Nagoya: Home to Japan’s most unique cuisine?

By Patrick St. Michel, CNN
Updated 10:13 AM EST, Fri November 11, 2016
Curry udon noodles are a Nagoya specialty. So much so that restaurants compete to see who can come up with the best curry roux. The curry roux is mixed with chicken broth and Japanese soup stock, then poured over udon noodles.
Curry udon —
Curry udon noodles are a Nagoya specialty. So much so that restaurants compete to see who can come up with the best curry roux. The curry roux is mixed with chicken broth and Japanese soup stock, then poured over udon noodles.
Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office
Nagoya's style of cooking eel involves slitting it open along the belly then grilling it whole. The dish is divided into four portions and comes with condiments as well as a broth, which is poured over it.
Hitsumabushi (Grilled eel on rice) —
Nagoya's style of cooking eel involves slitting it open along the belly then grilling it whole. The dish is divided into four portions and comes with condiments as well as a broth, which is poured over it.
Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office
Kishimen are broad, flat noodles served with a broth that features a touch of sweet sake seasoning. Dried bonito shavings are tossed on the dish before serving.
Kishimen (Flat noodle) —
Kishimen are broad, flat noodles served with a broth that features a touch of sweet sake seasoning. Dried bonito shavings are tossed on the dish before serving.
Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office
What makes Nagoya's miso unique is the use of dark-colored soybeans. In this dish, the aka-miso (red bean paste) is made into thick sauce by adding broth and seasonings then poured over a pork cutlet.
Miso-katsu (Pork cutlet with miso sauce) —
What makes Nagoya's miso unique is the use of dark-colored soybeans. In this dish, the aka-miso (red bean paste) is made into thick sauce by adding broth and seasonings then poured over a pork cutlet.
Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office
The base is clear soup made with a stock of dried bonito, shiitake mushroom, kombu kelp and other ingredients, and the soup is seasoned with thick soy sauce and sweet sake. What is special about the Nagoya style is the use of hatcho-miso, the salty red miso paste made only from beans without using koji rice malt.
Miso nikomi (Noodles in miso broth) —
The base is clear soup made with a stock of dried bonito, shiitake mushroom, kombu kelp and other ingredients, and the soup is seasoned with thick soy sauce and sweet sake. What is special about the Nagoya style is the use of hatcho-miso, the salty red miso paste made only from beans without using koji rice malt.
Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office
Thickly sliced and toasted bread is dabbed with margarine or butter, then topped with ogura-an -- sweet red bean paste. It's a popular snack at Nagoya coffee shops.
Ogura toast (Red bean paste on toast) —
Thickly sliced and toasted bread is dabbed with margarine or butter, then topped with ogura-an -- sweet red bean paste. It's a popular snack at Nagoya coffee shops.
Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office
Ground pork, Chinese chives, green onions and bean sprouts are seasoned with red peppers and other spices, fried, then placed on boiled ramen noodles in a soy sauce-based soup. Though the name suggests it comes from Taiwan, it was actually born in Nagoya.
Taiwan ramen —
Ground pork, Chinese chives, green onions and bean sprouts are seasoned with red peppers and other spices, fried, then placed on boiled ramen noodles in a soy sauce-based soup. Though the name suggests it comes from Taiwan, it was actually born in Nagoya.
Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office
Tebasaki is so much more than just deep-fried chicken wings. The wings are seasoned then fried without batter. They're basted with sauce on both sides while being turned, seasoned with salt and pepper, and coated with white sesame seeds.
Tebasaki (Fried chicken) —
Tebasaki is so much more than just deep-fried chicken wings. The wings are seasoned then fried without batter. They're basted with sauce on both sides while being turned, seasoned with salt and pepper, and coated with white sesame seeds.
Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office
Nagoya: Japan's rising culinary star

Story highlights

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, is headquartered in Nagoya

City's most famous dish is miso-katsu, a fried pork cutlet slathered in miso sauce

CNN  — 

Japan’s Aichi prefecture has long been known for its automotive industry, anchored by homegrown car manufacturer Toyota.

