Kobe Beef Rice Sauce: A Souvenir with an Individual Cattle ID

Review of Kobe Beef Rice Sauce

It can be purchased from the souvenir shop inside Kobe Airport.

Kobe Airport souvenir shop

Nickname: skadue
Satisfaction: [star rating=”3″]

During a trip home to Kobe, we bought Kobe Beef Rice Sauce as a souvenir for ourselves. The product name caught my attention, and the label stated that it came with an individual identification number for the Kobe beef, so I purchased it almost impulsively.

I did not have a clear idea of what a “rice sauce” would be. I imagined something similar to seasoned minced meat. When I opened and tasted it, however, the product did not have as much obvious meat character as I had expected.

If someone served it on top of rice without showing the jar or explaining its name, I suspect few people would immediately identify it as a beef-based rice condiment. Its flavor was sweet and savory with a noticeable touch of acidity, and it reminded me slightly of Nara-zuke pickles.

It was not particularly suited to my own taste, but my wife praised it repeatedly and said that it was delicious. Since I was less enthusiastic about eating it directly, she mixed the sauce and an egg into rice and stir-fried everything in a pan to make a quick fried rice.

That simple arrangement was genuinely tasty. The egg softened the sharper notes and allowed the sweet-savory seasoning to spread evenly through the rice. It might also have worked without frying: mixing it into hot rice with a raw or softly cooked egg could have produced an enjoyable variation on tamago-kake gohan.

This was a souvenir with divided opinions in our household, but it became more appealing when used as an ingredient rather than only as a topping. The Kobe beef name and individual cattle identification detail make the jar intriguing, while the adaptable seasoning gives creative cooks room to experiment.

Kobe Beef Rice Sauce Product Info, Expiration Date, Manufacturer