Kanazawa's Food Culture: Kanazawa Curry, Jibu-ni, Kaga Vegetables
Kanazawa curry, Jibu-ni, Kaga vegetables, and Kaburazushi. Here is where each of Kanazawa's signature foods came from and what makes them distinct, with sources.
Kanazawa's food culture holds two very different traditions at once: dishes like Jibu-ni, which developed as samurai-class cuisine under the Kaga Domain, and newer local specialties like Kanazawa curry, born in the Showa era. The variety found in Kaga vegetables underpins this food culture as well.
This article traces how Kanazawa curry came to be, and explains the background of Jibu-ni, Kaga vegetables, and Kaburazushi, with sources.
How did Kanazawa curry come to be?
A style set by the restaurant Yoshoku Tanaka by 1963 later spread nationwide through Turban Curry and Go Go Curry.
The birth of Kanazawa curry: the style set at Yoshoku Tanaka
Kanazawa curry is a distinctive style of curry rice served at specialty curry restaurants across Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture more broadly. Tanaka Yoshikazu, founder of the chain Curry no Champion, opened a Western-style diner called Yoshoku Tanaka in 1961, and by 1963 at the latest, that restaurant had settled into what's now the signature Kanazawa curry style: served on a stainless steel plate with shredded cabbage on the side and a sauce-topped pork cutlet laid over the roux.
From Turban Curry to Go Go Curry
Go Go Curry, which grew out of the Kanazawa curry restaurant Turban Curry, opened in 2003 and became the restaurant most credited with spreading the Kanazawa curry style nationwide. Its founder is a devoted fan of baseball player Matsui Hideki, and the chain's name, "Go Go," is a nod to the uniform number Matsui wore at the time, 55.
What kind of dish is Jibu-ni?
A local stew of flour-coated duck simmered with sudare-fu, finished with wasabi that brings out Kaga vegetables' flavor.
How Jibu-ni is made, and where its name comes from
Jibu-ni is an Ishikawa Prefecture specialty made by simmering flour-coated duck meat with sudare-fu, a woven wheat-gluten cake, and seasonal vegetables in a broth of dashi and soy sauce. The flour thickens the broth and locks in the duck's flavor, while a mound of grated wasabi on top adds a sharp, clean bite. The name's origin isn't settled: some trace it to a man named Okabe Jibuemon, while others point to "jibu-jibu," an old word imitating the sound of gentle simmering.
What exactly are Kaga vegetables?
Of the vegetables grown in Kanazawa since before 1945 and still cultivated today, 15 varieties are certified as Kaga vegetables.
The 15-variety standard and the Kanazawa brand association
Kaga vegetables is a brand covering vegetables grown in Kanazawa since before 1945 that are still cultivated in the city today. The Kanazawa City Agricultural Products Brand Association was founded in 1997 to set the criteria, certifying an initial 10 varieties that same year before the current list of 15 was completed by 2003.
Source:What are "Kaga vegetables," and which varieties are included?
Kaga lotus root and other signature varieties
Among the 15 certified varieties, each has its own distinct character: the notably sticky Kaga lotus root, the dense, fleshy Kaga thick cucumber, kintoki-so with its striking green-and-purple leaves, and other varieties tied to Kaga Domain-era stories. Harvest windows are sharply seasonal, too, with bamboo shoots in spring, Kaga thick cucumber in summer, Kaga lotus root in autumn, and Gensuke daikon radish in winter.
Source:The appeal of "Kaga vegetables," a defining part of Kanazawa's food culture
How is Kaburazushi actually made?
A fermented dish layering yellowtail between turnip slices with koji, Kanazawa's winter delicacy since the early Edo period.
A fermented dish of turnip and yellowtail
Kaburazushi is a Kanazawa specialty made by sandwiching thin slices of yellowtail between rounds of turnip, then packing them in rice koji to ferment. It is believed to date back to the early Edo period, though its precise origin is unclear. The koji fermentation lends a mellow tang, layered against the turnip's texture and the richness of the yellowtail.
Kaburazushi as a winter tradition
Kaburazushi is typically prepared between December and February, when cold-season yellowtail is in season, and it has become a fixture of the New Year's table in Kanazawa households. Fermentation can take anywhere from several days to several weeks, and because the koji blend and fermentation time vary from household to household and shop to shop, the same dish can taste noticeably different depending on where it's made.
Source:Kaburazushi and Kanazawa's traditional fermented foods, Shijimaya Honpo
FAQ
How is Kanazawa curry different from curry elsewhere in Japan?
The roux is notably thick and dark, poured over rice topped with shredded cabbage and a sauce-coated pork cutlet. Eating it with a fork or a spoon with a notched, fork-like tip is also considered part of the distinctly Kanazawa way of enjoying it.
When has Jibu-ni traditionally been eaten?
One theory traces it to samurai-class cooking, but it's also said that ordinary people made it in autumn and winter using migratory waterfowl they had hunted, suggesting it was enjoyed across social classes rather than by samurai households alone.
Can you buy Kaga vegetables at an ordinary supermarket?
Yes. They're sold at supermarkets around Kanazawa and at Omicho Market, but because most varieties have a limited harvest window, they aren't available on shelves year-round.
Is Kaburazushi ever made with fish other than yellowtail?
Yes. Versions made with salmon exist too, and the choice of fish can vary by region or household. Yellowtail is by far the most widely known version, but it isn't the only fish used.
Does Kanazawa have a river fish delicacy too?
Yes. Gori, a small river fish caught in the Asano and Sai rivers, has long been simmered in soy sauce or deep-fried as a valued part of Kaga-style cuisine in Kanazawa.
Sources & references
- The history of Kanazawa curry, Champion Curry
- Where did "Kanazawa curry" really originate?
- Jibu-ni, Ishikawa Prefecture: Our Local Cuisine
- What are "Kaga vegetables," and which varieties are included?
- The appeal of "Kaga vegetables," a defining part of Kanazawa's food culture
- Kaburazushi, Ishikawa Prefecture: Our Local Cuisine
- Kaburazushi and Kanazawa's traditional fermented foods, Shijimaya Honpo