Yet in recent years, the region has become just as celebrated for the food originating from Aichi’s capital city, Nagoya.

Fittingly, part of the charm of the metropolis’ cuisine is owing to an approach that’s also made the nearby automaker such a force.

“One of Nagoya cuisine’s unique points is how we constantly find new value for existing dishes,” says Masumi Arakawa of the Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office, a group tasked with raising awareness of the city’s food.

“I think that it’s the same as Toyota and their method to production – they keep improving on what they’ve made.”

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    • You’d think it would be tough to further enhance local menu staples such as miso-katsu, a fried pork cutlet slathered in a rich miso sauce renowned in Aichi, and tebasaki, a fried chicken wing enriched with a salty-sweet concoction and signature sprinkling of sesame seeds.

    But Nagoya’s local eats, served in countless restaurants and staples of family cooking, have gone from a small-town sensation to a national point of pride for the city.

    A study conducted by the city of Nagoya related to domestic tourism found that more people visited the area to enjoy the food (50.9%) than to see the famed Nagoya Castle (49.9%).

    MORE: Toyota Kaikan: Inside one of the world’s most fascinating factory tours

    Nagoya meshi

    Nagoya’s local food – referred to in Japanese as “Nagoya meshi” – has a long and storied history within the region, with many of the signature dishes dating back to ancient times.

    Arakawa says Nagoya meshi is rivaled only by Okinawan food as being the most unique in Japan.

    A lot of that is owed to most dishes prominently featuring red soybean miso, a special variety of miso produced only in Aichi and a few surrounding areas.

    It features different ingredients and takes longer to ferment than regular rice miso.

    Miso-katsu: Easy to see why it's Nagoya's most famous dish.
    Miso-katsu: Easy to see why it's Nagoya's most famous dish.
    Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office

    Similarly, Arakawa stressed the soy sauce utilized in Nagoya meshi has a different taste than other versions, along with a darker color.

    This unique base for most of Nagoya’s dishes meant that, for a long time, those outside of the region didn’t seek out these dishes.

    “The trigger was Expo 2005 in Nagoya,” Arakawa says.

    “The media started talking extensively about Nagoya food.”

    The Nagoya-meshi Promotion Office launched soon after as a way to promote the city’s food nationally and, eventually, worldwide.

    MORE: 25 Japanese foods we can’t live without

    Nagoya’s culinary stars

    Arakawa points to five dishes in particular that have proven popular all over the country: miso-katsu; tebasaki; hitsumabushi (pieces of eels coated in the local take on soy sauce, served on top of rice); miso nikomi (udon-style noodles served in a rich miso broth); and kishimen (a slightly thicker type of noodle served in a soup combining both of the key tastes of Nagoya cuisine).

    That only scratches the surface of dishes that draw people from all corners of Japan to Aichi.

    Nagoya has developed its own take on what it calls “Taiwan ramen,” a spicier variety of the famous noodle.

    Mixing elements of the eastern island with Aichi touches, it’s the city’s interpretation of what they would slurp down in Taiwan, introduced at the restaurant Misen in 1960.

    Can’t beat the originals

    More and more Nagoya-centric restaurants are opening in cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, and they do a great job capturing the miso-centric taste of the city.

    There are even festivals devoted to Nagoya meshi popping up across the nation.

    But there’s no better place to taste this emerging cuisine than in the heart of Aichi, where it all began.

    For tebasaki, that means going to Furaibou, though the chain Yamachan will do in a pinch (and can be found nationwide).

    For miso-katsu, you’ll feel full if you hit up Tonkatsu Ishikawa and get one of their combos.

    MORE: Japan’s wanko soba challenge: The ultimate all-you-can-eat noodle binge

    Patrick St. Michel is a freelance journalist living in Tokyo, Japan.

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