Dining with the Chef.

Hello, welcome to Cook Around Japan. I'm Hayashi Ryohei.

Today, we're exploring Hakodate in southern Hokkaido.

Hakodate is a treasure trove of seafood, and because of its history as a major trading port,

it has a vibrant food culture that can only be found here in Japan.

So today, I'd like to explore the delicious local cuisine that you can look forward to enjoying in Hakodate.

Let's explore Japanese cuisine in greater depth.

Japan is a chain of islands approximately 3,000 km long from North to South.

There is a large variation in climate, and the terrain of each region has given rise to a diverse culture of food.

Today's destination is Hakodote, on the southern tip of Japan's northernmost main island, Hokkaido.

There are direct flights connecting Hakodate to Japan's major cities.

And from Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido, it's accessible by train, bus, and car.

Rich in nature and history, it's one of the most beautiful cities in Japan, regardless of the season.

The stunning night view from Mt. Hakodate is world-famous and is said to be a sight worth seeing at least once in your life.

Surrounded by fertile waters, Hakodate is a treasure trove of seafood.

The diversity and quality of the harvest attract shoppers, including professional chefs from all over Japan.

It's particularly famous for its squid, which can be enjoyed all year round.

Local people love it and swear by it.

Our explorer is Hayashi Ryo-hei.

He's the owner and chef of a highly regarded restaurant in Tokyo,

who trained in Kyoto under one of the leading chefs of Japanese cuisine.

Let's join him as he explores Hakodate's distinctive food culture.

He's also going to show us how to make a local comfort food, that's become famous throughout Japan.

Wow! This is so good!

It has universal appeal.

Cook Around Japan, Hokkaido. Hakodate's Pride and Joy, Squid.

Hakodate is a scenic city that attracts tourists from far and wide.

A historic port that was one of the first to trade with the rest of the world,

it boasts a distinctly international flavor with many European-style buildings remaining.

Its cosmopolitan background is also reflected in its food culture.

Everyone's favorite, the ubiquitous - ramen.

But Hakodate's ramen is truely one of a kind.

It's a shio ramen, with a clear soup seasoned with salt, not soy sauce.

The soup made from chicken and pork bones, plus the simple ingredients,

make Hakodate ramen a favorite, both with locals and tourists.

Hakodate's biggest culinary attraction is its seafood.

The Hakodate Morning Market, is located right outside of Hakodate Station.

It houses around 250 shops and restaurants, featuring fresh seafood,

local specialties, souvenirs, and more.

It's the go-to place for sampling Hakodate's many delights.

There's a wide variety of seafood.

Located on a peninsula at the southern tip of Hokkaido where warm and cold currents converge,

Hakodate is blessed with an abundance of seafood, throughout the year.

So many horsehair crabs!

Hokkaido has several fishing grounds
with different fishing seasons.

So, you can always catch them.

All year round?

Yes, in different areas.

This "hokke" (Atka mackerel) looks good.

It's said to be a migratory fish, but
this one stays in the same place.

So it's called a "ne-hokke,"
a rooted "hokke."

The waters are rich, so they stay,
eat, and become fatty.

I love fish that's been salted
and dried under the sun.

It concentrates the flavor and aroma.

What's more, when grilled,
nothing goes to waste.

The bit of flesh on the bone is the best.

It's the fish version of spare ribs!

This part here.

I save the best for last.

Crab and sea urchin may be the crown jewels of seafood.

But the people of Hakodate have embraced a much humbler species.

Different species of squid come to Hakodate's waters in different seasons,

making it possible to enjoy squid throughout the year.

Visitors can expect to enjoy exceptionally fresh squid.

It takes about a year for the squid to reach maturity in the Sea of Japan.

They are caught, kept alive, and brought to market.

At the Morning Market, visitors can catch a freshly captured squid from a tank,

and have it prepared to order, on the spot.

How long have you been doing this?

About 20 years.

Wow!

No wonder you're so good at this.

Interesting, isn't it?

People don't get to see squid
being prepared right before them.

First, I'll try it on its own.

The texture is unbelievable. You can only
get this from freshly caught squid.

It's so sweet.

Eating freshly caught local fish.
What a treat!

Strolling through the market, visitors will discover other ways to enjoy squid.

Drying, preserves and concentrates the squid's umami.

