Yuba is one of Kyoto’s signature ingredients and an indispensable part of traditional Kyoto cuisine, yet you rarely see ekiben (station boxed lunches) featuring yuba as the main ingredient at Kyoto Station. The “Yuba with the Fragrance of Sansho” featured here is one of the few ekiben nationwide that highlights yuba as the main ingredient, crafted by Nomura Tsukudani—a small delicatessen founded 95 years ago in Kyoto’s Nishiki Market.
The yuba, simmered in dashi and delicately seasoned, is wonderfully moist and pairs perfectly with the slightly drier, fluffy rice. While I think yuba is generally on the milder side as a main dish for an ekiben, the elegant preparation of the yuba and the refreshing touch of the scattered Japanese sansho peppercorns complement each other beautifully.
Also, since it contains quite a lot of fresh sansho peppercorns, I really enjoyed the frequent “pop” of the grains and the flavor that spreads across my palate each time—I personally liked it a lot.
The side dishes were simmered carrots and dried tofu. The carrots, seasoned as delicately as the yuba, and the dried tofu—which was soaked in such a generous amount of broth that it was almost unusual for an ekiben—paired perfectly with the rice, yuba, and sansho peppercorns. The entire meal was well-balanced, and I was able to enjoy a meal that evoked the spirit of Kyoto while traveling on the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo.
In recent years, large train stations have been filled with a variety of restaurants and delis, and it’s not uncommon for each of these establishments to offer their own original bento boxes. Personally, I feel it’s becoming increasingly difficult to define exactly which of these bento boxes qualify as “ekiben,” but since these are sold on the station platforms, I’ve included them here as “ekiben.”
The combination of yuba—with its delicate, refined flavor—and rice, paired with the refreshing taste of sansho peppercorns, stands out even among the many regional ekiben available at Kyoto Station. It’s a true gem that yuba lovers should definitely try at least once.
© Source travel watch