Winter is cold, but it’s the perfect season for my family to enjoy the outdoors. We’re lucky to have a BBQ site nearby, so we do not have to go to a camp site to enjoy a BBQ and bonfire. When I was out shopping and looking for yummy Setouchi foods to BBQ, I happened to find something great! At Tani Chikuwa Shouten in Takamatsu City, they sell one of Tokushima’s very best soul foods.

Bamboo Fish Sticks!

Just look at this! Chikuwa (fish paste) on bamboo skewers! I was pretty surprised when I first came across these ‘bamboo chikuwa’. However, most people from Tokushima are used to this dish, and would on the contrary be underwhelmed by regular chikuwa without bamboo. According to Tani Chikuwa Shouten, bamboo chikuwa was first eaten at the end of the Heian Period during the Battle of Yashima between the Minamoto and Taira clans. Apparently, local fishermen in Komatsushima mixed and kneaded the meat of freshly caught fish together and cooked it on bamboo sticks.

Excellent With Tokushima Sudachi

The recommended way of enjoying nicely cooked chikuwa is with a dash of the Tokushima citrus sudachi. Just bite into it like a rib!

It’s piping hot and amazing! The umami of the chikuwa and the sour sudachi go perfectly together! The scent of the bamboo adds to the great flavor. This is the soul food of Tokushima Prefecture, and you can buy them in bamboo baskets in sets of 10 to take home as souvenirs. And of course, you can get freshly cooked ones here at Tani Chikuwa Shouten.

As well as being able to buy them over the counter at various souvenir shops in Tokushima, you can also order them by FAX or phone. How about buying some for yourself and enjoying the aroma of the ocean?

Tani Chikuwa Shouten
Address: 3-59 Yokosucho, Komatsushima-shi, Takamatsu City, Tokushima Prefecture
Open: 7:00 – 16:00
Closed: No regular holidays
Tel: 0885-32-0867
FAX: 0885-33-2363
http://www.tanishouten.co.jp/

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Sakiko Mizuguchi