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Okinawan Cuisine

Okinawan cuisine has a distinct flair of its own because of its historical, cultural and, climatic differences from mainland Japan.

Heavily influenced by other Asian cuisines (especially Chinese) it is stronger and spicier in flavor, with staple foods not common in traditional Japanese cuisine such as goya (bitter melon) and pork that make up the distinctly Okinawan dishes chanpuru and Okinawa soba.

Chanpuru, meaning “mixed” in Okinawan, is a stir fry dish containing goya, moyashi bean sprouts, tofu, egg, and luncheon meat. Originally it could only be eaten in Okinawa but in recent years the local specialty has found its way through restaurants in the mainland increasing interest in Okinawa’s “mix” of traditional Ryukyu, Asian, and North-American cultures.

Okinawa soba has also found its way into mainland Japan with its tasty thick wheat noodles and kamaboko (fish cake), thick slices of rafute (stewed pork belly) or boneless pork ribs, pickled ginger and scallions as toppings.

More recent additions to Okinawan cuisine are influenced by the American military presence in Okinawa. The use of Spam in chanpuru among other dishes and taco rice, ground beef taco ingredients on rice are popular examples.