Uncover one of the best eats in Tokohu’s largest metropolis with our complete Sendai meals information. From the famed gyutan to inexperienced gyozas, there may be a lot to take pleasure in!
Sendai, the capital metropolis of Miyagi Prefecture and the most important metropolis in Tohoku is called the gateway to northern Japan. Only a one-and-a-half-hour shinkansen trip from Tokyo, Sendai has a wealthy historical past and meals tradition, making it a must-go vacation spot in your subsequent journey to Japan.
We’ll discover Sendai’s native delicacies and offer you some suggestions and insider information on the place to search out them on this Sendai Meals Information.
Beef Tongue (Gyutan)
Beef tongue, also called gyutan in Japanese (牛タ), is Sendai’s most well-known delicacy. Throughout the Nineteen Fifties, straight after the conflict, the late Keishiro Sano, the primary proprietor of the famend restaurant “Aji Tasuke,” began to grill beef tongue. Throughout that interval, many American troopers stationed in Sendai usually ate beef however discarded the tongue. Japan’s mottainai (don’t waste) tradition impressed Sano to easily grill the meat tongue and serve it alongside tail soup and barley rice. Because of meals shortages on the time, barely rice was used for its excessive dietary worth and ease of filling the abdomen.
Gyutan shortly gained reputation and with good purpose. Merely grilled over charcoal with salt, you may benefit from the slight crunch and tenderness of the tongue. It’s usually paired with varied pickles so as to add a deeper taste but in addition to assist reduce via its meatiness.
If there may be one dish you need to attempt in Sendai, it’s gyutan. You will discover specialty outlets all around the metropolis that may be troublesome to select from. Heading to gyutan’s origins at Aji Tasuke is a straightforward alternative, but it surely may also be crowded. Gyutan Tsukasa is one other improbable possibility, shut by Sendai Station. It presents gyutan set meals in addition to gyutan sausages, meatballs, and a complete assortment of delicacies that can tantalize your style buds.
Zunda
The Tohoku area is a significant producer of edamame or younger soybeans. Whereas they’re usually loved as a snack alongside a chilly glass of beer, you may as well discover them mashed up as zunda. Made by boiling, mashing, and seasoning edamame, zunda will be present in varied sweets, desserts, and drinks!
While you arrive at JR Sendai Station, head to Zunda Saryo, the place you may take pleasure in their well-known zunda shake and zunda mochi! They even supply zunda delicate serve and parfaits if you’re within the temper for sweets. When wandering the station, you’ll additionally have the ability to discover some zunda mochi bins, which make for the proper Sendai memento!
Zundai was stated to have originated from one among Japan’s most well-known samurai, Date Masamune, who based the Sendai space. Whereas on the battlefield, Date crushed his edamame utilizing the deal with of his sword, often called a Jindachi. He served the crushed edamame to others alongside some mochi, incomes the identify Jindachi Mochi, which ultimately turned zunda mochi.
Sendai Beef
Though it might not be widespread, Miyagi Prefecture has a thriving livestock trade. Whereas the nationwide common variety of animals per farm is 62, in Miyagi, that quantity is lower than half at 28. There are various small-scale farmers elevating every animal with care and time. As well as, Miyagi is a rice-producing area with little rainfall and dry climate in autumn. This leads to the manufacturing of high-quality rice straw, which is a key consider producing marbled beef.
When folks consider beef, notably wagyu, the primary thought is Kobe beef. Nevertheless, Sendai beef is simply as scrumptious and is characterised by its delicate texture, mellow taste, and wealthy meat.
Whereas many steakhouses supply Sendai beef, we advocate yakiniku (Japanese BBQ). You may take pleasure in varied cuts, from skirt and sirloin to tongue and ribeye, with salt, wasabi, or a yakiniku sauce. Head to Yakiniku Gyujin Ichibancho for an expensive and unforgettable meal stuffed with native Sendai beef.
Oysters
The Sanriku Coast alongside Miyagi Prefecture is without doubt one of the world’s three main fishing grounds, with a number of the most interesting seafood in Japan. Oyashio and Kuroshio currents meet within the Sanriku Sea, creating plentiful provides of plankton that entice migratory fish all 12 months spherical. The calm waters are additionally ultimate circumstances for wakame and kombu farming, in addition to scallops and oysters.
The port city of Matsushima, only a 50-minute drive from Sendai, is famed for its oysters. Should you can’t go to Matsushima, you may benefit from the oysters in varied eating places and izakayas throughout Sendai Metropolis. For many who love oysters, we advocate heading to Kakiya no Kakiya. It’s a small oyster bar with a small menu comprising of all types of oysters! For lunch, they’ve oyster teishoku (set meals), together with kaki fry (deep-fried oysters) or uncooked oysters with a small aspect of kaisendon (contemporary seafood rice bowl).
You can too choose up a plate with rigorously sourced oysters from round Japan, together with the famed Matushima ones! Take pleasure in, style, and evaluate how the candy and cream oyster’s tastes change from area to area! In addition they have a spread of sake to pair for individuals who desire a drink!
