The Hiroshima’s local specialty food is “Hiroshima-style okonomoiyaki”.
While there are several other dishes made by topping or mixing vegetables and sliced pork with wheat flour batter, such as Kansai-style okonomiyaki and Monja-yaki (from Tokyo), Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is made with a unique recipe.
First, wheat flour batter is thinly spread in a round shape on a large griddle, topped with a generous quantity of vegetables, such as cabbage, bean sprouts and green onion, so that the inside is steamed. After being topped with Chinese noodles, it is flipped and the other side is grilled. The cooking process is finished by topping with okonomi sauce and sprinkling green laver.
Entering an okonomiyaki restaurant and taking a seat in front of a griddle, you may be able to watch the actual preparation.
The most popular menu is called “soba-niku-tama”, which includes Chinese noodles, sliced pork and an egg, and can be enjoyed for around 700 yen (per dish).
Another regular menu item is called “udon-niku-tama”, which includes udon noodles instead of Chinese noodles, and can be further topped with cheese, rice cake and oysters.
The palatability of Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki can be emphasized with a dedicated sauce. In Hiroshima-style okonomoiyaki, the dedicated sauce differs by restaurant. Some restaurants make their original sauce. This dedicated sauce can be bought as a souvenir at some okonomiyaki restaurants.
When eating Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, you can choose “griddle” or “plate”. “Griddle” means eating directly from the griddle, while “plate” means eating from a plate.
As a utensil, you can also choose either “spatula” or “chopsticks”. The spatula, a spoon-shaped steel tool, is used to scoop pieces of okonomiyaki from the griddle and transfer them to your mouth. There’s a knack to this!
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki restaurants are found all over the city.
There are even Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki complexes such as Okonomi-mura, Okonomi Kyowakoku Hiroshima-mura, and Hiroshima Okonomi Monogatari Ekimae Hiroba. Some restaurants serve Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki alone, and some restaurants offer side dishes such as Korean-style barbecue, sauteed vegetables, broiled oysters and oden (Japanese-style hotchpotch).
Six rivers run through Hiroshima City and drain into Hiroshima Bay.
Since these rivers carry nutrients from the Chugoku Mountains, seafood caught in Hiroshima Bay has very high nutritional value and rich flavor.
Above all, Hiroshima’s noted marine product, oysters, which are called “sea milk,” account for approximately 70% of Japan’s total oyster production. Every year, oyster harvesting begins from around September.
The best season for oysters is from November through February.
Generally, restaurants serve broiled oysters in their shells. These oysters are eaten plain or seasoned with soy sauce, ponzu (Japanese sauce made primarily of soy sauce and citrus juice) or lemon. Regardless of how it is served, the flavor is very special.
Deep-fried oyster is also popular.
Popular Japanese cuisine includes nabe (Japanese-style hotpot), in which ingredients are boiled in broth and eaten with friends in a group.
Dote-nabe is a well-known oyster nabe. First, the inner edge of the pot is coated with a mix of several types of miso. Then, oysters are added with vegetables to the broth in the pot and eaten while dissolving the miso. In addition, there are various oyster recipes such as broiling in shell, seasoning with ponzu or soy sauce, and deep-frying.
In Hiroshima, many restaurants serve oyster dishes. “Oyster boats”, which serve oyster dishes and have a parlor, providing services on rivers, are also well-known.
The annually-held “Oyster Festival” is a major event of Miyajima, one of the Three Top Beauty Spots of Japan. Visitors to this festival can enjoy fresh oysters in some direct sales stores established specially for the event. This festival has become a popular event among visitors to Hiroshima.
Due to its unique geography, the Seto Inland Sea provides different kinds of seafood all year round, compared to other port towns in Japan.
Fish can be served in so many ways, such as sashimi (fresh sliced raw fish), nitsuke (boiled with soy and sugar), broiling, deep-frying and tempura (deep frying in Japanese-style) that it is said that no part of the fish should be wasted.
Hiroshima’s local specialty from winter through the beginning of spring is a small sardine (anchovy). This sardine is very delicious when eaten sashimi-style after being dipped in soy sauce with grated ginger - a recipe which is one of Hiroshima’s local specialties. Tempura made with this sardine is also very popular.
The best season for sea bream is said to be from spring through the beginning of summer; sea bream dishes in Hiroshima are also famous, including broiled sea bream with salt as well as boiled rice with sea bream, and ikizukuri (slices of fresh raw fish arranged to look lifelike).
Hiroshima is also rich in octopus dishes, including sashimi, tempura, takowasa (raw octopus marinated in wasabi), and nitsuke.
As for shellfish, short-neck clams and freshwater clams are commonly prepared as sakamushi (steamed with sake) and in miso soup.
Many other types of fish, such as squid, black rockfish and amberjack, can also be enjoyed.
Entrance curtains and signs of restaurants that serve these types of seafood often show the words meaning “dishes of the Seto Inland Sea”.
Many izakayas (Japanese-style taverns), which do not specialize in Japanese cuisine, also serve these dishes.
Depending on the availability of ingredients, restaurants’ recommended dishes change every day. You should ask the restaurant staff about today’s special.
Every place in Japan has its own local ramen which is rooted in its food culture. Ramen has become one of Japan’s representative fast foods.
Types of noodles and ingredients of the soup vary according to the area.
There are unique ramens known by area names such as “Kitakata” and “Hakata” in various places across the country.
Hiroshima‘s typical ramen features thin noodles and chicken stock seasoned with soy sauce.
The most common ramen dish is topped with vegetables such as bean sprouts and sliced roast pork. However, different quantities and types of topping add variation to the menu.
One of Hiroshima’s original dishes is Hiroshima tsukemen (with noodles and broth served in different bowls).
Boiled noodles are cooled with iced water and eaten with vegetables such as shredded green onion and boiled cabbage after being dipped into a hot sauce spiced up with red pepper. This dipping sauce is a feature of Hiroshima tsukemen. The degree of spiciness can be adjusted to suit your taste. In addition to the above-mentioned toppings, various others, such as sliced roast pork and eggs can be prepared for this dish. The taste is said to be habit-forming.
These days, Hiroshima tsukemen has become popular in Tokyo as “Hiroshima’s hot & spicy tsukemen”.
The taste of sake changes depending on the elements contained in local water, or on whether it is made from hard water or soft water.
Generally, it is said that sake becomes dry when made from hard water, and sweet when soft water is used. Many types of sake in Hiroshima are the latter kind.
The taste of sake varies according to brand and product class, representing the style of each brewer. (This is where each maker can show their skills.) Since various types of sake are served in one restaurant, restaurant staff will recommend several brands if you let them know your taste.
Among Hiroshima’s brewers, Kamotsuru Sake Brewing Company, Kamoizumi Shuzou Co., Ltd. and Miyake Honten Sake Brewery Co Ltd., which brews a well-known sake brand “Senpuku”, are popular.
In Saijo, a well-known sake production district in Hiroshima, many white walled rice wine warehouses with 400-year histories stand side by side.
In the sake brewing season, the scent of sake wafts faintly through the air.
Every autumn, the Sake Festival is held all around Saijo station. Crowds of tourists come to taste samples of locally brewed sake from across Japan, and enjoy local dishes.
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