Regional food and famous sweets of Nara
Ancient temple culture, mountain preservation, tea, persimmon-leaf sushi, and historic noodles shape the prefecture's food identity.
Nara is part of the Kansai region. This page lists the guides currently available in English.
15 guides in English
- Kakinoha ZushiNara
Kakinoha zushi is pressed sushi in which small blocks of vinegared rice and salted or vinegared fish are wrapped individually in persimmon leaves...
- Miwa SomenNara
Miwa somen is a traditional hand-stretched noodle from the area around Miwa in Sakurai, Nara. The strands are exceptionally fine yet retain a clean...
- Nara Asuka-nabeNara
Asuka-nabe combines chicken stock, miso and milk into a mellow broth for chicken, tofu, Chinese cabbage, root vegetables and shirataki. Some versions...
- Nara ChameshiNara
Nara chameshi cooks rice with roasted soybeans or adzuki, dried chestnuts, grains and seasonal vegetables in sencha or hojicha, producing a fragrant...
- Nara ImobotaNara
Imobota mixes cooked taro into pounded rice to make soft rustic botamochi, commonly finished with sweet azuki paste or kinako.
- Nara KakisugaNara
Kakisuga layers or rolls naturally sweet dried persimmon around fragrant strips of yuzu peel, creating a dense fruit confection with a bright citrus...
- Nara Kashiwa SukiyakiNara
Kashiwa sukiyaki simmers chicken with tofu, leafy vegetables, mushrooms and other ingredients in a sweet-savory soy seasoning.
- Nara Mimuro MonakaNara
Mimuro Monaka fills a crisp round wafer stamped with a stylized cedar motif with smooth, richly flavored azuki paste.
- Nara NarazukeNara
Narazuke salt-cures white melon, cucumber, small watermelon, ginger or other vegetables, then moves them through fresh beds of sake lees repeatedly...
- Nara NyumenNara
Nyumen briefly simmers somen in seasoned dashi, or warms the boiled noodles with a ladle of hot broth, and adds shiitake, shrimp, eggplant, yuba...
- Nara Warabi MochiNara
Warabi mochi is a soft starch sweet coated with kinako and often served with brown-sugar syrup.
- Nara Yamato ZoniNara
Yamato zoni places round mochi, celebratory daikon, taro and other ingredients in a white miso broth for the Nara New Year table.
- Nara and Wakayama ChagayuNara
Chagayu cooks rice in tea extracted from roasted bancha or green tea, often using a cloth tea bag so the broth stays clear. The result is a light...
- Yoshino KuzukiriNara
Kuzukiri cooks kudzu starch with water into a clear sheet, chills it and cuts it into glossy noodle-like ribbons. Fresh dessert kuzukiri is dipped in...
- Yoshino and Koyasan Goma-dofuNara
Goma-dofu slowly cooks ground hulled sesame with water and kudzu starch, then chills the mixture into a smooth, softly resilient block with a...