Regional food and famous sweets of Okinawa
A distinct Ryukyuan food tradition shaped by island ingredients, court cuisine, trade, and tropical climate.
Okinawa is part of the Kyushu & Okinawa region. This page lists the guides currently available in English.
21 guides in English
- ChinsukoOkinawa
Chinsuko is a crumbly Okinawan biscuit traditionally made from flour, sugar, and lard. Its short texture and compact shape make it easy to package and...
- Goya ChampuruOkinawa
Goya champuru is an Okinawan stir-fry of bitter melon with firm island tofu, egg, and usually pork or canned pork. The dish balances the vegetable's...
- Okinawa RafuteOkinawa
Rafute slowly braises skin-on pork belly in awamori, soy sauce, sugar and dashi until the meat is tender and the fat silky.
- Okinawa SobaOkinawa
Okinawa soba is a wheat noodle soup that contains no buckwheat flour despite the word soba. The firm noodles are made with alkaline water and served...
- Okinawa Taco RiceOkinawa
Taco rice layers spiced minced meat, lettuce, tomato and cheese over Japanese rice, usually with salsa or hot sauce.
- Okinawa TannafakuruOkinawa
Tannafakuru are plain round brown-sugar cakes with a dark surface, soft dense crumb and deep molasses-like sweetness.
- Okinawa Yushi-dofuOkinawa
Yushi-dofu is eaten before Okinawan island tofu is pressed into a firm block, leaving soft curds suspended in a warm savory broth.
- Okinawan AndansuOkinawa
Andansu fries miso in lard or oil with sugar and often minced pork until glossy and concentrated; fish, shellfish or octopus versions replace the meat...
- Okinawan Asa-jiruOkinawa
Asa-jiru floats rinsed fresh or dried asa green laver and small tofu cubes in clear bonito dashi seasoned lightly with salt, allowing the seaweed's...
- Okinawan HirayachiOkinawa
Hirayachi stirs wheat flour and water or dashi into a loose batter with garlic chives, scallions and sometimes tuna, then fries it thin and flat until...
- Okinawan Ika-sumi JiruOkinawa
Ika-sumi jiru simmers cleaned squid, squid ink, pork and leafy greens such as nishiyomogi in dashi, producing an opaque black soup with marine depth...
- Okinawan Jimami-dofuOkinawa
Jimami-dofu cooks strained peanut milk with sweet-potato starch, stirring until it sets into a glossy, rich and stretchy white block often served with...
- Okinawan JushiOkinawa
Kufa-jushi cooks rice relatively dry with pork, hijiki, carrot, shiitake and pork or bonito stock, while yafa-jushi uses more liquid for a soft...
- Okinawan MimigaOkinawa
Mimiga boils or steams cleaned pig ears and slices them into narrow strips whose skin, fat and cartilage create a distinctive crunchy-chewy bite. They...
- Okinawan Nakami-jiruOkinawa
Nakami-jiru repeatedly washes, rubs and preboils pork stomach and intestines, cuts them into strips and simmers them with shiitake and konnyaku in a...
- Okinawan Pork TamagoOkinawa
Pork tamago browns thick slices of canned luncheon meat and pairs them with an omelet, scrambled egg or fried egg, usually alongside rice and miso...
- Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato TartOkinawa
Beniimo tart is an Okinawan souvenir sweet with vivid purple sweet potato paste piped into a small tart shell. Its color comes from beniimo, a...
- Okinawan TebichiOkinawa
Tebichi cleans, blanches and slowly simmers pig's feet until skin, tendon and connective tissue become soft and gelatinous, serving them in clear...
- Okinawan TofuyoOkinawa
Tofuyo cures small cubes of firm shima-dofu in a red paste of rice koji, beni-koji and awamori until they become intensely savory, creamy and...
- Sata AndagiOkinawa
Sata andagi is an Okinawan deep-fried dough sweet with a crisp, cracked exterior and a dense, cakey center. Its name comes from Okinawan words for...
- Yaeyama SobaOkinawa
Yaeyama soba serves thin, round, straight wheat noodles in a gently sweet pork-and-bonito broth, topped with narrow strips of seasoned pork and...