"Noshi-ika" is dried squid that's been stretched thin and grilled.

- Here you go.
- Piping hot. It's so thin!

Like paper.

It's easy to eat and so tasty.

It'll make for a great souvenir.

This is a huge one.

Have people been making and enjoying
"noshi-ika" here for a long time?

In the old days, festival vendors
would grill and roll dried squid.

By hand.

Yes, using hand-operated rollers.

It's a much-loved delicacy in this area.

The people of old came up with this ingenious method for shipping locally caught squid across Japan.

Dried and grilled squid is pressed and stretched thin.

This preserves the squid and concentrates the flavor.

It's a traditional, easy-to-eat snack.

The Hakodate people's love for squid has given rise to some unusual products.

This is also dried squid.

What on earth!?

It's nothing new. It's a sake bottle
and cup made from dried squid.

Never seen this before.

Smell the aroma?

Wow, this is something.

You pour hot sake into it.

Yes, I see.

It's edible.

It's savory, so no need for a snack.

There's a remarkable variety of
products, all made in different ways.

Squid mats, sake bottles,
"noshi-ika," etc.

The ideas people come up with to
enjoy eating. It's amazing.

The aroma, flavor, and texture of　
processed squid is something else.

It's so different from fresh squid.

It's something to think about when
enjoying different ways to eat squid.

As the squid capital of Hokkaido, Hakodate offers a diverse range of sumptuous squid dishes.

Deep-fried squid cakes made with chopped and pulverized squid.

Squid viscera, seasoned with sake and soy sauce cooked over an open fire in a shell.

A perfect appetizer for sake, that can only be made with the freshest squid.

The people of Hakodate will only eat squid sashimi, made with freshly caught squid.

It's a specialty well worth trying when visiting the city.

Records show that squid has been eaten in Hakodate for centuries.

"Suru-me" or dried squid was shipped across Japan.

"Suru-me" is used to make a gourmet food product, with a long and prestigious history.

"Suru-me" and other local products like "kombu" and herring roe are marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sake, and other seasonings.

It has a long shelf life and goes well with both sake and rice.

Made with what were once luxury ingredients, it's been compared to jewelry.

"Matsumae-zuke" dates back to the
19th century, the time of the "shoguns."

"Matsu-mae" is the name of a samurai clan that was given a monopoly on trade in Hokkaido during the Edo period.

"Kombu" and other marine products,

were shipped to the cultural centers of Kyoto and Osaka and traded for soy sauce and other coveted items.

This exchange of cultures led to the creation of these delicious pickles.

Today, "Matsu-mae-zuke," has become a popular New Year's food

because its luxury ingredients have symbolic, auspicious meanings.

It's an essential product.
I take pride in making it.

Hakodate isn't just about tradition.

It's constantly coming up with new squid dishes.

Napolitan, is a ketchup-flavored Japanese spaghetti with sausages, bell peppers, and onions.

Served on top is "Ika Poppo," a whole, grilled squid basted with a savory sauce.

It's a popular street food, that goes back many years.

"Ika Poppolitan" is Neapolitan spaghetti topped with "Ika Poppo" and cheese.

It is one of Hakodate's latest specialties, and is increasingly listed on the menu of a number of restaurants.

I grew up being told that
this is a city of squid.

I love squid, so I put it on pasta.

The people of Hakodate are proud of their
squid cuisine, so I hope visitors try it.

One Hakodate squid specialty has achieved nationwide fame.

A small fishing town on the outskirts of Hakodate.

This town created the "eki-ben," a bento lunch box, sold at train stations,

and is now the top-ranking bento in Japan.

Squid stuffed with rice, is simmered with sugar and soy sauce.

It is the No.1 choice for bentos that people enjoy, while traveling on trains,

having won the national eki-ben competition, at least 50 times.

Hello. May I?

Come on in.

What a mouth-watering aroma.

After cleaning the squid, the body is stuffed with rice.

It's parboiled and then simmered in sugar and soy sauce,

creating a synergy of umami flavor.

This is where it all started.

"Ikameshi" was devised in 1941, during the war when rice was in short supply.

By stuffing squid with rice, the idea was to produce a satisfying meal without using much rice.

How long have you been doing this?

For about 40 years.

A life dedicated to "ikameshi!"

