Fukui

A katsudon called the soul food of Fukui. Pork pounded thin is coated in fine breadcrumbs, fried, dipped in a special Worcestershire-based sauce and laid over rice. There is no egg, so you can enjoy the crisp cutlet and the aroma of the sauce. It is said to have been born in Tokyo in the Taisho era and spread after it reached Fukui. You can try it at a long-established Western-style restaurant in Fukui City and at many other places in the prefecture. Many shops serve about three cutlets per bowl.

Typical price

¥900–1,300

Where

Fukui City and throughout Fukui

A local dish from Echizen City, formerly Takefu. An omelette over rice is topped with a pork cutlet and covered with demi-glace or another sauce, making a very filling Western-style meal. One theory links the name to the Volga River in Russia, but nobody really knows. The combination of fluffy egg, ketchup rice and crispy cutlet is loved by children and adults alike. You can find it at Western-style restaurants and cafes in Echizen City, and each shop uses a different sauce. Come hungry.

Typical price

¥900–1,300

Where

Echizen City

Fukui is said to be among the top prefectures in Japan for eating fried tofu. Large, thick pieces are grilled until golden, topped with grated daikon, green onion and bonito flakes, and drizzled with soy sauce. Crisp and fragrant outside and fluffy inside, it is full of juicy soybean flavor. One reason it is so popular is that fried tofu has long been used in vegetarian dishes for Hoonko, a Buddhist memorial service of the Jodo Shinshu sect. It goes well with both rice and drinks.

Typical price

¥500–900

Where

Throughout Fukui

The classic way to eat Echizen soba: cold buckwheat noodles topped with spicy grated daikon and a flavorful dashi-based sauce. The sharp bite of the daikon goes perfectly with the aroma of the soba, making it light and easy to eat. Some shops pour the daikon juice over the noodles, while others mix it into a dipping sauce, so styles vary. Bonito flakes and green onion are common toppings. There are many Echizen soba shops throughout the prefecture. It is a Fukui specialty you should not miss.

Typical price

¥700–1,200

Where

Throughout Fukui

A traditional preserved food of the Wakasa area: fish such as mackerel is salted, then packed in rice bran and aged for a long time. The fish's umami becomes concentrated, with saltiness and the distinctive aroma of rice bran. The standard way is to slice it thin, grill it lightly, and serve it with sake or rice. In ochazuke, with tea poured over rice, the saltiness softens and it becomes easy to eat. It has long been made in Wakasa fishing villages and is sold at souvenir shops and roadside stations. It is a popular drinking snack.

Typical price

¥800–2,000

Where

Wakasa area (Obama and around)

Male snow crab landed at ports in Fukui, called the king of winter delicacies. A yellow tag is attached as a mark of quality. The shells are packed with sweet meat and rich crab miso. You can enjoy it boiled, grilled, as sashimi or in a hot pot. The season is limited to winter, when many visitors come to hot spring inns along the Echizen Coast just for crab dishes. It is one of the greatest pleasures of a winter trip to Fukui. Prices vary widely by size and quality.

Typical price

From ¥10,000

Where

Echizen Coast (Echizen Town, Sakai and around)

Pressed sushi made of grilled fatty mackerel laid over vinegared rice. Grilling brings out the mackerel's aroma and flavor, so even people who dislike raw mackerel find it easy to eat. The Wakasa area thrived on mackerel and is known as the start of the Saba Kaido, the mackerel road to Kyoto. Grilled mackerel sushi is also popular as a station bento and an airport specialty. Warm it slightly and the fat melts, making it even tastier. It is sold at souvenir shops and stations in Obama and the Wakasa area.

Typical price

¥1,200–2,000

Where

Obama and the Wakasa area

A Wakasa specialty: a whole mackerel skewered on bamboo and slowly grilled over charcoal. Also called hamayaki saba, it offers fragrant grilled skin and plump, fatty flesh. You can eat it with ginger and soy sauce or flake it into mackerel rice. The Wakasa area is said to have had a custom of eating it during the rice-planting season. Fish shops and markets in Obama sell it, and some serve it freshly grilled. Biting straight into it is the local way.

Typical price

¥1,000–1,500 each

Where

Obama and the Wakasa area

Fukui's most famous sweet, made by kneading glutinous rice flour with sugar and starch syrup into a soft, smooth confection. It is named after habutae, a fine silk fabric produced in Fukui, for its thin, silky feel. In the mouth it is meltingly soft with an elegant, gentle sweetness. There are many variations, such as ones with soybean flour or red bean paste. It is widely sold at Fukui Station and souvenir shops in the prefecture. It is so thin and soft that people tear it off with their fingers.

Typical price

¥500–1,500

Where

Throughout Fukui

In Fukui, people have a custom of eating mizu yokan, a soft red bean jelly, in winter. Eating cold mizu yokan while sitting at a kotatsu heated table is a winter pleasure here. It usually comes poured into a flat paper box and is cut with the small wooden spatula provided. Most are made with brown sugar, lightly sweet and smooth going down. In winter, supermarkets and confectioners in the prefecture stock plenty of it. It is so light that some people finish a whole box in one go.

Typical price

¥500–1,000

Where

Throughout Fukui

A baked sweet packed with peanuts, made by a long-established Fukui confectioner. A dough of flour, eggs and sugar is generously mixed with roasted peanuts and baked until crunchy. The toasty peanuts and gentle sweetness make it hard to stop eating. It is a long-loved classic souvenir of Fukui, sold at Fukui Station and souvenir shops in the prefecture. Individually wrapped pieces make it easy to share. It also goes well with coffee or tea.

Typical price

¥1,000–2,000

Where

Throughout Fukui