6 Authentic Japanese Local Side Dishes – Hidden Gems of Japanese Cuisine

1. Side Dish Using Kagoshima’s Specialty, Pork Miso

Ingredients (2 servings)

Pork miso
・2.8 oz (80g) Pork belly
・Half clove of Garlic (grated)☆
・Half piece of Ginger (grated)☆
・1.4 oz (40g) Miso paste☆
・2.5 tbsp Brown sugar (Raw sugar)☆
・1 tbsp Mirin☆
・1 tsp Sake☆
・1/2 tsp Dashi powder or 2 tbsp Dried bonito flakes☆

Stir-fry
・1-2 tbsp Pork miso
・3.5 oz (100g) Eggplant
・3.5 oz (100g) Kabocha squash
・1.7 oz (50g) Bell peppers
・1 tsp Oil

Direction

1.  Mince pork. Cook the pork with ☆ in a frying pan. Dissolve the brown sugar thoroughly and cook until the overall liquid is reduced and thickened.

2.  Cut your favorite vegetables and stir-fry them with a little oil.

3.  Add 1-2 tbsp pork miso you made at step1. Mix well.

2. Aomori (Tsugaru)’s Local Cuisine, Braised Green Beans

Ingredients (2 servings)

・5 oz (140g) Green beans
・6.3 oz (180g) Shirataki (Noodles made from konnyaku)
・1 sheet of Thin fried tofu
・3.5 oz (100g) Pork
・A pinch of Salt and pepper
・1 tsp Oil

・2 tbsp Soy sauce☆
・1 tbsp Sake☆
・1 tbsp Sugar☆
・1 tbsp Mirin☆
・A pinch of Dashi powder (optional)

Direction

1.  Wash shirataki well and cut in places with scissors or a knife. Cut other ingredients into bite-sized pieces.

2.  Oil the pan, and stir-fry shirataki. Add other ingredients, and sprinkle salt and pepper on the pork. Stir-fry for a while.

3.  Season them with ☆. Fry until the liquid is reduced.

3. Hokkaido’s Local Cuisine, Chan-Chan Style Salmon

Ingredients (2 servings)

・4.6 oz (130g) Salmon
・3.5 oz (100g) Bean sprouts
・2 oz (60g) Cabbage
・2 oz (60g) Onion
・1 oz (30g) Carrot
・10g Butter
・2 tbsp Miso paste☆
・2 tbsp Mirin☆
・1 tsp Chicken stock powder☆
・Salt and pepper

Direction

1.  Cut salmon and vegetables into small pieces.

2.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the salmon. Fry salmon with butter until they are almost cooked. Take out once.

3.  Stir-fry vegetables and when onion get soft, return the salmon and add ☆. Mix well and add more salt and pepper if needed.

4. Fukushima’s Local Cuisine, Daikon Mochi

Ingredients (2 servings)

・8.5 oz (240g) Daikon radish
・2-3 tbsp Minced green onion
・0.7 oz (20g) Crab sticks (Imitation crab meat)
・1 tbsp Flour☆
・1 tbsp Potato starch☆
・A pinch of Dashi powder☆
・A pinch of Salt and pepper☆
・1 tsp Oil
・Nori seaweed (optional)

Sauce
・1 tsp Sake★
・1 tsp Soy sauce★
・1 tsp Mirin★
・A little Butter★

Direction

1.  Grate daikon. Lightly squeeze the water out of the daikon. In a mixing bowl, combine squeezed daikon, cut crab sticks, minced green onion, and ☆. Mix well.

2.  Form into a thin, round shape and fry in an oiled pan. Cook for 6 minutes and turn over when cooked through. Cover and steam over low heat for 4 minutes.

3.  Finally, remove the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the ★ and toss well. When slightly cooled, wrap with nori seaweed, if desired.

5. Okinawan’s Local Cuisine, Fu Champuru (Stir-fry)

Ingredients (2 servings)

・1 oz (30g) Fu (Wheat gulten cake)
・3.5 oz (100g) Bean sprouts
・2.5 oz (70g) Onion
・2 oz (60g) Pork belly or Bacon or Spam
・1 oz (30g) Carrot

・2 Eggs
・1 tsp Sake☆
・1 tsp Soy sauce☆
・A pinch of Dashi powder☆

・2 tsp Oil
・A pinch of Salt and pepper
・A pinch of Dashi powder
・A pinch of MSG (optional)

Direction

1.  Soak fu (wheat gluten cake) in water for 20 minutes to fluff. Then squeeze out the water well and tear into bite-sized pieces.

2.  In a mixing bowl, combine egg with ☆. Put the fu in it and soak for 5 minutes.

3.  Oil the pan, and cook fu coated with egg until it’s fully cooked. Take out once.

4.  Cook the pork belly until crispy, season them with salt and pepper. Take out once.

5.  Fry onion and carrot in oil from pork. When they get soft, add bean sprout. Season them with salt and pepper.

6.  Return the fu and pork. Stir-fry and add dashi powder. Add more salt and pepper and a little MSG if needed.

6. Yamagata’s Local Cuisine, Dashi (with Cold Tofu)

Ingredients (2 servings)

Dashi (Yamagata Prefecture style pickles)
・4.6 oz (130g) Eggplant
・3.5 oz (100g) Cucumber
・1/2 oz (15g) Ginger
・1 Myoga ginger
・5 sheets of Shiso
・3 tbsp Soy sauce☆
・1 tbsp Mirin☆
・1/2 tbsp Sugar☆
・1/2 tbsp Rice vinegar☆
・1 tbsp Shio kombu (Shredded salted kombu)☆

・Your favorite tofu

Direction

1.  Wash all ingredients well and pat dry. Cut everything into very small cubes.

2.  In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients with ☆. Allow the flavors to soak in for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. (Stirring during the process is even better.)

3.  Serve over rice or cold tofu as desired.