Fukui Prefecture is an area that is attracting attention due to the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension scheduled for spring 2024. After the extension, many tourists are expected to visit. Fukui Prefecture is actually a treasure trove of food. Among the many "treasures" that exist, we introduce the auction at the Echizen crab market, which represents the taste of winter. We also visited a mizu yokan store, which is loved by many people as a standard winter sweet in the prefecture, but is not well known outside the prefecture.
Echizen Fishing Port, 9am.
Echizen crab auction is a serious competition
The shouts resembled shouts, and the spirit and enthusiasm rose. Outsiders can only watch from afar. Still, the energy is palpable, and before you know it, you're getting a little excited yourself. Market auctions, especially seafood market auctions, can be seen anywhere in Japan, but the auctions here at Echizen Fishing Port may be even more lively than usual. Lined up in rows are Echizen crabs that were just landed this morning. To preserve their internal flavor, they are lined up in rows with their bellies exposed and some of them still moving their long legs. It's truly spectacular.
Brokers instantly distinguish between good and bad crabs, and the auction progresses at a fast pace, using words that are completely incomprehensible to outsiders.
Echizen crab grown on the Echizen coast in a privileged environment
Exceptional taste and price
Echizen crab is snow crab that is landed at four ports in Fukui Prefecture, including Echizen Fishing Port. Crab grown on the Echizen coast, which is blessed with an abundant abundance of flora and fauna and plankton, has a deep umami flavor that is said to be the ``king of taste.'' Snow crabs are landed at most fishing ports on the Sea of Japan, but Echizen crabs are in a different category, and of course they are expensive. By the way, at the first auction held when the ban was lifted last year, the price was 80 yen, partly because it was a gift price. Echizen crab is the king of both taste and price.
In addition to the male ``Echizen crab,'' there are the female ``Seiko crab,'' and the male ``water crab,'' which has just shed its skin and has a soft shell, each with a different taste and fishing season. The photo shows a male Echizen crab that is usually caught from November 11th to late March.
The highest quality brand of Echizen crab landed for the first time in a few days
"Kiwami"
Cheers and applause erupted with excitement. It seems that a "pole" has appeared. ``Kiwami'' is a brand of the highest grade, given to male crabs that are beautiful among Echizen crabs, weigh over 1.3 kg, have a carapace width of over 14.5 cm, and a claw width of over 27 cm. In 0.05, a certification system for auctioneers and brokers began. Echizen crabs have a yellow tag attached to them as proof, but ``Kiwami'' crabs have another yellow ``Kiwami'' tag attached to them. The highest quality products that are certified as ``Kiwami'' account for less than 1% of all catches. With around 500 cups produced in one season (only 67 cups last season), it is truly a masterpiece. With the appearance of ``Kiwami'', which had not been present for the past few days, the auction became particularly lively.
The market has become even more lively with the landing of Kiwami for the first time in several days. The double yellow tag is the pride of the brand.
The Echizen crab auction peaks around 9am. Depending on the weather, fishing may not be possible, so check the day before before heading out. It is also important to be careful not to interfere with the movements of professionals in the market.
At a restaurant near the market
Enjoy the Hama-boiling technique unique to the production area
In the Echizen fishing port area, there are about 70 shops that sell Echizen crab, including inns, restaurants, and fresh fish stores.
Echizen crabs that are auctioned off at the market are immediately transported to major cities such as Tokyo, and of course to stores in the area. The price is a little cheaper as shipping costs are not included. Above all, the taste of Echizen crab that you can enjoy after experiencing the atmosphere of the market is exceptional.
The Sea of Japan has a calm look, which is unusual for winter. This beautiful sea in Echizen grows a rich variety of seafood.
``Ten years of watching crabs, a lifetime of cooking crabs.''
Boiling crab deliciously is actually an extremely difficult task.
Kanetomo Suisan is located along the coast, about a 10-minute drive from Echizen Fishing Port, and is a wholesaler, as well as inns and mail-order businesses. A large kettle is placed in front of the direct sales store, and steam is rising from the boiling water. The so-called Hama boil is done in this pot. "Simple boiled crab is the best." If you ask people how to eat crab, many people will answer that way. However, as the saying goes, ``Ten years of watching crabs, a lifetime of cooking crabs,'' in fact, boiling crabs deliciously requires skill. It is a true master's skill to subtly change the amount of salt and boiling depending on the size of the crab and the temperature of the day. Being able to witness such masterful performances is a pleasure that can only be found in the production area.
Adding boiling water to the pot before boiling is a method used when boiling food in a hurry. Usually, I rinse it with cold water and then boil it.
The huge 1.2 kg Echizen crab that was boiled was so big that it almost overflowed from the platter. The unique color of boiled crab whets the appetite.
