{"id":3075,"date":"2014-08-22T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/suggestionofmotion.com\/auto-draft\/"},"modified":"2014-08-22T08:21:40","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T18:21:40","slug":"japan-nagoya-miso-katsu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suggestionofmotion.com\/blog\/japan-nagoya-miso-katsu\/","title":{"rendered":"Nagoya’s Miso Katsu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nagoya is known for several specialty foods. One dish is an epic mashup of two of my favorite foods– Miso and Katsu.<\/p>\n

Exploring kyodo ryori<\/em>— or local specialties– is a fun way to become better acquainted with a city in Japan. Towns and cities pride themselves on these special foods, so you get to learn something about a city’s unique character.<\/p>\n

It’s also quite delicious.<\/p>\n

Aomori has it’s apples, which are juicy and flavorful, but you won’t find me complaining about having<\/em> to try Nagoya’s special dish– Miso Katsu.<\/p>\n

Miso<\/h2>\n

Miso is a paste made of fermented soybeans. It’s used to make the soup served with a meal in virtually any Japanese restaurant around the world.<\/p>\n

\"Miso<\/a><\/p>\n

Miso is a savory ingredient whose flavor can vary wildly among different miso makers.<\/p>\n

Katsu<\/h2>\n

Katsu is a pork cutlet that is coated with panko<\/em> (Japanese breadcrumbs) and deep-fried until crunchy and golden-brown. When done right, katsu is light and crunchy on the outside, while moist and tender on the inside.<\/p>\n

\"Miso<\/a><\/p>\n

I like katsu and I’ve been having a lot of katsu since arriving in Japan. I wouldn’t say I eat katsu every<\/em> day, but if I don’t have any katsu for a few days, I expect there would be withdrawals.<\/p>\n

Miso Katsu?<\/h2>\n

Considering the fact that I like both miso and katsu, I was immediately intrigued when I learned about Nagoya’s miso katsu.<\/p>\n

As we explore the streets of Nagoya, we keep our eyes peeled for a unique establishment that might prove to be an interesting place to try this dish. However, as the afternoon wore on without any luck finding such a restaurant, we decide to stop at the next katsu shop we encounter.<\/p>\n

\"Sign\"<\/a> \"Sign<\/a> \"Katsu-don<\/a> \"Going<\/a> \"Inside<\/a><\/p>\n

Like many restaurants in Japan, this one doesn’t really have a name of its own– it just says “Katsu-ya<\/em>” (“Katsu Shop”) on the sign above the door.<\/p>\n

This particular katsu-ya serves a few different katsu dishes, but thankfully their main focus is on miso katsu.<\/p>\n

\"Affordable<\/a><\/p>\n

We order the miso katsu, and fill our cups with some hot green tea while we wait.<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a> \"Tea<\/a><\/p>\n

When the freshly-cooked miso katsu arrives, it’s nothing at all like I expected. Instead of a pale tan color, the miso sauce is dark red in color.<\/p>\n

\"Miso<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, no meal in Japan would be complete without being accompanied by a bowl of rice.<\/p>\n

\"Rice\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The red miso sauce is rich and flavorful. The sauce does not scream “miso” at you, but rather subtly hints at its miso underpinnings.<\/p>\n

\"Miso<\/a><\/p>\n

This is not the type of sauce normally served with katsu. Tonkatsu<\/em> sauce is generally on the sweet side, while this is definitely in “salty” territory. The flavor is like a mix between normal tonkatsu sauce and BBQ sauce– with a liberal dose of salt added for good measure.<\/p>\n

In fact, if it were not for the rice, it might be too salty.<\/p>\n

\"Miso<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m not sure yet if I’m sold on the sauce, but the katsu is unquestionably good. It’s golden brown, crunchy on the outside, and soft and tender on the inside.<\/p>\n

It does not take long for us to make short work of the miso katsu.<\/p>\n

\"Close<\/a><\/p>\n

After we finish out meal, we enjoy another cup of green tea and relax for a bit. Once we are sufficiently rejuvenated by the green tea and miso katsu, we shoulder our bags and head back out into the streets to resume our exploring in Nagoya.<\/p>\n

Nagoya Nights<\/h2>\n