Photo/Illutration A plate of “Towada barayaki,” which is prepared with ribs of beef and sliced onion and flavored with a salty-sweet sauce (Provided by the secretariat for the “100-Year Food” initiative)

AOMORI--Two comfort food dishes from Aomori Prefecture were included in the fiscal 2023 edition of the “100-Year Food” list compiled by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Created to pass down and promote Japan’s diverse food culture, the list recognizes local dishes that have been handed down through generations.

It comprises three divisions: Tradition covers local cuisine popular since the Edo Period (1603-1867); Modern honors food culture developed in the Meiji and Taisho eras (1868-1926); and Future acknowledges food culture expected to last the next 100 years.

Both “Towada barayaki” and “Kuroishi tsuyu-yakisoba” were selected in the Future division.

The former is a dish cooked with ribs of beef and sliced onion and flavored with a salty-sweet sauce. In 2014, the dish won the top award at the B-1 Grand Prix, an annual festival of local foods from across the country.

The latter dish, stir-fried noodles flavored with Worcester sauce, is served in a Japanese-style soup base. It comes with toppings such as bits of deep-fried batter and chopped green onion.

It is said to have originated at an eatery adjacent to a junior high school in Kuroishi in the decade starting in 1955.

The latest additions brought the total number of Aomori dishes included in the list to four, following “Shimizumori-nanba isshozuke” (chili peppers marinated in rice malt) in fiscal 2021 and “Hachinohe senbei-jiru” (rice cracker soup) in fiscal 2022.

(This article was written by Teruto Unuma and Tadayuki Ito.)

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