Gastronomic tourism
Sakhalin is an island of gastronomic treasures
Traveling to Sakhalin is a paradise for real gourmets.
You can try various Japanese and Korean dishes, fresh Far Eastern seafood and fish, and sometimes take part in the preparation of all these delicacies.
Sakhalin cuisine has long been famous for its uniqueness in Russia and even in some countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The historical past of the island region is still reflected in a variety of local dishes by the interweaving of Eastern and European gastronomy, which gives unforgettable taste sensations and is remembered by tourists for a lifetime. In this regard, the Sakhalin region, especially its capital, is replete with various restaurants and cafes.
Korean cuisine
The abundance of Korean dishes in the Sakhalin region is not accidental. At the beginning of the last century, Korean settlers arrived on the island and brought traditions and national cuisine with them. Unique traditional recipes have been passed down on Sakhalin from generation to generation. There is an opinion that the local Korean cuisine is the food of poor peasants “preserved by history”. Due to the peculiar reservation on the island, the dishes managed to maintain their authenticity.
Japanese kitchen
Japanese cuisine is also considered one of the most popular on Sakhalin. The dishes of the Land of the Rising Sun in the island region are acquiring new flavors, the Japanese themselves admit.
Sakhalin is a real gastronomic El dorado for seafood connoisseurs. Many delicacies prepared in local restaurants are unfamiliar to residents of Russian cities on the mainland. There are also some highlights. For example, if we touch on the topic of sushi and rolls, which are not only presented in a huge variety of species, but also often differ in recipe from traditional Japanese cuisine. For example many tourists are shocked by the fact that Sakhalin residents add salted-salmon to their sushi rolls.
Chinese cuisine
This diversity allows chefs to fantasize with dishes not only of Japanese and Korean cuisine. On Sakhalin, you can find Chinese restaurants, as well as individual dishes from other countries of Pan-Asian cuisine.
Seafood
Speaking of gastronomic tourism, it would be a sin not to mention the Sakhalin red caviar. Yes, here they really eat it with spoons! Every self-respecting Sakhalinian in the season of chum salmon and pink salmon will be able to cook the so-called five-minute caviar, simply cleaning the insides of the fish, preparing it for fish soup or frying. In the Sakhalin fish markets you will not find caviar that would be mint, lethargic. This caviar is famous for the fact that each amber bead explodes on the tongue with a small fountain. Here they will teach you to distinguish pink salmon caviar from chum caviar in appearance, size of eggs and their color. The price of a delicacy depends on the fishing season: the more fish come to spawn in rivers, the cheaper it is. However, one must be prepared for the fact that caviar is still an expensive pleasure. However, the quality is worth it.
Another pride of Sakhalin is smelt. Bison, or small mouth, - it attracts fishermen to ice fishing in the winter. Lovers of fishing are not stopped by unreliable spring ice, nor by the need to get up before dawn. Lakes Small and Big Busse, Changeable, Tunaicha, Mordvinov Bay and the Naiba River from December to March are strewn with fishermen, both adults and children. Fresh, this fish smells like cucumbers. The most delicious is freshly caught, fried right on the ice. Dried - an indispensable snack for beer.
In autumn, the crab season begins on Sakhalin. It was at this time that huge claws hang from the counters of large fish markets and small ones located near the fishing villages - Vzmorye and Okhotsk. Juicy, fleshy, with a pink gut, Sakhalin crabs are good as a separate dish and as components of salads and soups. Frozen, they perfectly tolerate many hours of flight to please those who are not lucky enough to live near the Sea of Okhotsk.
At the end of July and in August, it is easy to see a picture unusual for other regions on Sakhalin beaches: men and women slowly wandering into the sea trample something, grope with their feet on the seabed. These are lovers of fresh seafood delicacies looking for scallops - squid shells. They are prepared right there, on the shore, by throwing them into a fire, which causes the shells to open, revealing tender snow-white meat. If you're lucky, you can find a sea urchin on the shore - this is the most valuable product that is sold in Japan for a lot of money. Locals say that the most delicious caviar of a sea urchin is freshly caught, which was slashed with a knife along its thin abdomen and poured soy sauce directly into the inside. But this, as they say, is not for everyone.
The variety of sea delicacies is a feature of Sakhalin. What not to see on the shelves of local fish markets: trumpeter, scallop, shrimp, halibut, crab, octopus, squid, trepang, red fish in all forms - from fresh to smoked and dried. Sakhalin sellers have long gotten used to packing all this wealth in light boxes, convenient for transportation to all corners of the world.
