Self-Catering in Furano, Hokkaido #1 | Chan-chan Yaki with 'Hokke' (Atka Mackerel) instead of Salmon

It all started with a barbecue with the locals. While eating salmon chan-chan yaki, I was told, "Around here, we also make chan-chan yaki with hokke."Wait, with hokke? I'd never heard of that before, and it piqued my curiosity.

Two days later, I found a large hokke at the supermarket. It was even 20% off. I put it in my basket without hesitation and decided to make it that very night.

I lined a frying pan with some leftover Furano vegetables from the fridge and placed the hokke on top. I think it's supposed to be wrapped in aluminum foil, but the hokke I bought was so big that I couldn't wrap it at all. I didn't have a lid for the pan, so I covered it with aluminum foil and managed to make a foil-wrapped roast.

And, of course, it has to be sake, so for my self-catering time that night, I drank the local Hokkaido sake 'Kokushi Muso'. Sake is great for drinking, and it also works as a seasoning. This versatility is incredibly satisfying.

It was finished successfully, but the hokke was so big that I didn't have a plate large enough for it, so I ended up eating it straight from the frying pan. But there are plenty of dishes you eat right off the iron plate, and this bold style wasn't bad at all.

By the way, when people think of hokke, they usually think of the salt-grilled version at an izakaya, but chan-chan yaki goes just as well with alcohol. I couldn't finish it all, so I ate the rest the next day, and the miso had soaked in even more, giving the meat a slightly firmer texture. It felt even more like a snack.

Later, I looked it up and found that salmon is indeed the standard for chan-chan yaki in Hokkaido. However, on Rebun Island, the northernmost island in Japan, there is a local dish called "Hokke Chan-chan Yaki," which fishermen have long enjoyed as a snack with their drinks.

Rebun Island and Furano are quite far apart, but perhaps that way of eating has gradually spread throughout Hokkaido.

Come to think of it, the local who taught me this is a huge sake lover, and their father is a heavy drinker too. Whether or not there's a real connection, I found it quietly interesting how people's lives and ways of eating are faintly connected somewhere. I think I'll try making it in Tokyo if I feel like it.