Okayama Food Guide

Okayama Stir-fried noodles, or Yakisoba, aren’t your regular Yakisoba. What makes Hiruzen Yakisoba special, is that it is made with cabbage picked from the Hiruzen-kogen in Okayama, and made with chicken. In addition, they are mixed with a miso-based sweet and spicy sauce, in contrast to the oyster sauce base used normally. 

 

Another unusual twist in traditional cuisine, is the Demi-glace Katsudon. Katsudon is usually prepared with fried pork cutlet with egg. But if you remove the egg, and add a thick demi-glace sauce over the cutlet, you get Demi-glace Katsudon. It was invented by a chef from Okayama, that was working as a trainee in Tokyo. This heavy hybrid of Japanese and Western food is bound to fill you up!

 

Meaning “Scattered Sushi”, this dish isn’t what you would typically think of when imagining Sushi. In fact, Sushi technically means “Vinegar Rice”, which justifies Barazushi, as it is basically a bowl of sushi rice with fresh vegetables and seafood mixed in. There are different varieties, from homemade simple dishes to extravagant hotel spreads that include shrimp, and expensive fish. Barazushi is definitely the best way to taste both Okayama’s mountain and sea in one bite.

White Peaches and other fruits

Okayama prefecture’s peaches are known for their particular sweetness and radiant skin. Because of the prefecture’s geography and mild climate, Okayama is suited for growing a wide variety of fruits including (but not limited to) Muscat grapes, Pione grapes, and strawberries. In fact, Okayama is known as the “Fruit Kingdom”!