OSAKA – A company in western Japan has developed a plant-based dashi soup stock with chicken and seafood flavors to accommodate the growing demand for halal and vegan food amid booming inbound tourism.
Founded in 1950, Fuji Oil Co., which operates a factory in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, commercialized “MIRA-Dashi” in 2023.
The broth, made from plant-based oils and soybeans, is also used by the popular ramen chain Ippudo.
According to the Japan Halal Association, which certifies food products and services that comply with Islamic dietary laws, few Japanese companies produce plant-based broth that mimics meat or fish flavors.
At “Pivot BASE,” a cafe in Osaka’s Dotombori district that caters to foreign tourists, pork bone-style “tonkotsu” ramen and “tantanmen” noodles using MIRA-Dashi are popular among visitors. A vegetarian visiting from India with his family praised the flavorful broth as he slurped his ramen.
Fuji Oil is expanding sales of its dashi to restaurants in tourist areas and hotels in the Tokyo metropolitan area. A long-established restaurant on Mt. Koya in Wakayama Prefecture that serves “shojin ryori,” the Buddhist vegetarian cuisine, offers ramen with a soup that combines the dashi with pressed sesame liquid.
A bonito-flavored dipping sauce using the dashi is also distributed in the Kansai region, and the company has been working with the Izumisano city government since last December to provide dashi for free to local businesses to develop recipes.
According to the Japan Halal Association, restaurants catering to Muslims in Japan are concentrated in Tokyo, Osaka and certain areas with large Muslim communities. It said restaurants across Japan have seen growing inquiries about halal food following the increase in inbound visitors associated with last year’s World Exposition in Osaka.
“The product responds to the growing diversity of dietary needs, and the response from overseas has been very positive,” said Tsutomu Saito, head of the flavor ingredients department at Fuji Oil.
Meanwhile, Hiroyasu Chiyomatsu, mayor of Izumisano, located across the bay from Kansai International Airport, expressed enthusiasm in building a “barrier-free food environment and strengthening our readiness to welcome (international visitors).”