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Champon ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

  • Nagasaki Prefecture

    Champon

Champon

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  • Main lore areas

    Nagasaki

  • Main ingredients used

    Pork, hanpen (red and white kamaboko or pounded fish cake), cabbage, green onion, bean sprouts, squid, prawns, clams (in summer), oysters (in winter), champon noodles

  • History/origin/related events

    This noodle dish is known throughout Japan as a Nagasaki specialty.
    It is said to have originated in 1899 when Chin Heijun, the owner of the Chinese restaurant Shikairo, needed a cheap and nutritious meal to feed to Chinese exchange students. He stir-fried scraps of vegetables and meat in a pan, added Chinese noodles, and simmered these with a thick soup stock for a hearty, filling meal.
    There are various theories as to where the name champon comes from. It may originate from a mispronunciation of shanpon, a Chinese word for simple cooked rice, or from a mispronunciation of a Portuguese word for mixing or stirring.

  • Opportunities and times of eating habits

    Since it first appeared, it has become an everyday staple of home cooking in Nagasaki: a tasty, nutritious noodle dish that can be cooked in a single wok. At the same time, it is also served at restaurants, and is so well known throughout Japan that it is available in restaurants in other prefectures too.

  • How to eat

    Champon is said to have its roots in "Tonniishiimen", a noodle dish from Fujian cuisine comprising pork, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, green onion etc in a simply seasoned soup. However, champon adapts this into a Japanese style with a stronger soup, more ingredients, and distinctively chewier noodles. You can add whatever ingredients you wish, but it usually contains pork or hanpen, the red and white pounded fish cake characteristic of Nagasaki, as well as cabbage, green onion, vegetables such as beansprouts, and seafood such as squid, prawns, clams (in summer) or oysters (in winter). You can also add a raw egg as a topping, if you wish. One major difference from other noodle dishes is that, because the noodles are boiled in the soup, it can be cooked in a single wok. Nowadays, there are two major varieties of champon in Nagasaki: Nagasaki-style, made with a strong tonkotsu (pork belly and bones) soup, and Obama-style, made with a light chicken stock.

  • Efforts for Preservation and Succession

    (Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)
    The Obama Onsen Ryokan Association in Unzen city, Nagasaki, holds events featuring Obama champon for the purposes of regional revitalisation. There are also champon clubs and preservation societies throughout Japan that hold their own activities.

RECIPE

Ingredients (2 servings)

  • pork 80g
  • shelled prawns 80g
  • squid 80g
  • clams 80g
  • carrots 30g
  • cabbage 100g
  • kamaboko (steamed fish paste) 30g
  • beansprouts 100g
  • shiitake mushrooms 2-3
  • store-bought Nagasaki champon noodles 2 packs(2 servings)
  • Salad oil as needed
  • [For the soup]oyster sauce 2 tsp.
  • [For the soup]chicken soup stock 1 tbsp.
  • [For the soup]sake 1 tbsp.
  • sugar 1／2 tbsp.
  • salt 1／2 tsp.
  • water 400ml

How to cook

  • 1. Cut the ingredients into bite-size pieces. Mix together the ingredients for the soup.

  • 2. Boil some water (separate from the water used for the soup), and cook the noodles. Once they are cooked, put them in a strainer.

  • 3. Heat some cooking oil in a wok over a high flame. Stir-fry the pork, shelled prawns, squid, and clams. Once they have changed color, add the vegetables and stir-fry.

  • 4. Add the soup to the wok, and simmer.

  • 5. Add the noodles to the wok, and simmer well.

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

Contact

Food Cultures Office, Overseas Market Development and Food Cultures Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel:+81-3-3502-5516

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