Hita yakisoba is a local B-class gourmet food from Hita City, Oita Prefecture. It looks similar to regular yakisoba, but it's completely different when you eat it. What's interesting is the unique texture. Many people are addicted to the texture of Hita yakisoba.

Let's explore the characteristics and history of Hita Yakisoba.

Characteristics of Hita Yakisoba

Hita yakisoba is characterized by its texture. The crispy noodles and crunchy bean sprouts are irresistible. It also contains pork and spring onions, and is sometimes garnished with pickled ginger and eggs. Eating it with eggs gives it a milder flavor.

The noodles are as thick as bean sprouts. There are plenty of bean sprouts in the ramen, so it's filling and keeps you full. It has a rich flavor because it uses lard instead of salad oil.

How to make Hita Yakisoba

Hita yakisoba is not made with the usual steamed noodles, but with raw noodles that are boiled before cooking. It is usually made on a hot plate, not in a frying pan or wok.

Cook the boiled noodles on a hot plate over high heat until the surface is golden brown. In order to brown the noodles, do not touch them too much.

Once the noodles are cooked, they are fried while being loosened. This is an important step that gives the noodles their unique chewy texture. Some of the noodles are burnt and some are not, giving the noodles an excellent crispy yet chewy texture.

The bean sprouts are stir-fried quickly to keep them crunchy. The last thing added is a secret sweet and spicy sauce. The savory aroma spreads on the hot plate, whetting your appetite.

The fact that no excess water comes out is a technique only a professional can do. It's a simple and rustic yakisoba that you'll never tire of and will want to eat forever.

The history of Hita Yakisoba

Hita Yakisoba was born in 1957. At the time, tonkotsu ramen was the mainstream noodle dish. There were grilled dishes for bread and rice, but no grilled noodle dishes.

So, Kadoyasu Chika, the founder of the yakisoba specialty restaurant Soufuren, wondered if there was a way to make a fried noodle dish, and after much trial and error, Hita yakisoba was born.

And it was named "yakisoba" (fried noodles) because the noodles are fried. It is said that Hita yakisoba is the origin of the modern name "yakisoba."

The only ingredients other than the noodles are pork, bean sprouts, and green onions. If other vegetables were used, they would release moisture and the finished product would be soggy, so we keep it simple and just use bean sprouts and green onions.

The difference between this and regular yakisoba is how it is cooked. The people at Soufurei call regular yakisoba "Gomoku fried noodles."

The reason is that the noodles are stir-fried with a lot of vegetables. However, in Hita Yakisoba, the noodles are literally fried, so that they are slightly browned on both sides.

This way the outside will be crispy and golden brown, while the inside will remain soft and juicy.

The reason why there are so many ramen restaurants serving Hita Yakisoba

For some reason, many ramen restaurants in Hita City have a hot plate in the corner where they serve yakisoba.
The reason for this has to do with Soufurei, the restaurant where Hita yakisoba originated.

Originally, Sofuren ran a ramen shop for a year to develop Yakisoba. At the time, other ramen shops looked down on Sofuren, saying, "There's no way they can survive as a shop specializing in food that they don't really understand."
However, the popularity of Soufurei's fried noodles exceeded expectations, so other restaurants followed suit and started serving fried noodles.

In order to avoid being noticed, he secretly placed a hot plate in a corner of the shop and made yakisoba there.

This led to the unique Hita City culture of serving yakisoba at ramen restaurants.

When they first started serving Hita Yakisoba, many customers complained that the noodles were burnt and that they wondered if it was worth adding more bean sprouts to make it more filling.

However, it has now become popular as Hita city's soul food, and as a result of promoting Hita yakisoba through events and campaigns, an increasing number of people are coming from outside the prefecture to try it.

If you come to Hita, you should stop by Mamedacho

Mamedamachi, which flourished as a castle town around Tokugawa's Nagayama Castle, is known as Kyushu's Little Kyoto.

Mamedamachi, which retains its streetscape from the Edo period, is a popular tourist spot. The streetscape lined with old houses and shops won the "Beautiful Townscape Grand Prize" from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and has been designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

The town is home to not only shops and cafes, but also museums. The Tenryo Hita Museum has around 100 exhibits, including paintings, calligraphy, and ancient documents, where you can learn about the history of Hita.

For alcohol lovers, we also recommend the Kuncho Sake Brewery Museum. Sake is still brewed in a brewery built in the Edo period.

Not only can you tour the sake brewery, but you can also buy souvenirs and relax at the cafe.

The cafe offers a wide variety of sweets that can only be found here, such as sweet bean buns containing daiginjo sake lees and amazake soft serve ice cream. The amazake soft serve ice cream is non-alcoholic, so it can be safely consumed by children and pregnant women.

How to get to Hita City

There are various ways to access Hita City. Here we will introduce the travel time by JR and express bus. Travel time may vary depending on the season and weather.

[Access by JR (express train)]

・Approx. 40 minutes from JR Kurume Station ・Approx. 1 hour 10 minutes from JR Hakata Station ・Approx. 1 hour 40 minutes from JR Oita Station

[Access by express bus]

・Approx. 1 hour 20 minutes from Beppu ・Approx. 1 hour 20 minutes from Fukuoka Airport ・Approx. 1 hour 30 minutes from Tenjin Bus Center ・Approx. 1 hour 40 minutes from JR Hakata Station ・Approx. 2 hours 20 minutes from JR Nagasaki Station

[Access by car]

・About 1 hour 10 minutes from Fukuoka IC ・About 1 hour 10 minutes from Oita IC ・About 1 hour 30 minutes from Kumamoto IC

Location of Hita City, Oita Prefecture

summary

Hita yakisoba, with its unique texture, is a soul food beloved by locals. The flavor changes depending on how well it's cooked and the seasoning of the sauce, so it's recommended to try different types.

If you visit Hita city in Oita prefecture, be sure to try Hita Yakisoba.

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