Balance of subtle sweetness and salt. A delicious taste that reminds you of the sea.
The moment you realize that you are the “King of Taste”
When I was sitting in front of 1.2 kg of Echizen crab that had just been boiled at the beach, I was struggling to decide where to start. As if he couldn't bear to see it, the shop owner quickly removed them from their shells and piled them up inside the shells, saying, ``Do the legs like this, and the bodies like this.'' Plenty of crab miso too. Mix it vigorously and put it in your mouth without adding anything. The rich flavor of the sea, the perfect balance of sweetness and salt, and the rich crab miso. Everything comes together harmoniously. This is the moment when you realize that you are the ``king of taste.'' The dining space attached to the direct sales store is simple with tatami flooring and a tatami table. However, in this simple space, you can have a blissful time enjoying the finest Echizen crab that rivals any high-class restaurant, sometimes with the help of the owner.
As you can see from the left in the photo, when the owner puts the fish in his hands, the meat is tingling inside the shell in no time. Fill your mouth with just the crab miso and nothing else. Unparalleled flavor. It's a blissful moment.
Cold water yokan eaten under a kotatsu.
That is the standard sweet for Fukui prefecture people.
Mizu-yokan is a winter tradition in Fukui. When it gets cold, I eat cold water while sitting under the kotatsu. This is one of the joys of winter for many people in Fukui Prefecture, both in the past and today, and for the people of Fukui, mizu yokan can be said to be a ``soul sweet.'' Surprisingly, nearly 100 shops in the prefecture alone make mizu yokan in the winter, and various packages are lined up at Japanese confectionery shops and supermarkets. The main ingredients are quite simple: azuki beans, agar, and sugar, but the subtle differences in their composition and preparation create a unique flavor for each store. From the point of view of the people of Japan, the amazing food culture is still alive and well.
Scoop along the slits in the water yokan with the included spatula and eat. Part of the fun is the feeling of it melting in your mouth.
``Mizu Yokan'' and ``Chochi Yokan.''
Different names depending on region
In Fukui City and other areas, the name ``Mizu Yokan'' is common, but in some areas and shops, such as Obama City and Ono City, it is often called ``Chochi Yokan'', and the name ``Chochi Yokan'' tells us about its roots. It is said that One theory is that during the Edo period, people in Fukui who were apprenticed to merchant houses in Kyoto and other places brought yokan with them when they returned home at the end of the year. There are many other theories about its origin, but in any case, it remains a familiar presence to the common people both in the past and today.
In the past, it was kept in large wooden boxes, but now most of it is poured into small paper boxes.
Subtle sweetness of brown sugar.
"Anmaya"'s yokan has a light taste.
Anmaya in Echizen Town is a Japanese sweets shop with a 100-year history. Every year at the end of October at Anmaya, chochi yokan (in the Echizen City area, ``chochi yokan'' instead of ``mizu yokan'') begins to appear on the shelves. Anmaya's Dongji Yokan is characterized by its light flavor. The homemade filling made with high-quality azuki beans from Hokkaido and the faint sweetness of brown sugar combine with the soft texture to create a unique flavor.
A bright vermilion box of ``Anmaya'' yokan. "Simple is best". 1 yen (tax included) per box.
Depending on the temperature and humidity of the day,
Pay close attention to the heat level when cooking the bean paste.
In the workshop located at the back of the store, the owner, Yoshiki Morisaki, was making bean paste. Never leaving the large pot for a moment, he stirs the bean paste with a large wooden spoon, constantly paying close attention to the heat. Inside the steaming pot, chocolate-colored bean paste is dripping from a wooden ladle.
``The degree of heat varies slightly depending on the humidity and temperature of the day.I'm trying to imitate what my father did, but I hope to be able to create my own flavor for the bean paste.In October, Every year, we get inquiries from neighbors asking, ``When are you going to start selling this year?'' so I can't relax every year.'' Let the bean paste cool and pour it one by one into a paper box. Anmaya's Yokan making is all done by hand. Fans were visiting store after store to buy the bright vermilion boxes lined up on store shelves.
From the left in the photo, the bean paste is cooked for nearly an hour in front of a large pot, paying close attention to the heat. Stir with a wooden spoon while checking the condition of the bean paste. Just be kind and polite. Inside the large pot, a glossy chocolate-colored filling is bubbling with steam. It already looks delicious at this point!
The excitement at the Echizen crab auction, the beach-boiled crabs at the direct sales store near the fishing port, the subtle sweetness of mizu yokan... It was a winter day in Fukui where I enjoyed the excitement and deep flavors that can only be encountered while traveling.
Photography by Junko Ueda
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