A gourmet trip to Misato Town, Akita Prefecture. Behind the scenes of gourmet development supervised by a JAL chef

Text: Hideaki Nakayama

For the first time, JAL will propose and supervise the cuisine served at local government-owned hot spring facilities and roadside stations.

Akita Prefecture stretches from north to south. Misato Town is located in the southeastern part of the prefecture. To the east is the Ou Mountains, and to the west is the Senboku Plain. Blessed with clear air and pure water, it is a truly beautiful town.

The collaboration with JAL began as a result of a partnership agreement concluded in 2013. This was JAL's first partnership agreement with a local government, and this time, the company is attempting a food collaboration for the first time with Akita Misato-zukuri Co., Ltd., a third-sector company that manages tourist facilities in Misato-cho.

The highlight of the event will be new menu items unique to Misato Town. Corporate chef Haruhiko Horiuchi, who oversees the in-flight meals for JAL's international first class flights, has developed new course and set menu dishes. In addition, chefs working at Misato Town's food and beverage establishments have developed new local delicacies, which will be overseen and refined by Chef Haruhiko.

The appeal of this place is the vegetables grown in the clear streams and the high-quality, distinctive seasonings.

Planning for the culinary supervision began in the summer of 2020. Then in December, Chef Horiuchi visited Misato Town to conduct on-site research, touring each facility where the new menu would be served and exchanging opinions with the chefs.

Chef Horiuchi was drawn to the taste of the clear, soft water and the flavor of the vegetables grown in that water. He also noted the abundance of traditional ingredients, including seasonings and pickles. He also said that the taste of the water is similar to that of his hometown.

"My hometown, Nishinomiya, is known as one of the Nada Gogo, and is one of Japan's three great sake-producing areas, known for its famous water. Misato is also wonderful. The water and sake are both delicious. Akita Prefecture itself is also known throughout the country for its delicacies, such as Hinai Jidori chicken, Akita Komachi rice, and Inaniwa udon noodles, and this is no doubt due to the rich natural environment. Misato has a thriving home-grown culture, with each farm making their own smoked daikon radish, and soy sauce and miso breweries also produce high-quality, distinctive seasonings. If we were to offer a course meal, I would like to incorporate a sense of the seasons into these local bounty, and express the four seasons of Misato through the food." (Chef Horiuchi)

Chef Horiuchi also commented on his local tastes in seasonings, saying that he felt the sweetness that is characteristic of Kyushu soy sauce.

"It was interesting to see that there was a sweeter version of light soy sauce, not just dark soy sauce. I also felt that the local cuisine, not just soy sauce, was relatively strongly flavored. It is said that strong flavors are a characteristic of Aomori and the rest of the Tohoku region in general, but as this menu will appeal to customers from outside the prefecture, I think the key is finding the right balance." (Chef Horiuchi)

Chefs and local cooks teamed up to refine the dish and make it even more delicious.

The local chefs who received instruction from Chef Horiuchi were five members of the Food and Beverage Division of Akita Misatozukuri Co., Ltd. In particular, Katsuyoshi Takezawa, the head of the Food and Beverage Division, and Ryuta Takahashi, the head of the kitchen, played a central role in developing the menu, exchanging opinions with Chef Horiuchi.

During development, opinions are exchanged while tasting the dishes. Chef Horiuchi checks the prototypes and refines them by incorporating suggestions for improvement. For example, for "Misato Ramen," a new local menu item under development, suggestions for improvement were made, focusing on the sauce and char siu pork.

"The soup is made only with dried ingredients, and we purposely do not use any animal products. The sauce is based on light soy sauce from Terui Miso Soy Sauce Brewery in Misato Town, seasoned with dark soy sauce, shottsuru (a fish sauce made mainly from sandfish), sake, mirin, salt, and vinegar, and flavored with dried sardine oil. The char siu is a reference to the "disturbance of the wild geese" from the Gosannen War, and is made by cooking duck meat at a low temperature and then searing it over a burner. We also topped it with grilled wheat gluten, a characteristic of southern Akita ramen," says Section Chief Takahashi.