Sasa Kamaboko
Talking of scrumptious seafood, sasa kamaboko is subsequent on our listing. Throughout the early Meiji Period (1868-1912), there was an extra provide of flounder. Nevertheless, with inadequate storage amenities and transportation, a lot of them have been thrown away. To fight the waste, folks began to grind the flounder meat right into a fish cake. It’s now often called sasa kamaboko (笹かまぼこ), or bamboo leaf fish cake.
Head to Abe Kamaboko-ten to choose up some sasa kamaboko souvenirs, or attempt grilling them your self! You should purchase sasa kamaboko on a stick on the counter and use the in-store grills so as to add a scrumptious char and smokiness to them.
You can too attempt the Hyotanage, that are fish desserts coated in batter and deep-fried until golden brown on the skin and juicy on the within.
Aoba Gyoza
Aoba Gyoza, or inexperienced leaf dumplings, are characterised by their vivid inexperienced shade. It has a definite shade from Sendai yukina, a inexperienced leafy vegetable that’s distinctive to the world. The gyoza pores and skin is usually thicker than conventional gyoza, including a barely chewier texture. The filling can be comparable however usually accommodates additional yukina, making it more healthy and decrease in energy!
You will discover the scrumptious inexperienced gyoza in varied eating places and izakayas all through town, however we advocate heading to Ichiban Goro ramen restaurant. Take pleasure in a steaming bowl of ramen alongside some earthy and scrumptious aoba gyoza!
Do you know that Aoba interprets to “inexperienced leaf,” but it surely additionally represents Sendai because it is called the “Metropolis of Bushes?”
Hiyashi Chuka
Hiyashi Chuka is a traditional summer season chilly noodle dish that’s stated to have originated in Sendai! Throughout the summer season of 1937, because the ramen gross sales began to drop due to the warmth, members of the Sendai Chinese language Delicacies Business Affiliation (presently the Miyagi Prefecture Chinese language Beverage Business Affiliation) created a chilly noodle dish referred to as Ryanbanmen. At first, the dish consisted of chilled noodles with boiled cabbage, salted cucumbers, carrots, and chashu pork. However after the conflict, as provides turned extra accessible, a contemporary model with luxurious toppings can now be loved with thinly sliced pork fillet, cucumber, ham, eggs, and jellyfish.
Because the noodles turn out to be chilled, they turn out to be chewier in texture and are served alongside a refreshing soy sauce-based sauce or a wealthy sesame sauce.
At Ryutei, the unique Hiyashi Chuka restaurant, you may select from both sauce, which comes with all of the colourful elements on the aspect, so you may choose and select the way you need to eat. Though it’s designed as a summer season dish, Hiyashi Chuka is scrumptious all 12 months spherical!
Seri Nabe
Miyagi Prefecture ranks because the primary produce of seri, or Japanese parsley, and is thought for its distinct earthy taste and edible roots. Throughout winter, seri is added to nabe (sizzling pot) with a soy sauce-based soup made with duck or hen inventory. It provides a wealthy quantity of vitamins and nutritional vitamins to maintain you wholesome in the course of the chilly however can be a textural delight.
The roots are barely crunchy, with an earthy style, whereas the higher stems are delicate, virtually chewy, with a herbaceous and bitter style. It comes with a aspect of hen or duck and Different typical nabe elements corresponding to tofu and negi (lengthy inexperienced onions), but it surely varies from store to buy.
You will discover seri nabe in lots of specialised eating places or native izakayas. One standard restaurant is Serisoan Sendai-Ekimae, which an area Sendai good friend really useful, however sadly, it was absolutely booked for the week! As a substitute, we tried an area izakaya referred to as Irori (いろり). The seri nabe got here with some tofu, gobo (burdock root), a big portion of seri, and a few hen thigh.
Sankaku Aburaage
Final on our listing is Sankaku Aburaage, or triangular deep-fried tofu. Aburaage is a standard Japanese ingredient utilized in dishes like miso soup. Nevertheless, what units sankaku aburaage aside is its thickness and triangular form.
We determined to move to the supply of sankaku aburaage, about 50 minutes from Sendai Metropolis, by automobile to Jogi Tofu Retailer. Inside you may see a number of signed papers of well-known personalities which have visited to get a chunk of their aburaage.
It seems it’s triangular in form as a result of it’s the best form for frying! Their kitchen has an oblong deep fryer, which means that the triangular form permits them to maximise and effectively deep fry probably the most quantity of tofu directly! It’s double fried, as soon as at 250°F (120°C) till cooked via after which once more at 375°F (190°C) till the skin is crispy.
The sankaku aburaage has a delightfully crispy exterior with a chewy inside, adopted by the aroma of soybeans. You may add soy sauce, garlic shichimi (seven spices), or common shichimi as you want. It makes for the proper snack after visiting the close by Jogi Nyorai Saihoji Temple!
Should you don’t have the possibility to go to the Jogi Tofu retailer, you may as well discover sankaku aburaage in some izakayas and eating places in Sendai Metropolis.
In order that was our listing of the Sendai specialties you need to attempt in northern Japan! We didn’t even understand how wealthy the meals tradition in Sendai is other than Gyutan, so all of us hope you get the possibility to go to! Within the feedback under, tell us what metropolis meals information you need to see subsequent!
If there’s any meals we left off of this Sendai meals information that we should always have coated, tell us within the feedback under.
