In Japan, there are numerous festivals (or Matsuri). It’s said that you will always find a festival going on somewhere in Japan. And, you’ll always find a plethora of food stalls. In The Devil’s Kitchen, this has always been our main target when we attend a festival. There’s nothing better on a balmy summer evening than strolling from stall to stall, and grazing on all the tasty treats being grilled before your eyes.

 

Aizen Matsuri – The First Summer Festival

In Osaka, the first of the major summer festivals is held from June 30 to July 2 around one of our local temples. The food stalls sprawl out onto the neighbouring streets, and as you come up the main street you are greeted by the first of many stalls. In this case, a fried potato stall – yes, french fries are popular all over the world.

Following the crowds, you soon end up at the main temple – dedicated to the deity Aizen Myo. We make this our first call. A quick, mandatory visit before we dive into the food stalls.

Around the back of the temple, a stage where traditional dances and shows are entertaining the crowds. Just watching them builds up a good appetite.

OK. We’re hungry. Let’s go hit the stalls. Starting at the temple grounds and spilling out into the streets, here is a hodgepodge of small food stalls. Time to graze!

One of the most famous Osaka foods is Takoyaki (octopus balls), and this vendor is working at devilish speed to keep up with the demand.

Takoyaki is a delicious batter with a piece of octopus in each ball. Cooked in a special takoyaki pan – a cast iron pan with half-spherical moulds – these tasty balls of batter, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, green onion, and diced octopus must be deftly turned with a small pick. Served in a small tray, with a topping of takoyaki sauce and dried bonito shavings, these are a treat you’ll not want to miss.

Like fried chicken? You can get your fill of battered and deep fried chicken (or karaage). Vendors serve as many pieces as will fit into a paper cup. A generous vendor will pile the pieces of karaage precariously high. Enjoy picking pieces out of the cup with a wooden skewer.

Hungry? There’s nothing like a big pile of yakisoba (fried noodles with cabbage, pork, and yakisoba sauce) to fill your belly. With a taste that originated in China and became heavily integrated into Japanese cuisine, yakisoba is a ubiquitous Osaka dish.

You can also get a version of yakisoba that is wrapped up in fried egg. Here, omusoba (“omu” being a derivative of “omelette”) is being given a drizzle of ketchup before being served to the hungry crowds.

Of course, at any festival, there’s nothing like eating food directly off a stick or skewer. Head to one of the many yakitori stalls for chicken barbecued on skewers. These little treats have been seared over flame and dipped in a special sauce. Succulent pieces of chicken on a stick.

These devilish little treats get gobbled up by the crowds, and the two stall owners run an endless assembly line. On a day that hit 35c (95F) with high humidity, nobody envies the cook working long hours over hot flames.

Whereas in North America, I’ve often eaten boiled and buttered ears of corn, here in Japan it gets grilled. Yaki tomorokoshi (grilled corn) is grilled over a small brazier and brushed with a light sauce.

A great way to wrap up an evening of grazing is with a skewer of dango. These balls of pounded and glutinous rice flour are placed around a small fire and slowly browned. Dipped in a vat of syrup (made of soy sauce, sugar, and starch) these become mitarashi dango. These chewy balls dripping with sweet syrup will satisfy your sweet tooth.

In The Devil’s Kitchen, we love all kinds of festivals and street fairs – as long as they have food. From the summer festivals of Japan to the cow markets of Switzerland to the morning bazaars of Bali, there are always devilishly good treats to be had.