The reason why the soup does not use any animal-based ingredients is because it pays homage to the famous "Misato Tanunaka (Tanuki Chinese)" Japanese soba-based ramen that does not use any animal-based ingredients, a masterpiece of "Fujioka Shokudo" that used to exist in front of Rokugo High School in Misato Town. Also, "The Disturbance of the Geese" is an anecdote told as an episode of the "Gosannen War" that took place in Yokote City and Misato Town during the Heian Period.

"If I may point out something, I'm concerned about the sweetness. It might be better to use less mirin, but that might not be all. Also, I think that searing the duck ruins the visual appeal of the rare meat, which is made by cooking it at low temperature. Why not cut it into larger pieces without searing it and reduce the number of pieces from two to one? I think that would look better and have more impact." (Chef Horiuchi)

"I also felt the sweetness. It may be that the dried sardine oil gives it its own sweetness, so I'll try to adjust it while keeping an eye on the balance." (Section Chief Takahashi)

"The soy sauce may also be affecting the sweetness. However, since Misato Ramen is made possible thanks to Terui's soy sauce, which is also used in Misato Tanunaka, we will not change it. Instead, we will try to readjust it by increasing the proportion of salt to make it less rich." (Manager Takezawa)

In addition, the "Soy Milk Panna Cotta with Strawberry Sauce," which will be served as an after-meal dessert, will focus on improving its texture and toppings.

"We added fresh cream to the soy milk and used agar instead of the usual gelatin to give it a loose consistency. The strawberries are boiled in sugar and water. We plan to have local farmers ship the strawberries to us, so we want to give it an even more local flavor," says Section Chief Takahashi.

"The strawberries are not too sweet, and I think they give a good overall balance. I was concerned about the hardness of the dough. Agar is often used in Japanese sweets, such as mizu yokan, so it's a great idea, but it can be made looser. I would also like to add some herbs as a garnish. Mint is good, but it has a strong scent, so I think chervil would be good for this size." (Chef Horiuchi)

A luxurious course filled with the bounty of Misato Town and the colors of the seasons has been completed

In March 2021, Chef Horiuchi visited Misato Town again to provide cooking instruction for the courses and set menus. Manager Takezawa and Section Chief Takahashi took the lead in recreating the recipes devised by the chef, and Chef Horiuchi made adjustments to any parts of the recipes that were not well conveyed.

"For example, the presentation. In Japanese cuisine, which expresses the four seasons, presentation is an important element. We made several changes to the presentation to match the dishes we would be serving it on. One small detail was the orientation of the pickled vegetables, which represents cherry blossoms. If we were to serve something under JAL's supervision, we would pay special attention to details like that, so that our customers would enjoy it." (Chef Horiuchi)

Manager Takezawa said that he learned a lot from the cooking of Chef Horiuchi, who is active both in Japan and overseas. He said that there were many points that he didn't understand well from the recipes sent to him in advance, but by listening to him directly, he was able to understand them better.

"I learned once again that by adjusting the heat and cooking time, you can bring out the best in the ingredients more than you would think. There were a lot of eye-opening ideas in the combinations as well. For example, with roast beef, the use of soy pulp instead of horseradish is a presentation unique to Japanese cuisine, and the sauce was deliberately made to be a Japanese-style sauce, which was a perfect match. Cooking is really deep." (Manager Takezawa)

The completed course was a sumptuous meal, overflowing with the bounty of Misato Town and the colors of the four seasons. It began with an appetizer of smoked daikon radish and potato salad on bread topped with caviar, followed by a variety of delicacies including sashimi, fish, and meat dishes, for a total of nine dishes.

