By TADAYUKI ITO/ Staff Writer
January 19, 2023 at 07:00 JST
The Tsugaru no Bento Osakana-darake boxed lunch. (Provided by East Japan Railway Co.)
AOMORI--A bento boxed lunch crammed with fish offerings snared the top award at the Ekiben Grand Prix 2022 contest last month.
It was the first time for a company based in this northern Honshu prefecture of Aomori to win.
The food contest, the 11th in a series, is hosted by East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) to promote “ekiben” sold at train stations and on long-distance trains.
The winning entry, Tsugaru no Bento Osakana-darake, sold by Tsugaru Sozai based in Goshogawara of Tsugaru area, incorporates several fish species widely consumed in the prefecture cooked in a variety of ways.
They include: fillet of mackerel from Hachinohe boiled in apple juice; locally caught flounder steamed with kelp and served with starchy sauce; squid cutlet and deep-fried scallop.
Fifty-eight ekiben sold in JR East’s jurisdiction were submitted for consideration with 21,662 fans casting their ballots online to evaluate the productions based on three categories: taste, serving arrangement and wrapping paper.
Tsugaru no Bento won the top spot in the total score of the three categories.
The treat drew rave reviews from ekiben devotees: “It uses local ingredients cooked in ingenious ways” and “As its name suggests, it contains a lot of delicious fish.”
Available at Shin-Aomori, Hirosaki and Tokyo stations, the bento sells for 1,250 yen ($9.40), including tax.
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