Ishigaki food trip: Japanese island famous for chilli oil is a favourite for Asian foodies
- From its spicy peppers to speciality beef to freshly made tofu, Ishigaki’s range of local produce has taken cuisine in Japan to new levels
- Visitors will enjoy a relaxed Japanese experience with a tropical twist
The Yaeyama Islands stretch southwest from Okinawa in Japan. Although part of Okinawa prefecture, Ishigaki, the largest of the Yaeyama Islands, is closer to Taipei than to Okinawa’s capital, Naha. From Hong Kong, it is just under two hours by air, making it an ideal destination for a short getaway.
Adding to its appeal is its abundance of local foods, from an under-the-radar speciality beef to pillowy, freshly made tofu and Japan’s most famous chilli oil.
The Japanese aren’t known for their love of spicy food, but in subtropical Ishigaki a range of peppers grows in abundance, including the native piper longum, also called long pepper, or pipachi by islanders. Its peppery flavours are combined with the heat of Thai and Korean chillis in Penguin Shokudo’s renowned chilli oil.
An unassuming spot in downtown Ishigaki, Penguin Shokudo was made famous by the 2012 Japanese movie Penguin Fufu, which is based on the Chinese-Japanese couple who founded the restaurant.
Their signature mapo tofu, made using their chilli oil as well as local tofu, is offered at lunch, and like most dishes served here, is a humble yet creative showcase of Ishigaki with flavours reminiscent of Chinese and Japanese cuisines.
Dinner is a more elaborate affair, with multi-course menus featuring highly seasonal and almost exclusively local ingredients. A sashimi platter might feature knobsnout parrotfish, a local species with distinctive blue skin, or takasegawa, a sea snail also known as top shell, and a vegetable course might be the chunky, sweet stalks of otani-watari (bird’s nest fern) stir-fried with tuna intestines.
