Kushikatsu, also known as kushiage, is one of the most popular and common dishes in Osaka, the gourmet city. Kushikatsu is a deep-fried skewer which has a variety of ingredients, like beef, tomato, lotus root, shiitake, pork, seasoned fish, shrimp, and more. They are coated with flour, egg, and panko and then deeply fried. Usually, you eat kushikatsu by dipping in the Worcestershire type sauce, but it really depends on the restaurant. Some places have Hacho miso sauce, an authentic Nagoya sauce.
There is one thing you need to be careful of when eating kushikatsu is that it is no double dipping! You are only allowed to dip kushikatsu in the sauce once and not twice. That is because of hygiene reasons and to keep the cost low.
Kushikatsu and the no double dipping sauce rule originated from the popular restaurant called Kushikatsu Daruma which is in Osaka’s Shinsekai (Tsutenkaku) District. Their posters/ads about “No Double dipping” are very unique and fun to watch.
Must-go place when visiting Osaka!