"Generally, Junsai is a summer or early summer ingredient, but in Akita, where it is famous for being grown, it can be harvested all year round, and in winter people eat Junsai hotpot. For that reason, we tried using it in a vinegared appetizer. There was a wide variety of soy sauces and miso pastes, so we used different soy sauces for the Japanese-style bean paste and different miso for the nuta. For the fish dish, we served grilled sawara marinated in saikyo sauce with smoked daikon radish tartar sauce. The grilled saikyo sauce is delicious on its own, but adding the sauce gives it a unique Akita flavor and makes it even more delicious." (Chef Horiuchi)

As new set meal-style menu items, Chef Horiuchi has proposed five dishes: "Hamburg steak, fried shrimp with smoked daikon radish tartare," "Pork steak (with ginger)," "Mackerel simmered in miso and seasonal vegetables," "Misato sake lees soup," and "Misato Japanese black beef omelette rice."

Chef Horiuchi is considering serving the dish in a presentation that evokes the image of an in-flight meal. He believes that this type of presentation will give the impression that the dish was created under the supervision of JAL.

In addition to the ramen mentioned above, we have also polished up local dishes created by chefs in Misato Town. The "Hinaichi Chicken Oyakodon" has a fluffy and creamy texture due to the gentle heat. Topping it with egg yolk adds a sizzling touch.

Also, Misato Yakisoba is a Misato-style version of the neighboring town's local gourmet food, Yokote Yakisoba, with key features including the use of minced duck meat, the addition of natto, and the blending of soy sauce into the sauce. As for the eggs, while Yokote Yakisoba uses fried eggs, Misato Yakisoba uses onsen eggs, which are thought to mix better with the natto. The onsen eggs were apparently Chef Horiuchi's idea.

We spoke to the three people who were central to developing these new menu items to share their thoughts and enthusiasm.

"This was the first time I'd focused so much on a local government and worked hand in hand with the local community to develop a menu, so it was very stimulating for me. It was also my first time visiting Misato, and it's a wonderful town where you can experience magnificent nature and warm people. I hope that you will take your time to enjoy your meal while experiencing these charms." (Chef Horiuchi)

"We've lived here for many years, but this project has reminded us of the blessings of the land and how to make the most of them. We hope that not only tourists visiting Misato Town, but also people in the surrounding areas will try our food and spread our message," said Director Takezawa.

"I learned a lot from Chef Horiuchi's techniques and ideas. Misato Town has many different faces throughout the year, so I would like to work on developing future menus that express the characteristics of each season in my cooking." (Takahashi)

Here are the facilities where you can enjoy the new menu!

All of the new menus will be served at facilities in Misato town. The "JAL in-flight meal chef-supervised course menu" will be available for dinner and banquets at "Senbata Onsen Sun R," as well as at accommodation and hot spring facilities such as "Rokugo Onsen Attakayama," "Yutopia Karinosato Onsen," and "Misato Town Accommodation Exchange Center Wakuasu," as well as banquet dishes at "Niteko Meisui-an" and "Misato Roadside Station."

Additionally, the various set meal menus as well as Misato Ramen, Hinai Jidori Chicken Oyakodon, and Misato Yakisoba are planned to be offered primarily at the Misato Roadside Station.

Senbata Onsen Sun R

Rokugo Onsen Atatakayama

Yutopia Gannosato Onsen

Misato Town Accommodation Exchange Center Wakuas

Niteko Meisui-an

One of these is Roadside Station Misato, a new attraction in Misato Town that will be renovated on March 31, 2021. Some of the new menu items can be enjoyed at the rice-themed restaurant inside the facility, Kamameshi Shokudo Misato no Gohan.

Roadside Station Misato

Recommended sightseeing spots in Misato Town to enjoy in all four seasons

Misato Town has not only delicious food, but also various attractions in each season. For example, there are plenty of things to see in each season, such as a tour of 126 spring springs, lavender gardens in summer, autumn leaves and hot springs in autumn, and the Rokugo Kamakura festival in winter.

The "Tohoku Destination Campaign" (www.tohokukanko.jp/dc/), which combines thematic tourism content from the six Tohoku prefectures, will be held from April 1 to September 30, 2021. If you are traveling to Akita, be sure to stop by Misato Town and experience the delicious food and scenery unique to this region.

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