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“You better talk to my wife, she’s the boss,” laughs Yuji Nakamura. The Japanese man dips ten pieces of chicken in boiling oil, takes a tablespoon of rice out of the pot, and engages in a conversation with a customer about his homeland. The scenery, the people, the food. Yuji is convinced that Japan has much more to offer in culinary terms than sushi. Fat from the air fryer gives a golden color to the breading around the chicken pieces. A line forms in front of the food truck in Aarauer Graben.
The “boss”, Manuela Nakamura, arrives a few minutes later. The couple met almost 20 years ago during a language study trip to New Zealand. Love led her first into a long-distance relationship, then Manuela to Japan for a few years before they both pitched their tents in Aargau. They had children, they bought a house.
When her husband Yuji had to move to Belgium for work, it was clear to the family that they would not take the call. Yuji was hired as a technician for a chicken manufacturer. “We thought we were right at the source, there is no better opportunity,” says Manuela.
There is no better chance to convince the Swiss palate of “Karaage”. The specialty of Japan is fried in a similar way to “fried chicken”. Unlike the American counterpart, the spice in the Karaage is not in the breading, but directly in the meat. The pieces sleep in a homemade marinade for several hours, usually overnight. That makes them not only tasty, but also juicy and tender. The Nakamura believed that the “Karaage” was a success from the start: “Even in Japan, we always cook Karaage for our foreign guests; they couldn’t eat enough.”
In a good mood with a mask: Yuji Nakamura
© sam
At first there was a tent and a deep fryer
The pair started as easily as spontaneously. “We bought a tent and a deep fryer and started,” says Manuela Nakamura. They made their debut about three years ago at the Japan Festival in Davos. The crispy fried chicken was very popular. A little later, the Nakamura bought a small used food truck, something like the mini among the rolling snack stands, and contacted the city of Aarau. Since the beginning of 2018, the couple has been offering their Japanese specialty for lunch at Graben. Recently also at night.
Aarau has always been “his” city in the past, says Manuela Nakamura. In addition, the location is ideal because many people circulate around here. Even Corona couldn’t spoil his lunch business, on the contrary: “It’s going even better, we’ve gained a lot of new customers.” Now the Nakamura want to expand: at the end of the year they will open a Japanese grocery store in the former premises of the women’s association in Milchgasse.
Another serving of meat sizzles in the hot oil. “Wakara” means “crispy smiling chicken”. “Because our Karaage makes everyone smile,” says chef Yuji Nakamura with a smile.
