Fabulous Fukuoka

Fukuoka

Sweet meets Salty

With dishes that boast a complex, nuanced profile, spanning – and combining – the spectrum from sweet to salty, Fukuoka’s flavours will satisfy the best of both worlds.

With its proximity to both the coastline and the mountains, Kyushu is renowned for its abundant resources. Be it fresh seafood from the surrounding seas, or mineral-rich water from the mountains, the prefectures in the region are blessed with plenty of ingredients to work with when it comes to their signature dishes.

Situated at the northern tip of the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands, Fukuoka leads the way when it comes to the prefecture’s culinary prowess. The list of food that comes to mind when you think of Fukuoka is never-ending (and drool-inducing) – mentaiko, ramen, mizutaki, the list goes on. Of course, there’s no leaving out yatais, the street stalls that dot the city at night, which have since become a rare occurrence in all other parts of Japan. The dishes available vary from one yatai to another, but whether they serve up yakitori, ramen or oden, a lively, convivial atmosphere is the one constant.

Similarly, whether you choose to dine on seafood, poultry or red meats when in Fukuoka, you’ll find most of the dishes have a sweet and salty flavour profile – from the shoyu you dip your sashimi into, to the glaze coating your grilled meats, and the Worcestershire sauce served alongside yaki-ramen (fried ramen).

The city of Yanagawa’s famed specialty dish, unagi no seiro-mushi (basket-steamed eel) perfectly illustrates all the highlights of Fukuoka’s culinary profile. In contrast with the rest of Japan, where grilled eel is simply placed atop steamed rice, the story goes that a chef who learned how to cook unagi no kabayaki in Honshu (the Mainland) returned to Yanagawa and, inspired by Kyushu people’s love for sweet and salty flavours, came up with this twist on cooking the popular dish.

At Shukeitei Japanese Restaurant on the grounds of Ohana, for example, this dish is made using eel fresh from the neighbouring Ariake Sea, which is grilled then placed atop a bed of rice mixed with tare (stewed sweetened shoyu), topped with finely chopped fried egg, and steamed in a bamboo container. This allows the taste of the eel to soak deep into the tare-cooked rice, making for a dish that is equal parts sweet and salty, and completely tasty. It celebrates all the best parts of Fukuoka’s culinary heritage, as well as perfectly represents the meticulous, yet warm and well-rounded, character of its people.