The Flavors of Osaka

Dashi is also integral to flour-based dishes (known collectively as kona-mon) that are famous standards of Osaka cuisine, including udon (wheat flour noodles), takoyaki octopus dumplings, and okonomiyaki savory pancakes. Additionally, dashi is routinely used inside the home when cooking simple everyday dishes.

Kombu, which is produced in Hokkaido, was transported to Osaka over the Japan Sea via the kitamaebune shipping route, which was begun during the Edo era. Goods ferried to Osaka included seafood such as kombu and herring, while return ships were loaded with items including rice, salt, saké and used clothing. In addition to reaping handsome profits, merchants were also able to cultivate a two-way cultural trade between the two regions. The emergence of dashi—a quintessential element of Japanese cuisine—from Hokkaido kombu may be described as a superb product of this history.

Osaka has the highest kombu consumption in all of Japan. The popularity of this northern item in Osaka—to the extent that it even became known there as a local specialty product—owes to the processing technology that exists in the region. Knife technology in Sakai facilitated the processing of tororo kombu (grated kelp) and oboro kombu (dried kelp in thin, wide strips); while the technology for shoyu in Wakayama prefecture resulted in the creation of salted kombu. In addition to dashi, numerous additional products continue to be processed from kombu today.

Able to be adapted to many different types of foods, ponzu is a must-have item for tecchiri, the pufferfish hot pot enjoyed in Osaka during winter. Pufferfish is plentiful in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi prefecture, but some 60% of the total catch is consumed in Osaka. With its gentle sweetness and distinct crunchy texture, Osakans simply cannot get enough of pufferfish combined with the taste of ponzu. The fish pairs particularly well with the vivid, crisp acidity of the sudachi citrus fruit produced in Tokushima prefecture. Fugu specialty restaurants have their own loyal followings of clientele who are drawn toward the different unique tastes of the house-made ponzu and chirizu (a sauce of citrusy shoyu).

Another recent addition to the local culinary scene is Osaka Sanuki, a portmanteau of the firmly-textured Sanuki udon from Kagawa prefecture on Shikoku island together with dashi from Osaka. The chewy, nearly pudding-like smoothness and slightly zesty kick of the Sanuki udon stand in contrast to the udon noodles from Osaka, which tend to take a backstage role to the broth, and are generally evaluated in terms of how well the flavor pairs with the dashi. The ingenious fusion of Sanuki udon with Osaka dashi, however, has resulted in numerous restaurants riding this trend to great acclaim by offering Osaka Sanuki on their menus.