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2016.02.10
Wild grapes are grown in the cold mountains.
They contain much polyphenol especially.
Hakusan Winery in Ono City, Fukui Prefecture produces the wild grape wine.
The wine has a sweet-and-sour taste but also you can feel the strength of wild species.
I like that, too.
It also would be nice to have hot wine on a cold winter’s night
as it makes warm your body from inside. (H.S)
2016.02.07
“New Year's Market” in Katsuyama which we have introduced in our previous staff blog,
they sold many products such as local foods, handmade products which they made with things from their farms, kitchen appliances, and so on.
This is one of the farmer’s markets. They are making buckwheat noodle (Soba in Japanese).
Did you know that buckwheat noodle was made as emergency food at first?
One of the local specialties in Fukui, buckwheat noodle, the beginning of it was during the Warring State Period in Japan.
Because it was in the middle of that, people at that time needed any food that can be grown and cooked very easily.
Buckwheat can be grown anywhere even in wastelands.
Therefore, Asakura Takakage 10th family head in Echizen (the old name ot Fukui),
he gave an order for farmers to grow buckwheat.
After that, “Echizen Oroshisoba” (Oroshisoba is the one served with grated Japansese radish on top) which Emperor Showa really liked and named,
“Tempura soba” ( One served with deep-fried vegetables and or shrimp) which is a big meal,
“Kake soba” (The one that is simply served in soup) and so on have been loved by many people since it’s beginning.
T.F
2015.12.14
It is fair to say that ramen is the national food of the Japanese.
I like it too, of course!
And it is also popular with foreign tourists.
The other day I ate one with thick vegetable potage and
blended miso at a ramen shop “Iwamoto-ya” in Fukui City.
It was thick but subtly sweet and it warmed me up through to my body’s core.
The red ramen in the photo is a spicy one.
You can choose its hotness from level one to five. (H.S)
2015.11.17
On November 15th, we visited the crab festival in Mikuni, Fukui. As we got out of Mikuni seaport station, we saw just boiled and steaming crabs, the king of crab, “Echizen Gani” laid there with “the yellow tags”.
Only the crabs that were caught in Echizen sea can be called “Echizen Gani” and have the yellow tags. In 1997, Echizen fishermen’s union started putting the yellow tags on every “Echizen Gani” to protect their brands from scam crab dealers from all over the world. There used to be many of dealers that were using the name “Echizen” even they didn't catch crabs in Echizen sea. The length of the yellow tag is 20 centimeters and is put on crab hands(scissors) and the only way of cutting it is to use knife or scissors.
There were 3 main kinds of crabs which are “Seiko crab” (small ones), “Waka crab” (medium size and soft) and “Echizen crab” (biggest one and expensive). The prices of those crabs were much cheaper than purchasing them in the city. The biggest crabs that have ever been caught in Fukui prefecture were a carapace width of 158 millimeters, taken of a male crab, and 98millimeters, from a female one.
T.F
2015.11.16
At “Senko no Ie” in Sakai city, Fukui prefecture, you can enjoy a simply-cooked dish called “Sobagaki” as well as “Jyuwari Soba” (buckwheat noodles which are made of buckwheat grown in the local area).
Charlotte, who loves buckwheat noodles, had “Sobagaki” for the first time.
“Sobagaki” is a mixture comprised of kneaded buckwheat flour with hot water-it’s like “Ochirashi (roasted wheat)”. Actually it is 100% buckwheat four.
You can cut the “Sobagaki” into small pieces and dip it into a variety of condiments, soy sauce with wasabi, soybean flour or brown sugar syrup.
Charlotte’s favorite condiment was the first one, soy sauce and wasabi.
I will tell you more about this another time.
T.S
