Matsumoto, Nagano, is a former castle town that has preserved its beautiful streetscapes. In the city’s Joto district, where time still flows at a leisurely pace, culinary researcher Ueda Ayaka and her husband, Takatomo, opened Hakko to Spice, [literally, Fermentation and Spice] a creative spiced curry restaurant, at the end of 2022. We spoke with the couple, now entering their fourth year in business, about their passion for the combination of fermentation and spiced curry.
Taking on the challenge of combining two passions: Fermentation and curry
Ayaka was first drawn to fermented foods when she experienced hormonal imbalances after pregnancy and childbirth. By incorporating fermented foods into her diet, she gradually felt her condition and health improve.
“I used to want to incorporate more fermented foods into my diet and carry on the tradition. So I became obsessed with making my own fermented seasonings like miso, amazake [a sweet fermented drink made from koji rice malt], and salted koji. After a while, I started teaching cooking classes with fermented foods because I wanted young people to experience this joy too.”
However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, people could no longer attend her cooking classes, so she decided to start running a food truck. Ayaka began on her own at first, but since Takatomo’s work was so demanding, and since they had gone to the trouble of buying a large food truck, the two of them decided to run the business in earnest together. From there, they gradually began to dream of owning their own restaurant.
“If we were going to open a restaurant, I knew I absolutely wanted to serve curry. I’ve always loved both going out for curry and making curry. When I was teaching cooking classes, I noticed that quite a few people didn’t know how to use fermented seasonings in dishes other than Japanese cuisine. I’m skilled at cooking Western, curry, and Chinese dishes as well as Japanese cuisine, and when I combined these other cuisines with fermented ingredients, curries were always the most popular. The idea for amazake curry came about because my husband worked outdoors, and I wanted him to drink amazake to prevent him from getting fatigued in the summer. At the time, he didn’t really like amazake. So I put a generous amount of it in a curry and gave it to him without saying a word. To my surprise, he ate it up, saying it was delicious. When we decided to open a restaurant, I wanted amazake curry to be a gateway for people who aren’t interested in fermentation to discover its appeal.”
Three types of spiced curries are served at lunch time: koji amazake butter chicken curry featuring homemade koji amazake and salted koji; gluten-free soy sauce keema curry, a Japanese-style curry combining spices and soy sauce; and miso paruppu (dal) curry, with fragrant cilantro and basil. A variety of side dishes inspired by fermentation are served atop the curry and rice, creating wave after wave of delicious flavors with every bite. One of the delights comes from mixing the ingredients together little by little to create new enjoyable flavor combinations along your dining journey.
Top row from the left: handmade miso aged six or seven years; amazake flavored with cumin; beets marinated in salted koji.
Bottom row from the left: Gundruk, a Nepalese pickled vegetable, plus homemade miso and salted koji made last year.
The restaurant’s interior is adorned with antique furniture and William Morris wallpaper. The large table reflects the owners’ desire to create a restaurant where families and friends can gather together.
The Uedas began selling their garam masala and chai spices in response to customer demand.
“Just as fermentation, which is currently gaining renewed attention, is a tradition passed down through the ages, I want to make our place a staple rather than a fleeting trend, so people won’t grow tired of it. People tend to get bored with restaurants quickly. To prevent that, I want to grow our antique furniture sales, and I also want to gradually expand our curry offerings. Since the two of us handle basically everything, we didn’t have the bandwidth before, but we’ve finally been able to start offering frozen curries as well. We’re grateful that many customers have visited us since we opened, and recently, I’ve really started to feel that the local community has gotten to know our restaurant on a deeper level. However, there are still many people who are surprised to find a place like ours in this spot. So to raise our profile even more, I plan to participate in various events this year.”
The three frozen curries are the same flavors as the curries served in the restaurant. The frozen curry packs are also available for purchase online.
The couple are constantly thinking about what they need to do to keep the shop successful. Hakko to Spice is a wonderful restaurant where their passion for fermentation and curry truly shines.
