Tradition and history create "delicious!" | Osaka Maruikaku

Tradition and history create “delicious!”

kelp road

During the Edo period, when Kitamae ships were in active use, kelp harvested in Hokkaido was transported from Shimonoseki via the Seto Inland Sea via the ``Konbu Road'' in the Sea of Japan to the ``nation's kitchen'' of Osaka and Sakai. . It is said that Konbuya Ihei, a shipping wholesaler in Osaka, brought back kelp from Hokkaido on a Kitamae ship and landed it in Sakai in exchange for specialty products such as Kawachi cotton. Osaka chose ``Makonbu'' from this period. The rich flavor of the soup stock, which is a bit different from Kyoto's Rishiri Konbu, supports Osaka's reputation for being delicious. The kelp processing industry in Sakai reached its peak, especially from the Taisho period to the beginning of the Showa period, and it became a major production area with approximately 150 kelp processing companies.It is close to Osaka, a large consumption area, and the knives necessary for processing are available in Sakai. It is also another specialty product, and the processing of kelp in Sakai has developed. The ultra-thin, hand-made Oboro kelp is the flower of Osaka's kelp culture. In addition to dashi kelp, salted kelp (tsukudani) and grated konbu are also Osaka specialties.

Naniwa's descent

~There are famous sakes that go hand in hand with food~

During the Edo period, Osaka gained fame as the number one sake producer in the world. This is because Osaka, the ``nation's kitchen,'' is home to the famous sake-producing regions of Nada, Ikeda, and Itami. Alcohol with food, food with alcohol. Large quantities of sake were also brought to Edo from the three states known as Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi, and it was hailed as a high-class ``kudari sake.'' Brewed with high-quality rice from nearby areas and clean water from the surrounding mountains, Osaka's sake has been cultivated and refined through a rich food culture, resulting in a refreshing drink with a sense of depth that asserts individuality. taste. It's a sake that makes food even more delicious and brings out the flavor even more depending on the dish. Akishika and Goshun (the brewers are named after painters who were active in the late Edo period, and are known to be difficult to obtain even locally). Katano Sakura, Amano Sake, Okushika, Kuninocho, etc.

The taste of Osaka is “the taste of dashi soup”

"Umami" has now become an international word. ``Dashi'', which can be said to be the origin of the word, is the basis of Japanese food culture and is unique to Japan. This "dashi" was born in Osaka. Even now, the deciding factor of Osaka's food culture is its golden ``dashi''. The basic soup stock is a combination of kelp and bonito flakes. It is also used as a base for a variety of dishes by combining it with dried sardines, dried shiitake mushrooms, and dried shrimp, a type of shrimp. Dashi is also essential for udon, takoyaki, and okonomiyaki, which are famous as Osaka's local cuisine called ``konamon.'' Even at home, I use dashi on a daily basis, using simple methods. The basic flavor of Osaka is the combination of kelp and bonito flakes. Kelp was transported from its production area of Hokkaido to Osaka via the Japan Sea route called the Kitamaebune, which began in the Edo period. The incoming shipments were marine products such as kelp and herring, and the outgoing shipments included rice, salt, alcohol, and second-hand clothes, which not only made large profits for merchants but also brought about cultural exchange between the northern and western countries. Perhaps the best example of this is the creation of dashi, the basis of Japanese cuisine, from Hokkaido's kelp. Rishiri konbu was easily shipped to Kyoto, and large quantities of Makonbu from southern Hokkaido were shipped directly to Osaka. The umami flavor of Makonbu, which has a richer and richer flavor than Rishiri Konbu, was appreciated in Osaka. When the true kelp and bonito flakes processed from bonito caught in Kishu, Tosa, and Satsuma (present-day Wakayama, Kochi, and Kagoshima) met, Awashidashi was born.
This makes perfect sense, as the synergistic effect of glutamic acid from kelp and inosinic acid from bonito flakes creates a strong umami flavor. Top-class restaurants proudly serve Ichiban dashi soup stock made with the highest quality kelp and bonito flakes, calling it ``our taste.'' The stock leftover from making the stock can also be used effectively. Kombu is finely chopped and combined with bonito flakes, seasoned with sweet and salty to make furikake, or cooked with soy sauce or mirin to make tsukudani. Osaka has the highest consumption of kelp in Japan. It is thanks to processing technology that kelp from the north has become a specialty of Osaka. Because of Sakai's knife technology, it was processed into yam and oboro konbu, and because of Wakayama's soy sauce, salted konbu was created. In addition to dashi, various processed products from kelp are still made today.

Naniwa's fermentation culture

--The key to the taste is "light soy sauce"

There are two types of soy sauce: light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, but the Kansai flavor is light soy sauce. Light soy sauce is lighter in color than dark soy sauce and has more salt. However, amazake is added to make it not only salty, but also to improve the flavor, which suppresses the ``soy sauce smell.'' That's why we developed ``Naniwa cuisine,'' which has beautiful flavors and colors of ingredients. The presence of light soy sauce has given birth to Naniwa cuisine, which is sophisticated, delicious, and beautiful to look at.

Back

About Osaka