Monja yaki
- Tokyo’s hot plate pancake -
This is the Tokyo equivalent o okonomi yaki, which are a specialty of Kansai and Hiroshima. The batter for monja yaki is more liquid than for okonomi yaki, and the seasonings are mixed into the batter rather than added after cooking.
Originally a between meals snack food, monja yaki is prepared on a wide metal hotplate in front of the diners, and is normally eaten with a small metal spatula.
Yokosuka Kaigun Curry
- Yokosuka Navy Curry -
Curry was introduced to Japan in the late 19th century. It soon gained massive popularity in the form of curry with rice, a dish that was adopted by the Japanese naval base in Yokosuka.
Incorporating meat and vegetables, it provided good nutritional balance and was easy to prepare. Besides being served at restaurants in the city, Yokosuka Navy Curry is now sold in packages for preparing at home.
Utsunomiya Gyoza
- Meat dumplings -
Utsunomiya is Japan’s gyoza dumpling capital. Utsunomiya’s people spend more on gyoza dumplings than anywhere else in Japan. Tochigi is also Japan’s largest producer of garlic chives.
These pungent cabbage, garlic and ground pork, then wrapped in thin skins of rolled-out dough to form crescent-shaped dumplings. These may be pan-fried, boiled in water, or deep-fried.
Fukagawa Meshi
- Deep fried clames on rice -
During the Edo era, local fishermen came up with the recipe for this dish: the clams are deep-fried, then blended with scallions and seasoned with miso, and this mix is served over hot rice.
Because these shellfish were readily available and easily affordable, this was an important source of nutrition for the townspeople in Fukagawa.
