Tracing the history of Esukaroppu: a dish that has gained popularity throughout Nemuro

At first, I want to go over how Esukaroppu came to be. I sat down to discuss this history with Shohei Kotaki, the owner of Coffee and Restaurant The Dorian Nemuro.

The first person to start making Esukaroppu was Kinya Komura, the third head chef of a café called Mont Blanc, which was in business from 1957 to 1965. Before this, Komura used to work for a western restaurant in Shinbashi, where they served a dish known as Esukaroppini: naporitan (Japanese ketchup-based pasta) topped with a cutlet and drizzled with demi-glace sauce. He later went on to work for an Italian restaurant in Yokohama, where they offered a dish called Esukaroppu that featured naporitan made in a chicken fried rice (Japanese ketchup fried rice) style. He’d later make this at Mont Blanc. Responding to demand from the customers at Mont Blanc, who said they wanted the dish to have a milder flavor, he changed the rice to buttered rice, and that’s how the Esukaroppu we can enjoy today began.

Komura came to Nemuro in 1963. Mont Blanc closed down two years later, but since Esukaroppu was a simple dish that was easy to imitate, many cafés started serving their own versions. At that time, the population of Nemuro was booming, and the number of cafés grew with it. This increase in cafés saw the popularity of Esukaroppu grow.

▶New Mont Blanc on the street in front of the station. The big logo on its wall makes it stand out.

Komura only made Esukaroppu in Nemuro for a short time. However, one of Mont Blanc’s bartenders, Katsutoshi Umeda, opened up a restaurant called New Mont Blanc in 1963, which also served Esukaroppu. At the time, people weren’t taught with recipes; rather, they watched and learned. Kotaki surmises that Umeda also made the dish by watching and learning. The original flavor from Mont Blanc was most likely passed down to New Mont Blanc by Umeda.
Later on, Kotaki’s parents, who had worked at New Mont Blanc, opened up Coffee and Restaurant The Dorian Nemuro, Umeda opened his second restaurant, Suntory Terra, and Kazuo Nakamura opened up Restaurant and Coffee Shop Bara. It’s said that these three cafés offer the original flavor of Esukaroppu.

▶Coffee and Restaurant The Dorian Nemuro with its distinctive green wall.

▶ Restaurant and Coffee Shop Bara with its eye-catching retro sign.

Coffee and Restaurant The Dorian Nemuro: preserving traditional flavors

This version is made with thin slices of crispy cutlet atop a somewhat large serving of buttered rice. It features a rich yet tart-tasting demi-glace sauce, which makes the dish satiating but not too heavy.
Kotaki told me that the demi-glace sauce is the part that he’s the most particular about. Since the opening of their café, they’ve been replenishing the sauce little by little. It’s made by simmering beef bone and potherbs for one week, mixing it with brown sauce, which is made by frying beef tallow with white flour, then straining it. He said that the sauce is characterized by its acidity, which offsets the heaviness of Esukaroppu’s ingredients, giving it the perfect balance to leave you feeling satisfied but not too full. The café has been preserving this traditional flavor for more than 50 years.

Restaurant and Coffee Shop Bara: offering a full-bodied flavor that has people gobbling up every last bit

▶Esukaroppu (1,100 yen). For those who have a big appetite, they offer a larger portion called Marutoku Esukaroppu for 1,950 yen.

Restaurant and Coffee Shop Bara’s Esukaroppu is notable for its buttered rice that is seasoned with salt and pepper and has a slightly sweet flavor from the butter. It pairs perfectly with the rich demi-glace sauce. The addition of a salad drizzled with a light dressing makes for a great palate-cleanser.
Nakamura shared with me that the secret to their rich demi-glace sauce is that the brown sauce is made by frying butter and wheat flour to bring out the flavor.

New Mont Blanc: serving up hearty portions inside a retro-style interior

▶Esukaroppu (1,000 yen). Their menu also includes various dishes with interesting names, such as Oriental Rice (1,250 yen) and Bidokku Rice (1,100 yen).

This Esukaroppu boasts a generous portion served on a cute silver platter—a presentation style that hasn’t changed since back in the day. The buttered rice is moist and gives off a flavorsome, buttery scent. The lightly colored demi-glace sauce has a strong tartness to it.
New Mont Blanc opened in 1963. The restaurant’s third owner, Nobuya Sano told me that they haven’t changed the recipe since they first opened and the special demi-glace sauce is made by constantly replenishing it, simmering it in a large pot for several days.

Restaurant ATTOKO: boasting Esukaroppu made with home-grown Nemuro shorthorn beef

▶Wagyu and Nemuro Shorthorn Beef Esukaroppu (1,380 yen). Plus 200 yen for a large serving.

The Esukaroppu served at Restaurant ATTOKO inside Akesato Ito Dairy Farm uses shorthorn beef raised in their pastures. They use beef round from Nemuro shorthorn cows, which are known for having lean meat. As you chew it, you’ll notice the umami flavor from the beef. The sauce is on the sweet side, and they have added onion along with the usual bamboo shoots to the buttered rice to give it a light flavor.
They came up with their version of the Esukaroppu to encourage more people to try their home-grown Nemuro shorthorn beef. The beef is used for many different purposes: the rice is fried in extracted beef tallow and the sauce is based on beef stew, using beef stock to create a broth. Only in a restaurant that sources its ingredients directly from a farm can a dish like this be made.

Uncle & Tivoli: making Esukaroppu with umami packed venison

▶Yezo Sika Venison Esukaroppu (1,100 yen). They also have the standard Esukaroppu made from pork (1,100 yen), so you can get one of each and try the different flavors with your friends.

This Esukaroppu replaces the usual pork with Yezo sika venison. The soft, deep-fried venison cutlet has a strong umami flavor while also being low-fat, making it a satisfying yet light dish. The café’s original demi-glace sauce has an aromatic flavor. They cut the bamboo shoots for the buttered rice somewhat roughly, giving the rice an enjoyable texture.
Uncle & Tivoli started serving their Yezo Sika Venison Esukaroppu about ten years ago. They made the Yezo sika venison version of their regular Esukaroppu at the same time that they started serving Yezo sika venison dishes.

Trying five types of Esukaroppu

Esukaroppu is one of Nemuro’s local dishes. The back-story of this simple cuisine is packed with the history of Nemuro’s café culture and the distinct style and efforts of each store that serves it.

After hearing about the history and trying various versions of this dish, I started to understand why Esukaroppu has become one of Nemuro’s soul foods, which continues to hold a special place in the hearts of locals. The five restaurants introduced in this article are just a few of the restaurants in Nemuro City that serve Esukaroppu. Whether you treasure your first Esukaroppu as a memory of Nemuro or try various dishes to find your favorite flavor, I hope this article can help you on your Esukaroppu tasting journey.