Outlandish okayu rice porridge selling increasingly well to health-conscious consumers, new specialty shops opening

Posted on 2024-02-16 by The Japan Agricultural News
TOKYO, Feb. 6 – The consumption of new types of okayu Japanese rice porridge is likely to grow for its outlandishness. As the number of people wanting better-for-you foods increases, okayu specialty restaurants have gained even a male following. Porridge made by cooking raw rice in Chinese-style soup, for example, has gained repeat customers as a filling choice. Western-style porridge that uses bacon and cheese and gorgeously arranged bowls of okayu have also become popular, especially on social networking sites (SNSs).Green House Foods (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) currently runs seven congee specialty restaurants, Kayu-san-chin nationwide, whose sales grow at a record-setting pace. Kayu-san-chin offers Chinese congee at about 800 to 1,000 yen per bowl, which is made by simmering raw rice for several hours in a soup made from scallops and kelp. They use Hitomebore-brand rice from Iwate Prefecture.

CAYUdesROIS is a porridge specialty store in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, whose signature dish is Popeye, a Chinese porridge made with spinach and bacon (880 yen). The restaurant offers a wide variety of arranged Chinese porridge, including those cooked with hot and sour soup, curry, and shark fin flavors. The shop has become so popular that it sometimes sells over 120 bowls a day.

A porridge expert, Kayu Suzuki, said that porridge will make a great gift for everyone as it is easily digestible and good for men and women of all ages. “Okayu is chosen to replace instant packaged noodles by more and more people,” especially young diet-conscious consumers, he added.
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