Culinary: Local Specialties - Part 1

I would like to show you some of the local food I had the pleasure to try in this post, here we go:

Tonkatsu
Basically fried pork chop/loin. An easy and popular dish in Japan, it probably has as many variations as Wiener Schnitzel has in Austria. The one in the picture was more on the side of a Cordon Bleu, filled with summer veggies. Classical sides are rice and shredded cabbage. The place I visited had a piece of tofu, some pickles, rice, tea, cabbage and miso soup. The last four were all-you-can eat, meaning they would be refilled as often as you wanted. Whole thing cost about 9eur.

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Kyoto's Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki - Kyoto-style
I talked about those already in my post about Matsuri Stalls, just wanted you to see another picture. Also, there is of course a multitude of ways to make these things, with thick dough or just a thin crust, with noodles or w/o, with seafood or meat. Depends on the place you eat at, there is no definite style. The one in the picture actually had a main body of egg with cabbage, topped with bits of meat and Bonito flakes and a side of Yakisoba.

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Hiroshima's Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki - Hiroshima-style
In Hiroshima they put noodles (soba, udon) in their Okonomiyaki, a great fit, if you ask me.

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Noodle bowl

Ramen (and other noodle bowls)
Inexpensive, filling and really good, Ramen are a Japanese fast food almost everybody loves. You can choose your toppings and the type of soup base you want (salt, soy sauce and miso usually) and dig in. There are other dishes like Ramen as well, differing in type of noodles or way of serving.Tthe picture above actually does not show Ramen, as the noodles are different.

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Katsudon

Katsudon
Breaded fried pork chop over rice, served with a special sauce and egg. A classic, really, and always good. It also became famous because in many detective stories a suspect would be tempted to confess using a Katsudon, after many hours of interrogation without food or sleep.

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Fukui's Sauce Katsudon

Sauce Katsudon
A specialty of Fukui, differing from normal Katsudon through the difference in meat (its port alright, but a different part), the different breading and the different sauce used. The sauce is served in a separate dish, the customer can adjust the intensity of the flavor to his liking.

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Tempuradon

Tempuradon
Fried shrimp (or other seafood) over rice. A bit dry, but good nevertheless.

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Hamburg steak

Hamburg steak
A burger patty with sauce, served with or without fried egg and with a side of rice. Another classic in Japanese households and inspired by the American burger.

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Hiroshima's Oysters

Oysters - Hiroshima-style
Local oysters from Hiroshima, grilled right in front of you.

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Summer curry

Curry
The Japanese love curry, its a common dish in pretty much every household. Without giving favor to any kind one can safely say that a Japanese curry exists, different but not inferior to its ancestor from India. Curry is served pretty much everywhere and there are several food chains offering only different curry dishes. And there are a lot, really. The one in the pictures had summer vegetables and chicken in it.

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Giant Apple

Giant fruit and veggies
Found those apples in the picture at a market and yeah, they are big. Almost to big to finish one in one go. Also, there are many other fruits and vegetables that are way larger than those I am used to and readily available in every super market.

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I will do a post for food on the go in the future, featuring Convenience Store lunches and Ekiben.
Oh, and yeah, I do get weird looks sometimes when I take pictures of the things I am eating.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

written by

JuergenS on July 25, 2010 from Kyoto, Japan

from the travel blog: Two month of Japan

tagged Culinary

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