Japan is cray about its food and seems to have an endless list of dishes. When visiting during the winter season Katashina’s snow resorts offer a variety of hearty dishes that warm up the body in no time after a cold day of skiing/snowboarding down the pistes.
Curry Rice
You will probably find curry rice in every ski hut. It is easy, cheap, warm and always delicious! Japanese curry is usually always served with red pickles called ‘fukujinzuke’ made of radish, eggplant, lotus root and cucumber. You can get chicken curry, vegetable curry and beef curry. Or try Katzu-curry, when they load up the curry rice with a Schnitzel-like deep fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu).
Ramen
A big bowl of ramen is filling and oishii! There are different types of broth, which are typical for different regions: shio (salt), tonkotsu (pork bone), shoyu (soy sauce) and miso.
Udon
The thick wheat flour noodles are also commonly eaten on a ski trip. My personal favourite is tempura udon!
-man
There are soft, hot, steamed buns filled with curry (curryman), beef (nikuman) or anko (azuki bean pasta – anman). You may have seen these in the typical Japanese corner stores but they are often sold at the ski huts too.
Stamina-don
As the name already suggests this rice bowl topped with juicy and garlicky thinly sliced pork gives you strength and keeps you going for a full day out in the cold. A great heart meal which I like to top up with lots of pickled red ginger!
HAGEMORI
Hagemori is an event where different restaurants in Katashina create a new and special dish (sweet or savoury) for the winter season from December to March. The cooks combine the seasonal produce with our energy needs for the cold wintery weather. It is always fun to try something new and often these meals are so massive that you can share them between two.
For example this big tonkatsu rice bowl at Gohanjo at Oguna ski resort.
Is this making you hungry? Well then come and taste for yourself!
Katashina FUNtashina
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