Niigata Yakisoba
Niigata Encyclopedia
Niigata Yakisoba is known as “The Soul food of Niigata” is something warm, affordable, and delicious to Niigata residents and is well known from its legacy of Niigata-Italian Cuisine. No other is as known as the salty cooked up noodles with vegetables with a poured on sauce as Niigata Yakisoba that is referred to as “Mikazuki Sauce” [Crescent Moon Sauce]. It is said to be a Worcestershire Sauce, however those who have tasted it know that it is a mixture of a complete “Yakisoba Sauce” that is lighter in flavor so that it goes well with sauces while adding a complimentary flavor, so if they are being polite they refer to it also as “Niigata Worcestershire Sauce”. The noodles are a “medium-thick sized” traditionally, however there are “medium sized” noodles, and “thin-sized” that are made of wheat flour noodles. It is standard to eat many of the dishes with a fork.
Gyoza is a common set addition to Niigata Yakisoba due to the popularity of the Gyoza from the restaurant “Friend” in 1963 that pairs noodles with the ever popular gyoza dumplings with a side of pickles. In 1955, a sweet shop called “Nagaoka Manju Honpo“ was the predecessor of “Friend“ was opened in the basement of “Marusen Department Store“, JR Nagaoka Station, where it followed the cutting-edge American fast-food culture. Anticipating private-car culture in Japan and in Niigata the company would have a drive-through select items that could easily be eaten on the go, so not only was gyoza a food that could be eaten on the go when it was not a common food item in Japan at that time. Nagaoka has since then really specialized in making people identify yakisoba being a part of food that could be eaten on the go, meanwhile Niigata City keeps on pushing the development of Itaria in its own way.
Niigata Yakisoba had evolved in its own way, with the classic style Yakisoba that is the B-Class street food, that would be seen as a fast-food item as well as a street food and possible restaurant entree the dish had really reached many parts of the food service industry. Gyoza was now part of the dishes that would go with Niigata Yakisoba and as other areas like Itoigawa developed their Burraku Yakisoba (squid ink), and Joetsu developed their Howaito Yakisoba, Uonuma Guriin yakisoba (mugwort), and Myoko Akakura Onsen brought on Reddo Yakisoba (tomato paprika) there would be Yakisoba sides that would be part of the expected menu. For example: Various Niigata Pickles, Niigata Miso Soup, Onsen Eggs or Flat-Omelette (burraku yakisoba), Niigata Gyoza (friend restaurant), Fried Things (reddo yakisoba), Chopped Salad (itaria ryori), Vegetable sides that are either grilled or stir fried (guriin yakisoba).According to the Gourmet Ranking online the top contenders for Yakisoba thats popular in the prefecture are: Mikazuki in Bandai City, Friend in Nagaoka, Restaurant Eika in Myoko, Tenma in Murakami, Momoenro in Tsugawa, Koyama in Myoko, and Tsukitoku Hanten.
However due to the scene of Furumachi where Italian dishes would meet the times of the Meiji-era to the Taisho-era where westernization was making its mark alongside Japanese Traditions. It would be separate from Furumachi also being known not only for Niigata-Italian Cuisine, but also Authentic Italian Cuisine, and Japanese-Italian Cuisine, due to the famous chef Pietro Migliore and the Hotel Italiaken that continues to push out many great cooks through their kitchens. Furumachi would be known for its Geigi (geisha) Tea Houses, Niigata-Italian Cuisine, and adapted Motorization. There are those highly interested in history and older people who try to make food that is both Italian and Japanese that can be eaten in Kimono garments, served in either a 折り箱 Oribako (folding box) 重箱 Jubako (multilayered box) using Hashi (chop sticks) or specialized forks to keep clothes clean.
Variations of Italian noodles that are often compared to Niigata “Itarian” are: Nagoya “Ankake Spaghetti” leans more on traditional Italian Pasta noodles instead of Yakisoba noodles or a sauce and looks like a mixture of Japanese techniques with American spaghetti in how it is cooked and Italian ingredients that focuses on a thick-sauce. Shiga Prefecture “Itaria Yakisoba” it is a signature menu item at restaurant “Chashin” that has been around since the Meiji era and has been part of “Nagahama soul food” that combines the yakisoba sauce and meat sauce together instead of cooking them separately makes it Shiga-style. Okayama Prefecture a soba restaurant called “Trattoria” uses locally made Buckwheat noodles Soba made on site with a variation of Flat-Soba that is similar size to Fettucini flat-noodles and is served with a condiment of “butter-oil”.