Osaka Street Food - Kuidaore ‘eat until you drop’

A mind blowing 6 weeks in Tokyo had me asking, how could food in Japan possibly get any better?

Surely, I had experienced the peak of Japans unadulterated cuisine in the nation’s capital?

Enter Osaka, ‘the nations kitchen’; the third biggest city in Japan has an evocative subculture and a reputation for a world class street food scene which compliments the local’s slightly more aggressive and quirky nature.

There’s something exciting and comforting about the street food scene here. Generations of authentic local specialty dishes cooked fresh to order right in front of you, and it is in this that Osaka is at the top of its game… so what specialties can you expect from this neon wonderland?

Okonomiyaki – This dish is favourite from the city. Resembling a pancake, the eggy batter base is dotted with grated yam and makes it more of an omelette on steroids. Thinly sliced pork belly is a popular addition as well as Octopus, kimchi, shrimp and squid and don’t pass up the fried soba to add an interesting texture.

Patience is rewarding when you order this as it is cooked in front of you on a Teppan grill with fillings carefully fried to concentrate the umami flavours before assembling and drenching in bulldog (rich brown sauce), striped with Kupie (Japanese Mayo), a sprinkling of Aonori (toasted seaweed flakes, and garnished heavily with a mountain of bonito flakes. Using a small spatula and chopsticks you separate a slice of this crispy tender delicacy!

Tako-yaki – Although this dish is popular all around Japan and needs little introduction it somehow seems like these molten octopus balls reach their crispy, gooey glory here and have a special place in Osakan's hearts.

Cooked in special cast iron moulds, the batter is spread across the dips in the pan and expertly flipped using a single chopstick. Cooked until crispy golden on the outside and molten gooey on the inside, they are piled onto a bamboo boat, smothered in a brown savoury sauce and garnished with bonito flakes. After watching the preparation you’re drooling and by the time it is handed to you are tempted to dive right in. Burning the roof of your mouth is not recommended at this stage but I guess everybody does it once. I suggest poking it with your chopstick allowing it to vent its steam before crunching through its crispy exterior to the softness within.

Kushikatsu – If you can skewer it you probably will find it a panko crusted delight on your Kushikatsu combo menu at famous Daruma. Opened in 1929 this pull up a stool street food vendor takes pride in its breaded sticks. A 15 skewer Shinsekai history menu offers scallops, sweet potato, shishito pepper, quail eggs, pork cutlet, chicken sausage, lotus root, shrimp and fish balls with cheese.

There is an etiquette to eating these tasty bite sized morsels. Dipping your skewer just once into a communal bath of rich soy based sauce, absorbing its salty deliciousness and bringing it back to your landing dish before you can consume. DO NOT DOUBLE DIP! If you need more sauce cabbage is provided to spoon it onto your skewer. Once you are done you can place the skewer into a standing bamboo cylinder and repeat.

The drum banging clown ‘Kuidaore"‘ represents the city culture of "‘eat til you drop’

Tako-yaki in various stages of production

The angry man holding skewers at famous Kushikatsu Daruma Dotombori-ten

Neon nightskape of Dotombori, Osakas famous street food scene

Inject DesignMay 15, 2019Comment