Akita's famous local foods

 Akita's northern location has a large amount of regional local foods that just makes your mouth water, a large amount has to due with the amount of rice, meat and fish that are fount in the area. If in Akita going to a local restaurant you can find these dishes just waiting to be consumed:


1.Kiritanpo(きりたんぽ)

This is a famous dish that is made in Akita, the way it is made is when white rice is pounded, until it is smoothly mashed into a near paste product, then it is formed into cylinders and put around a Japanese cedar skewer, and toasted over an open hearth. Kiritanpo can be served with sweet miso paste, or as a kind of dumpling or noodle in soup or nabe dishes. However a very famous dish that is eaten with Kiritanpo is Kiritanpo Nabe.

     

 

  This dish is very well known in Akita, and is basically a hot pot with Kiritanpo in it, a large amount of other ingredients and a soup base substance are also put in it, these could usually include: chicken, beef, mushrooms, burdock roots, Japanese long onions, seri, and etc.

2.  Inaniwa Udon

This is another famous dish in Akita, compared to other Udon noodles which are usually thick these noodles are thin in comparison. They are easy to slurp and very chewy. They are made in the Inaniwa area of Inakawa machi, which is in Akita. These noodles are hand stretched and cream colored. The way they are made is that the udon is kneaded on a starchy-floured board and flattened before drying, and perhaps the most important part of the making process is the repeated hand-kneading that follows. The noodles get kneaded and gradually shaped into their final form, and are then ready to be aged for a while. Due to the fact the fact that they cannot make the noodles in large quantities and it has to be man made.


3.Hata Hata Zushi

This is known as the "God Fish" dish. The fish which is called the Hata Hata, is really sticky and strange looking, this is due to the fish having no scales. It is usually eaten as a sushi and is one of the most famous dishes in Akita. This is due to the fact the fish is mostly found and sold in Akita. With the preparation of the dish, the fish is salted then unsalted. After which it is marinated in a mixture of rice, koji malt, turnips, carrots, and kombu seaweed.


4.Yokote yakisoba

This dish is a very interesting one it is a dish of buck wheat noodles with a stir fried mixture of cabbage and minced pork, as well as seasoned with some sweet sauce. The finishing touch is putting a sunny side egg on top of the noodles, and having a side serving of Fukujinzuke pickled vegetables.


















5.Hinai Jidori Oyako-don

The meaning behind the name of the food is, "parent and child." The dish is made with succulent Hinai Jidori chicken, that is stir fried to keep the thick, juicy meat flavor trapped inside. The eggs are cooked very softly, and hold the flavor of the meat to top the rice. However when the egg and the rice are cooked together the flavor gets 10 times better.