By TAKASHI SUGIYAMA/ Staff Writer
March 17, 2020 at 07:00 JST
IZUMO, Shimane Prefecture--Japan's best local rice bowl, for the second year in a row, is "Nodoguro-don" served by Nihonkai, a restaurant operator based here.
The two-time win earned the local favorite a spot in the country's hallowed hall of fame for the dish dubbed the "Rice Bowl of Fame."
The company's signature menu item won the Grand Prix award at the 11th National Local Donburi Championship for rice bowl dishes held at Tokyo Dome in January.
Following that, it was inducted into the "Rice Bowl of Fame" by the event's organizer, the Furusato Matsuri Tokyo festival executive committee.
Though nodoguro has a bland taste, it is also characterized by a savory "umami" flavor and can be eaten grilled, boiled or freshly filleted.
Nodoguru shot to fame in Japan after tennis player Kei Nishikori said it was his favorite fish.
Nodoguro-don, an original Nihonkai creation, consists of warm rice topped with seared fish fillets with the skin left on, eaten with a specially made light soy sauce mixed with "dashi" stock.
Nihonkai said the rice bowl has been a hit with tourists at Nodoguro Nihonkai, one of the company's "izakaya" pubs, located in front of JR Izumo Station.
Nodoguro-don edged out a beef bowl from Hokkaido and a pork bowl from Kagoshima Prefecture to snag first in the vote for the nation's best rice bowl among attendees at the Tokyo Dome contest.
"Using the momentum created by the induction, we want to promote this rice bowl dish from Shimane Prefecture across the country," Nihonkai President Yoshinori Kada told Izumo Mayor Hideto Nagaoka when he shared the news of the induction at Izumo's city hall on Feb. 6.
"It's fantastic to come in first for two consecutive years. It's delicious, and we'd love Nishikori to eat it," the mayor added after tasting the dish.
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The "Nodoguro-don" rice bowl dish makes a triumphant return to its hometown of Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, on Feb. 6 after winning the National Local Donburi Championship for two consecutive years and being inducted into the "Rice Bowl of Fame." (Takashi Sugiyama)
