Hokkaido, known as a treasure trove of food, has a variety of local cuisine that reflects the food culture associated with its climate and history. In this issue, we will introduce 10 local dishes of Hokkaido recommended by Hokkaido-natives that you must try!

Jingisukan is a representative gourmet dish of Hokkaido. Lamb, mutton, or other mutton meat is grilled and eaten with vegetables in a semicircular pan with a raised center. There are two main types of Jingisukan: raw meat grilled and dipped in sauce, and seasoned meat marinated in a special sauce and grilled. Many families have their own Jingisukan pots, and it has long been a favorite local dish of Hokkaidou residents.

Zangi is the most popular fried chicken dish in Hokkaido. The chicken is marinated in a sweet and spicy soy sauce-based sauce before frying, giving it a stronger flavor than most fried chicken. It is said to have originated in Kushiro City, and now that it has spread throughout the whole prefecture, there is a profound difference in the recipe for seasoning the sauce used to marinate the chicken depending on the restaurant or household. It is a very popular and versatile dish served at taverns, cafeterias, and as a side dish for lunch boxes.

Salmon is topped with seasonal vegetables, wild vegetables, butter, and other ingredients and steamed with seasoned miso. Although the traditional style is to grill it on a large griddle, it is often eaten at home on a hot plate or in a pan with foil, and is a bold and easy dish unique to Hokkaido, which has a long history with salmon.

This is another fisherman's dish, with salmon as the main ingredient. It is said to have originated as a nabe dish that fishermen used to eat in between work, and chopped salmon was added to a miso soup nabe to celebrate a good catch of salmon. Nowadays, it is a standard nabe dish that is enjoyed by ordinary households during the cold winter months. Miso-nabe, which is made by simmering raw salmon meat and fish roe with vegetables, warms the body from the core.

Sanpeijiru is a soup made by stewing salted and preserved salmon and herring with vegetables such as carrots and daikon radish, taking advantage of the salty taste of the fish. It is similar to Ishikari nabe, which uses fresh salmon in miso broth, but Sanpeijiru uses salted salmon, and the fish and seasoning used vary from region to region.

Teppo soup is a miso soup with crab in it, and has long been eaten as a fisherman's dish in the Nemuro region. Hanasaki crabs landed in Nemuro are most commonly used, but hairy crabs and king crabs are also sometimes used. The crab's rich broth and miso soup are a perfect match, warming the body from the cold. The name is said to have come from the way the crab legs are poked with chopsticks, resembling the gesture of cleaning a gun.

Around September, when the salmon fishing season is at its peak, supermarkets and other stores are filled with musuko (salmon roe), and households make ikura (salmon roe) marinated in soy sauce. Often eaten as ikura donburi (salmon roe on top of rice) or sushi, the texture of the salmon roe is irresistible. The luxury of eating shiny salmon roe marinated in soy sauce with freshly cooked rice is unique to Hokkaido. It is also recommended to make oyakodon with salmon sashimi or grilled salmon.

In the Tokachi region, pig farming has been practiced since around the end of the Meiji era (1868-1912), and pork has been a familiar foodstuff. In the early Showa period (1926-1989), in Obihiro City, where pig farming was thriving, people wanted to make a dish that was cheaper than eels and would give them stamina, so they started serving rice topped with char-grilled pork and eel kabayaki-like sauce. It is a familiar dish at home with homemade sauce, and there are many famous restaurants in Obihiro City, the home of yakiyaki.

It is said that ikameshi was invented to save rice due to the shortage of rice during the war by using squid, which was caught in large quantities in the southern Hokkaido area at the time, and was first sold as an ekiben at Mori Station on the Hakodate Main Line. The squid body is stuffed with glutinous rice and cooked in a soy sauce-based broth to infuse it with the flavor of squid, making it a dish with both flavor and texture. It is popular as an ekiben, but can also be easily prepared at home.

Ramen is now more of a national dish than a local delicacy, but in cold Hokkaido, it has rapidly spread as part of the food culture since the end of World War II. There are many famous ramen stores throughout Hokkaido, each with its own unique characteristics, such as Sapporo's "miso ramen," Asahikawa's "soy sauce ramen," and Hakodate's "salt ramen," which are sure to please any ramen connoisseur. As such ramen is registered as a "Hokkaido Heritage", it is one of the soul foods that are inseparable from the people of Hokkaidō.

Check it out as well!