Enjoying home-cooked flavors by the mothers of this seaside area: processed octopus products by Kaisen Kobo Kirikko

▶From left: Octopus Zangi, Octopus Kimchi, Softly Simmered Octopus, Octopus Rice Ingredients. All members of Kirikko are involved in catching octopus, making it the one marine product that they’re particularly connected to.

To the southwest of Nemuro City is the Ochiishi Fishing Port. Kaisen Kobo Kirikko’s processed products are made with octopus and other marine products brought into this port.

Kirikko was formed in 2007 by six wives of fishermen who wanted to add value to the marine products brought into Ochiishi. For roughly 15 years, they’ve run the family fishery business while conducting initiatives to spread awareness about Ochiishi’s seafood.

When you eat Kirikko’s processed octopus products, you might be shocked by how soft the octopus is. When we asked them about this, we found out that their processing plant is only about 200 m from the port. The secret to this softness is that they pretreat the octopus as soon as they get it from port, while it’s still moving. They’re also very particular about selecting the ingredients they use, because they want their customers to eat something that’ll nourish their bodies. They’ve been able to create their Softly Simmered Octopus and Octopus Rice Ingredients without using chemical seasoning. These products are the pride of the all-woman team, who follow the motto of “safety and peace of mind.”

Octopus is a bit of a challenge to cook by yourself, so the nice thing about Kirikko’s processed products is that you can eat octopus without having to put in much effort. They can be used as a main dish, as an accompaniment to your meal or as a snack to enjoy with alcohol. We recommend enjoying some of their many delicious octopus dishes around your dinner table.

A delicious delicacy that you can eat with peace of mind:
Hokkaido Hinode Shokuhin’s Additive Free Snacks

▶Paripori Baked Kombu (left) and Baked Scallop Strings (right). One bite of either of these and you’ll be hooked.

With their chewy texture and addictive flavor, these types of delicacies go really well with alcohol. It’s easy to eat too many and they don’t necessarily have a healthy image. The products made by Hokkaido Hinode Shokuhin turn that image on its head.

They’re making additive free delicacies, which don’t use synthetic preservatives or chemical seasoning. To maintain the quality of the product without using preservatives, they experimented with using deoxidizers, which were rarely used in such delicacies at the time, and various flavorings. The current company president, Yoichiro Shinpo, taught us that after repeated trial and error, they finally found the perfect recipe.

We’ll take a look at their Paripori Baked Kombu and Baked Scallop Strings. Paripori Baked Kombu is crispy kombu, baked in a way that is easy to eat, even for children. Normally, these kinds of delicacies have a chewy texture, meaning the flavor comes out when you chew them. But, as the name suggests (paripori is an onomatopoeia for the crunching sound made when biting into a snack) this product takes out the chewiness and can be easily eaten as a snack. Baked Scallop Strings is a product born from the idea that it would be a waste to throw away edible kaihimo (shellfish mantle). It’s also popular as a snack to have on long-distance road trips.

Hokkaido Hinode Shokuhin’s additive-free delicacies are made under the motto “putting our passion into creating something that’s healthy, safe to eat and delicious.” They can be enjoyed in a variety of settings, including as an accompaniment to alcohol.

A soy sauce that can only be made by fishermen:
Habomai Fishermen’s Cooperative Association’s Habomai Kombu Soy Sauce

▶100 ml bottle of Habomai Kombu Soy Sauce. It’s the perfect size for a souvenir.

Facing the Pacific Ocean, Habomai is home to many fishermen who are engaged in kombu harvesting. Habomai Kombu Soy Sauce is made from kombu harvested in the area. This soy sauce was first created in 1990. At that time, soy sauce tended to just be salty. Habomai Kombu Soy Sauce, which is rich in flavor with the added umami of kombu, quickly spread throughout Hokkaido, as dashi soy sauce itself was still rare.

