Nagoya cuisine


Nagoya cuisine is a Japanese regional cuisine of the city of Nagoya and surrounding region in Central Japan. Due to differences in culture, historical contact between other regions, climate, vegetables, and other ingredients, Nagoya cuisine has unique features. Although many dishes derived from local tradition, Nagoya cuisine has also been inspired by foreign cuisines such as Taiwanese cuisine and Italian cuisine. Nagoya cuisine is often seasoned with hatchō miso, mame miso, or tamari, a type of soy sauce mainly produced in the Chūbu region. These condiments give strong taste to Nagoya cuisine.
Nagoya kōchin is a traditional ingredient of Nagoya cuisine. Shrimp is another specialty. Dishes inspired by foreign food, including various local spaghetti dishes and "Taiwanese" noodles, have become an increasingly significant part of Nagoya cuisine.

Local dishes

  • Tebasaki: Chicken wings marinated in a sweet sauce with sesame seeds and other seasoning. Similar to yakitori.
  • Kishimen: Flat udon noodles with a slippery texture, dipped in a light soy sauce soup and a sliced leek or other flavoring added. It can be eaten cold or warm.
  • Various dishes made with red miso:
  • * Misokatsu: Pork cutlet with sweet miso sauce
  • * Miso nikomi udon: Hard udon stewed in miso soup
  • * Miso oden: Miso-flavored oden stew
  • ** Doteni: A dish of pork or beef innards stewed with soybean miso common in the Tōkai region, considered a type of miso oden. Often stewed with daikon and konnyaku. Elsewhere in Japan, it is made with soy sauce stock and is called motsuni.
  • * Dotenabe: Miso nabemono with meat and vegetables
  • Ogura toast: Toast spread with adzuki red bean paste and optionally butter. Originating in Nagoya, it is commonly served for breakfast as part of "morning service" in cafés in Aichi Prefecture.
  • Hitsumabushi: A rice dish with unagi in a lidded wooden container. This dish is enjoyed three ways: as unadon, with seasoning, and as chazuke.
  • Nagoya kōchin: A special breed of free-range chicken cross-bred between Nagoya chicken and a Cochin. The time until maturity is 2.5 times that of broiler chicken and its meat is juicy and tender, without a strong scent.
  • * Toriwasa: Sashimi made of Nagoya kōchin, using the flesh, liver, heart, and gizzard.
  • Ankake spaghetti: Spaghetti noodles in thick, starchy, slightly spicy, tomato-based sauce and topped with vegetables or meat, or other toppings such as cheese, eggs, or corn.
  • Taiwan ramen: Spicy ramen with soy sauce-based soup, topping a mixture of ground pork, garlic, and chili pepper powder, along with chives or bean sprouts. Created in Nagoya in the 1970s by a Taiwanese chef.
  • Uirō: Rice dumplings made by mixing rice flour with sugar and then steaming the mixture. The name is said to have come from a Chinese medicine that resembled it in color; it is assumed that the medicine was brought by Chinese medicine vendors to Japan before the 15th century.
  • Tenmusu: Rice balls wrapped in nori with tempura at the center. This dish originated in Tsu, Mie Prefecture and became popular in Nagoya.
  • Moriguchizuke: Pickles made of Moriguchi daikon. The radish, about one and a half meters long and two centimeters in diameter, is pickled in barrels of sake and other seasoning. Due to their length, radishes must be packed along the inner wall of the barrel, one on top of the other.
  • Oni manjū: A traditional sweet and type of manjū. The main ingredients are flour and sweet potato.
  • Tamasen: A street food commonly served at festivals made with rice crackers sandwiching a fried egg, okonomiyaki sauce, and mayonnaise.
  • Shiruko sando biscuits: Crunchy biscuits with red bean.