As everyone knows sushi, Japan is a treasure house of fish dishes. You can have a variety of delicious seafood in many places. Among others, Hokkaido is the best destination not only for Japanese foodies but also for foreign tourists.

Chanchanyaki, I strongly recommend that you try, is a popular fisherman’s recipe there. The sweet-miso flavoured salmon and vegetables match white rice very well. In this article, I will describe chanchanyaki and show a recipe for it.

Foodies’ Utopia, Hokkaido

Hokkaido is the northernmost and the largest prefecture in Japan. Thanks to such huge land, agriculture is one of the biggest industries. Vegetables like potatoes, maize and asparagus are well-known products. Hokkaido is also a popular fishery area since it is enclosed by the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. Many restaurants serve local crabs, prawns, shellfish, salmon and so on. You must go there if you are keen on seafood.

What is Chanchanyaki?

The main ingredient of chanchanyaki is salmon. The local salmon has been recognised as essential food for a long time. For example, the indigenous people, Ainu, called salmon kamui-chepu which meant a god’s fish. Also, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan selected chanchanyaki as one of the best rural foods in 2007. The derivation of chanchanyaki is not certain. According to one of the stories, “chan” came from “tochan (父ちゃん)” which meant father. Chanchanyaki was used to be cooked by fishermen who supported their families. Another story told that “chan” came from “chaccha (ちゃっちゃっ)” which meant quickness. As I will show below, chanchanyaki is very easy to cook.

How to Cook Chanchanyaki?

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      Ingredients
      ・Salmon
      ・A half of cabbage
      ・2 onions
      ・2 or 3 carrots
      ・2 green peppers
      ・200g of mushrooms
      ・10 tablespoons of miso paste
      ・7 or 8 tablespoons of Japanese sake
      ・3 tablespoons of sugar
      ・4 tablespoons of mirin
      Chanchanyaki does not need special ingredients, so you will be able to gather all the ingredients and cook it at home even if you live outside Japan. The main ingredient is, of course, salmon. The vegetables typically used are listed above but you can add whatever you like. For example, leeks, aubergines and potatoes are also good. However, strong flavour vegetables such as celery would not go well. If you can not find Japanese sake, just ignore it. Mirin, which is Japanese sweet alcohol, is also a little bit hard to find but you can substitute sugar for it.

      

  Directions
  1. Place the salmon in a large roasting tray. Sear it on both sides until they become golden.
  2. Remove the salmon from the tray, and fry vegetables in the same tray in a short time.
  3. Back the salmon onto the vegetables.
  4. Drop the seasoning mixture onto the salmon and vegetables.
  5. Cover the tray with tin foil, then put the tray into a preheated 180 degrees oven. Steam the salmon and vegetables until all the ingredients are cooked well (about an hour). Check several times.
  6. Take the tray out of the oven. Break the salmon and mix it with vegetables. Then, serve this with butter on the top.

  

  Chanchanyaki is a suitable dish for a party since you can make a lot once. If you are interested in, try the above recipe at home. However, I recommend that you go to Hokkaido and have authentic chanchanyaki in advance.