender and seasoned with miso. Konjac, bamboo shoots, onion, burdock, ginger, or garlic may...