Kanazawa’s best traditional dishes you should try

Kanazawa’s three traditional dishes you should try

Jibu-ni

‘Jibu-ni’ is one of Kanazawa’s most popular local cuisines. The dish is made by simmering flour-coated duck or chicken, vegetables, and Kanazawa’s unique Sudare-fu (a wheat gluten) in a salty sweet sauce. Wasabi is then put on top to add seasoning. The thick sauce, the rich sweetness of the meat, and the flavor from wasabi create a well-balanced harmony. Jibu-ni can be sampled in Japanese restaurants such as Ryotei (Japanese restaurant with a zashiki-style floor) and Kappo (counter-style Japanese restaurant).

Posted on 01/07/2015

Often served at celebratory occasions such as wedding banquets, this dish features a sea bream that has been filleted and stuffed with “Okara” (soy pulp) and steamed. Usually, the day before the wedding, the family of the bride bring a large male and female sea bream to the restaurant and have them cooked as a side show to the wedding. The dish is prepared by stuffing the two sea bream with okara through a cut in their backs. It is considered a harbinger of bad luck for the fish to be cut through their stomachs, since this is reminiscent of the traditional Japanese method of ritual suicide. The fish are then steamed and served on a plate with their stomachs facing each other. Since the fish has been plumped up through stuffing, it is said that it contains wishes of being blessed with good children and prosperity.

Jibu-ni Cooking Class

Aoki Cooking School holds a Jibu-ni cooking class where you can learn how to make Jibu-ni and taste it. The school is located on a corner of the Nagamachi Samurai district along the Onosho canal.

Address: 1-1-17 Nagamachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa

Time/Date: 16:00 – 17:00 every day

Fee: 2,160 yen per person (Reservation required one day in advance.)

Email: acs@aokicooking.com

Photo: Kanazawa City

Photo: Kanazawa City

Kabura-zushi is a slice of Japanese white turnip pickled in salt (Kabura), and fillets of yellowtail amberjack marinated in Kohji (rice malt). It is a Kanazawa local specialty during the winter months and is often bought as a gift. It is a luxury pickle in which you can enjoy the crunchiness of Kabura and the sweetness of the yellowtail, and is a familiar taste for the citizens of Kanazawa. People pickle it at home or buy it from their favorite shops.

Daikon-zushi is another pickle, made from Japanese radish (Daikon) and Nishin (herring) and is enjoyed as a popular accompaniment to sake. It is often made around the end of November when the cold weather sets in and is also eaten as a New Year cuisine.