Savour the best of Gifu’s flavours through these 4 local specialties!

Shirakawa-go in autumn

At the mention of Gifu Prefecture, the first thing which probably comes to mind would be Shirakawago no Gashozukuri (白川郷のの合掌造り集落) i.e. the thatched-roof village of Shirakawago, a World Heritage site along with Gokayama no Gashozukuri located in neighbouring Toyama Prefecture. Being a landlocked prefecture with varying landscapes, Gifu may not be well-known for seafood-related delicacies but it boasts of a thriving agricultural and forestry landscape thus making it a fantastic place to taste the best food from the mountains and land. If you are heading there for your trip, how about seeking these local specialties during your trip and savour the best of Gifu’s flavours?

Kei-chan けいちゃん / 鶏ちゃん

Kei-chan けいちゃん / 鶏ちゃん

You may wonder what this dish is when you hear its name Kei-chan for the first time. Actually, this is not the name of a person but rather, Kei is the onyomi reading of the Kanji character for chicken i.e. 鶏. As the name suggests, this traditional dish which is also a household staple in Gifu, contains chicken meat which is marinated with miso before being stir-fried with various vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, onions and bean sprouts. Depending on the region and the restaurant where you eat this dish, the type of miso used will differ and there are some places which use soy sauce instead of miso. This is a dish which is especially popular and famous in the Masuda Region (益田地域), Hida Region (飛騨地域) which includes Gero City (下呂市) and Takayama City (高山市) as well as Gujou Region (郡上地域) which includes Gujou City (郡上市) so you definitely need to try this if you are in the vicinity. Apparently, the dish is so common and easily available in Gifu that you can find it at bars as a snack to go with your drinks and prepacked versions at the supermarkets which can be easily prepared at home. Imagine the joy and satisfaction you will get by having a plate of Kei-chan to go with a bowl of steamy rice during the upcoming colder seasons!

Bijomochi 美女もち

Bijomochi 美女もち

In Asahi-machi of Takayama City, there is this rice cake named Bijomochi which literally means beauty rice cake. There is actually nothing about this rice cake’s ingredients which will make you more beautiful but the name is said to have been inspired by an old legend. Before World War II, there were many North Koreans who were living in this area and they would eat long rice cakes which were also known as Chousen-mochi (朝鮮餅) at that time. However, the manual and time-consuming process of putting Uruchi rice into the millstone to get rice flour which was then mixed with hot water and made into long rice cakes, made it impossible for the locals to produce more than itto (一斗) of rice cakes i.e. approximately 18 litres. Although technological advancement made it possible for the grinding of the rice and shaping of the rice cakes to be done by machines, production volumes was still largely limited to no more than nitto (二斗) daily.

One day in late December, a beautiful woman who was carrying a child on her back came to the village and asked to make the rice cakes with rice amounting to nitto. However, the locals had to rush orders placed by customers and didn’t want to let the woman try making the rice cakes because they thought that she would take a long time. Nonetheless, the woman suggested a way of making the rice cakes which greatly expedited the production process and left as soon as she finished the rice cakes. When the villagers rushed out to find her, they couldn’t see her anymore. Later, they guessed that the woman must have been the guardian god from Bijogaike (美女ヶ池) i.e. Beauty Pond and started to use the name Bijomochi for this type of rice cakes.

There are a few ways of eating the bijomochi which is made of locally-produced rice such as grilling on its own or with seaweed wrapped around it, boiling in hot pots, frying in soy sauce or eating with ramen or udon. If you swing by a local supermarket, chances are that you will be able to find vacuum-packed bijomochi there which you can bring home. However, do note that the bijomochi has a relatively short shelf life of just 2 weeks from the date of production so you will need to pay attention to the expiry date.

Goheimochi 五平餅

Goheimochi 五平餅

Goheimochi is another rice-based snack like the Bijomochi which is hardly surprising, considering that Gifu is well-known for the delicious rice it produces. However, the shape and taste of these two types of rice snacks are very different. The goheimochi is shaped into a long and oval-shape and a stick is pierced through it. A paste containing miso, soy sauce, walnuts and sesame (proportion and mix of ingredients will depend) is spread onto the surface of the rice before the sticks are grilled over fire.

The word gohei actually comes from ceremonial food which is offered to the mountain gods to pray for the safety of those who work in the mountains. In the past, those who worked in the mountains would bring the goheimochi along instead of bento since it was easier to dip the rice sticks into miso and eat them with alcohol. Besides being used as a ceremonial offering, the snack is also offered to the gods to thank them for the autumn harvest and is something usually offered to guests or when family members return to their hometowns. This snack is especially common at souvenir shops, restaurants and traditional ryokans in Mino City (美濃市) and its surrounding areas. These days, you may also see this snack outside of Gifu at places like the Kiso (木曽) and Ina (伊那) Districts in Nagano Prefecture or Okumikawa (奥三河) in Aichi Prefecture.

Wankon Katsudon れんこんカツ丼

Wankon Katsudon れんこんカツ丼

At first glance, the wankon katsudon looks no different from the usual katsudon made from pork cutlets. However, upon taking a closer look, you will find that this cutlet is made from pork wrapped around slices of lotus root which adds an unique and crunchy texture. It is probably not surprising that Hashima City (羽島市), the №1 producer of lotus roots in the prefecture, is home to this dish as its hard soil makes it ideal to grow the best lotus roots.

Back in 1994, there was a contest asking for ideas to use local produce in dishes so the owner of a Japanese restaurant in Hashima named Chikusen rose to the challenge and decided to use lotus roots which is available almost throughout the year from September to May in the following year. After repeated experiments, the dish won an award but it was quickly forgotten due to the lotus roots being such a common ingredient in the locality. It was only until Chikusen revived this dish by including the wankon katsudon on its menu in 1996 as part of its 20th anniversary celebration that it became well-known and popular again.

After reading about these dishes, are you feeling hungry and eager to get your hands on these delicacies? Do remember to check them out if you are travelling in Gifu and satisfy your palate while taking in the beautiful sights there!