Protected local food
Yoshikawa Eggplant
吉川ナス
An heirloom round eggplant from Sabae in Fukui. Glossy black-purple, about 10 cm across, with dense flesh that turns silky when cooked.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 12 July 2016
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 吉川ナス
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 福井県鯖江市
An heirloom, never bred
Yoshikawa nasu has been grown around the old village of Yoshikawa, now part of Sabae city in Fukui, for generations. It has never been bred into a new variety: today's eggplant is the same local type.
Round, glossy and heavy
It is a round eggplant about 10 cm across, oval or slightly purse-shaped, with a glossy black-purple skin. The flesh is dense and holds a lot of water, so it goes silky and almost creamy when cooked but keeps its shape. That, plus a rich taste and unusual size, is why traditional Japanese restaurants and chefs seek it out.
How to eat it
Try it simmered whole in dashi, grilled with miso (dengaku) or deep-fried. A Western cook can treat it like a dense Italian eggplant.
Good to know
- Sabae is better known for making most of Japan's eyeglass frames. Pair a visit with a meal that uses local vegetables.
- In Fukui, also try Echizen crab in winter, and Yamauchi Kabura, another heirloom vegetable.
Questions travellers ask
Where does Yoshikawa eggplant come from?
Sabae city, Fukui Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan side of central Japan.
Why is it special?
It is an old local variety that was never bred. It is large and round, holds its shape when cooked and has a rich taste.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Echizen-Fukui: 400 years of towns built in stone
- Esashi: the herring town that outshone Edo
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- The railway across the sea: Nagahama, Tsuruga and Imajo
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
- Wakasa and the Saba Kaido: the mackerel road to Kyoto
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.