New Local Cuisine in Hagi, Yamaguchi

Introducing new local cuisine in Hagi, Yamaguchi!

Introducing new local cuisine in Hagi, Yamaguchi!

Yamaguchi Prefecture offers an abundance of seafood. Choshu fresh seafood mabushi and Choshu fresh seafood sea urchin shabu-shabu are new dishes introduced as means of more fully enjoying the appeal of seafood.

Choshu fresh seafood mabushi

Choshu fresh seafood mabushi is a new dish for enjoying seafood in several different ways. You can enjoy the local seafood on rice three times with different flavors: the first time as is, the second time with toppings, and the third time with broth or tea added.

Fish caught locally near Hagi

The sea bed off the shore of Hagi, which is where fishing takes place, is characterized by several submarine volcanoes, shoals created by lava flows, and rock reefs called guri. The currents collide with those shoals, and nutrient-rich sand and mud is swept into the ocean, producing good fishing areas where plankton, which fish use for food, can grow. That’s why the fish caught there is so fatty! A wide variety of seasonal fish are caught all year round, including the Amadai and Setsukiaji brands of Hagi fish. More than 200 varieties of seafood are available over the course of a year!

Choshu fresh seafood sea urchin shabu-shabu

Luxurious shabu-shabu made with specialty sea urchin soup, local seafood, and farmed sea urchin known locally as Choshu no Isomori. From the soup to the finishing dish, each inn has its own specialty items, which you can enjoy while staying at a hot spring inn.

Choshu no Isomori – brand-name sea urchin

Choshu no Isomori is a brand of sea urchin grown in Nagato, Yamaguchi that takes three months to cultivate. Maruyama Suisan, a seafood processing company in Nagato, and Uninomics, a sea urchin farming company, have started a land-based seafood farming business to solve the problem of seabed desertification caused by various changes to marine environments, such as over-consumption of seaweed by sea urchins. Choshu no Isomori is a brand of farmed sea urchin raised with care based on research on caring for delicate sea urchins. These sea urchins are packed full of meat and have a rich flavor without any unpleasant notes.

Choshu Chicken Steak

Choshu Chicken Steak is a chicken steak made from either of (or both of) two prized chicken varieties that are famous in Yamaguchi: Choshu Dori and Choshu Kuro Kashiwa. We offer it with a variety of cooking methods, seasonings, and sauces.

Two chicken varieties that are famous in Yamaguchi: Choshu Dori and Choshu Kuro Kashiwa

“There are two varieties of chicken that are mainly produced in the city of Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Choshu Dori is a versatile variety of chicken that can be used in any type of cuisine because of three qualities: its lack of odor, its lack of unpleasant flavor, and its tenderness. These chickens are raised in free-range coops and are fed a blend of five herbs.
Choshu Kuro Kashiwa is a local chicken variety unique to Yamaguchi Prefecture. It has tender, juicy meat with just the right of chewiness. The more you chew it, the more flavorful it becomes. These chickens are raised slowly and with great care, taking almost twice as long as ordinary chickens to mature.”

Choshu fresh seafood mabushi

Choshu fresh seafood mabushi is a local cuisine made with seasonal seafood from Yamaguchi Prefecture. Because only fresh seafood is used, you experience the joy of not knowing what will be on your plate that day. Enjoy seasonal delicacies you can’t eat anywhere else and learn the proper way to eat hitsumabushi.

HIGHLIGHTHitsumabushi-style dining — a different taste all three times

This dish lets you enjoy a different taste each time, much like hitsumabushi!

  1. First, enjoy the seafood as-is on rice.
  2. Next, mix it with other toppings to change the flavor.
  3. Lastly, eat it with broth poured into a bowl.
    Each restaurant has its own method of changing up the flavor, its own ingredients, and its own type of broth! You can also enjoy side dishes consisting of deep-fried local seafood from Yamaguchi.

Restaurants that serve Choshu fresh seafood mabushi

Enjoy sea urchin soup made with exquisite Choshu no Isomori brand sea urchin!

Choshu fresh seafood sea urchin shabu-shabu

Choshu fresh seafood sea urchin shabu-shabu is a delicacy involving seafood boiled shabu-shabu-style in sea urchin soup broth. Seafood and vegetables from Yamaguchi Prefecture are briefly dipped into rich soup made with generous amounts of sea urchin. The ingredients vary from inn to inn. The ingredients include Choshu no Isomori brand sea urchin, making the meal a true sea urchin feast!

HIGHLIGHTEnjoy sea urchin served shabu-shabu-style finished with blissful rice at the end!

A variety of exquisite sea urchin soup broths are available as shabu-shabu broth, according to each chef’s own specialties. After enjoying the seafood, you can finish with shime rice to use up the remaining delicious soup stock. Each inn has its own variety of sea urchin soup combined with rice or noodles to enjoy as shime.

Restaurants that serve Choshu fresh seafood sea urchin shabu-shabu

Choshu Chicken Steak

Choshu Chicken Steak is a chicken steak made from either of (or both of) two prized chicken varieties: Choshu Dori and Choshu Kuro Kashiwa. Any part of the meat can be used and cooked in any manner. A rich variety of dishes overflowing with creativity from local chefs are available, including crispy baked chicken and juicy flame-broiled chicken. Each restaurant offers unique sauces, seasonings, and garnishes.

Restaurants that serve Choshu chicken steak

Related links

Three new local specialty cuisines from Yamaguchi Prefecture!