The raw material used in this soy sauce is Laminaria longissima (a type of kombu) harvested locally. They use the root of the kombu, known as “moto” in Japanese, which is wide and thick. Moreover, they use only the finest kombu, which is dark in color and has the highest grade. Another important point is how the kombu broth used in the soy sauce is made. They use a water infusion method, in which the kombu is soaked in water and heated slowly to draw out the broth. The whole process is time-consuming and very deliberate. They are particular about making sure they use plenty of high-quality raw materials in the manufacturing process—something that’s only possible thanks to the fishing cooperative.

▶They also have many variations including a low-sodium type and ponzu sauce. The most recommended is Habomai Kombu Soy Sauce Rich Finish, which uses a large amount of kombu broth.

With its mild flavor, Habomai Kombu Soy Sauce goes well with sashimi. It’s also a good choice because it contains less salt than ordinary soy sauce. It works well as a seasoning for various dishes. The local mothers use it to season knotted kombu. This soy sauce, carefully made by the fishermen of Habomai, is sure to give a different flavor to your everyday dishes. It can be purchased at the direct sales office in the Habomai Fishermen’s Cooperative Association, as well as supermarkets throughout Hokkaido.

A dish where you can enjoy the umami of Hanasaki crab:
Hanasaki Crab Ramen by the Nemuro City Tourism Development Corporation

▶Hanasaki Crab Ramen. It’s popular for its crab meat topping.

Hanasaki crab is one of Nemuro’s standout marine products. It’s characterized by its rich, fresh, and sweet taste. Hanasaki Crab Ramen is cup noodles, with its stand-out feature being the Hanasaki crab topping. It’s sold by the Nemuro City Tourism Development Corporation, which operates Michi-no-Eki and other facilities in Nemuro City. The broth is lightly salted to bring out the sweetness of the crab. It also features thin noodles, which go well with the salty flavor. The recipe was developed to maximize the flavor of the Hanasaki crab, and has been made for about 10 years.

The thing that stands out the most is the crab meat, which is added as a topping. The crab used in Hanasaki Crab Ramen is vacuum packed to preserve its unique springy texture and rich flavor.

To prepare the noodles, add hot water and leave them for four minutes. The broth, which smells like the ocean, is packed with umami from the crab and has an addictive flavor. With silky smooth noodles that slide easily down your throat, it’s a slurp-worthy dish that you’ll finish in no time. This bowl full of Hanasaki crab is packed with umami and easy to prepare. It’s a great souvenir to pick up for those who love ramen and are crazy about crab.

Nemuro seafood in a jar:
Shigekatsu’s Hokkai Shrimp Chili Oil

▶Hokkai Shrimp Chili Oil (1,200 yen). This chili oil is made with lots of Hokkai shrimp from Nemuro. Another great thing about it is that it’s additive-free.

Shigekatsu is located in a part of Nemuro City that’s full of restaurants. Shigeto Hinuma founded this fresh fish store in 1988 and runs it with his family. He grew up in a fishing family, and used to go out fishing with them too. After helping out at a friend’s fish store, he worked in the fresh fish department of a supermarket before starting his own business and opening Shigekatsu as a specialty store.

The fresh, seasonal fish that line the shelves of the store are purchased at the daily auctions held within Nemuro City by the Nemuro Fishing Cooperative, Habomai Fishermen’s Cooperative Association and Ochiishi Fishery Cooperative. In the hope of adding value by making as much as possible by themselves, the store also makes a variety of handmade processed products, including dried fish.
One such product is the Hokkai Shrimp Chili Oil. This edible chili oil is made from various ingredients and was developed with Hokkai shrimp, which is not often seen in processed products. The recipe was developed in cooperation with the Nemuro City Processing Center, and is now made by Hinuma’s daughter, Miho Sato. The chili oil is packed with the rich umami taste of shrimp and can be served on top of rice or chilled tofu, or as a topping for pasta or ramen noodles.

▶Shigeto Hinuma. He also served as the chairman of the board of directors of the town’s shopping district. He shared with us many of his passionate ideas for Nemuro’s community development.

With his proactive attitude and multitude of ideas, Hinuma continues to spread the word about Nemuro’s delicious marine products in many ways, including by actively presenting at product exhibitions in various regions. He told us that the main attraction about Nemuro is that it has seafood in season year-round. Hinuma’s chili oil lets you take a slice of this seafood home with you.