中華そばひらこ屋 (Hirakoya in Aomori)

0 Reviews

中華そばひらこ屋

Fresh off the shinkansen bullet train at Shin-Aomori Station, we hopped into a cab to tackle the three kilometers to Hirakoya. The ground was packed with snow and the stuff was pouring down around us. We needed hot ramen. Thick niboshi ramen to be exact. Aomori’s style focuses on dried fish. If you’re not used to these flavors, tread lightly.

No, I haven’t forgotten about my YouTube channel. Here’s a video about this trip.

Welcome to Aomori. Apples and niboshi ramen. Heaven.

From right to left (this is Japan after all) you have light niboshi chukasoba, a thicker tonkotsu niboshi, a mega-thick version, ramen hit with pork back fat, and a light pork broth. Many choices but the choice should be clear. Go thick or go home.

The shop prides itself on niboshi soup. Dried fish from around Japan are carefully selected for their characteristic umami and bitterness.

My friend the Russian went with the light soup with extra pork chashu. The pork here is a local brand called Towada Garlic Pork (十和田ガーリック豚). Garlic powder is mixed in with the pig’s feed and the end product is pork with a lower melting point. TL;DR, this pork is super tender.

The thick tonkotsu niboshi soba for me. The mega-thick nibodaku is limited to 10 servings a day. You’d better be one of the first in line if you want that one.

That egg though! Again with the local ingredients, this is a Tsugaru Joppari (津軽のたまごじょっぱり) egg. The chickens are fed astaxanthin, a red pigment found naturally in shrimp, krill, and even salmon. It’s an antioxidant, but it has the big benefit of giving the yolk that insane color.

Probably my favorite bowl of this six-day trek to the frozen north of Japan. We weren’t on a ramen hunt necessarily, but we managed to put down a few bowls nonetheless.

January in Tohoku. Enjoy! Hirakoya has another branch shop closer to town, which would save you the added taxi expenses.

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