I commuted to school by train, and
I'd buy "ikameshi" at the station.

She and her colleagues make as many as 370 per day.

She relies on her intuition, honed by many years of experience,

to determine how much rice to use for each squid.

Such prowess! And such speed!

But they're not the same size.

No, so the amount of rice varies, too.
But I can tell how much to use.

That's a specialized skill.

Yes, based on many years
of experience and intuition.

She parboils them at the exact temperature that keeps them from becoming tough and rubbery.

It depends on the weather.

It's all based on many years of experience and intuition.

I don’t need to measure anything.

After many years, it becomes
second nature.

Just soy sauce and sugar.

She draws out the inherent flavor of the squid and rice by using the simplest of seasonings.

Wow! Stripped down to the very basics.
That's amazing.

No sake! Just water, soy sauce,
and sugar. Amazing.

It's all stripped down to
the bare essentials.

It's an eye-opener for me.

Just make the most of the ingredients.
Cooking doesn't have to be complicated!

So true.

She's provided me with food for thought.
I need to get back to the basics.

Focus on the essentials.

I'm always thinking of the people
who look forward to my "ikameshi."

It's packed with love.

She and her colleagues also give demonstrations and sell their "ikameshi" at department stores and supermarkets all over Japan.

Originally an eki-ben with a humble beginning in a small town.

"Ikameshi" has become famous throughout the country.

Time to try it.

Wow! This is incredible!

Thank you!

There's a progression of flavors.
The outside tastes like "teriyaki."

But the inside doesn't taste
at all cloying. It's amazing.

And the rice inside the squid is cooked perfectly.

It's a blend of short-grain rice
and glutinous rice.

Really?

It's a trade secret.

I get it!

It's such a delicious way of cooking
ingredients that are readily available.

It has universal appeal.

We only have one product to offer.

We're committed to making
the best "ikameshi" there is.

Chef Hayashi has come up with a recipe based on Hakodate's "ikameshi."

I'm very much into "ikameshi" at the moment.

And I've come up with a great recipe.

But today, I'm going to show you an easier way to make "ikameshi" at home.

It's best to use squid that weighs about 100 to 150 grams.

It's easier to stuff and the rice cooks properly.

Remove the head, viscera and tentacles,

and wash the body well.

Now for the rice.

Soak 2 parts short-grain rice and
1 part glutinous rice for 2 hours.

Sticky rice alone is too firm
and is hard to cook.

But it's delicious, so I add
some for flavor and texture.

A teaspoon is just the right size
for filling the tubes with rice.

About 2 teaspoons.

You're tempted to pack the tubes.
But remember, rice swells.

Too much rice and the tubes will burst
before the rice is cooked through.

So, no more than 2 or 3 teaspoons.

Use a wooden toothpick to close the opening and keep the rice inside.

Boil in water for 20 minutes.

Boil over high heat for 20 minutes, to cook through.

Season in water, soy sauce, and sugar.

The key is to use coarse sugar instead of granulated sugar.

It adds luster. I'm not using "mirin,"
so coarse sugar is the key.

It creates a lustrous finish.

After parboiling for 20 minutes, add the seasonings and simmer.

Bring the sauce to a boil before
adding the stuffed squid.

It has to be hot enough to cook the rice.

Cover with a drop lid and simmer for 20 minutes.

Using a drop-lid is a traditional
Japanese cooking method.

Instead of covering the pot with a lid,
we place a lid on the ingredients.

Placing a lid on the ingredients while
simmering is a Japanese trademark.

This creates a convection current, so
you don't need much liquid to simmer.

If you don't have a drop-lid, make one by folding aluminum foil into a circle,

slightly smaller than the pot.

It looks perfect.

Here you are.

This is my "ikameshi."

Tender squid stuffed with fluffy rice.

The sweet soy sauce goes very well with the distinctive flavor of squid.

It's delicious!

It's sweet and savory. A simmered dish
that tastes like "teriyaki."

You're enveloped by the harmony of
sticky rice, plump squid and "teriyaki."

It's delicious.

I was very impressed by the ingenious
use of local ingredients.

So many great ideas for preserving
and processing squid.

It was fun getting a glimpse of people's
never-ending desire for new food.

Many foods in Japan are specific
to the region.

There's so much to discover.

I bet it would be fun to
eat my way across the whole country.