Regional food of Kyushu & Okinawa
Bold hot pots, noodle dishes, trade-influenced sweets, tropical ingredients, and the distinct food heritage of the Ryukyu Islands.
This curated English section currently features 27 representative guides. The Japanese edition contains the full archive.
- Fukuoka Game-niFukuoka
Game-ni stir-fries chicken with burdock, lotus root, carrot, taro, konjac and shiitake, then simmers everything in a sweet-savory broth.
- Fukuoka Karashi MentaikoFukuoka
Karashi mentaiko is pollock roe cured in a seasoning liquid containing chili pepper, combining salt, heat, seafood umami and a distinctive granular...
- Fukuoka Tonkotsu RamenFukuoka
Fukuoka tonkotsu ramen is built around pork-bone broth, with regional styles including Kurume, Hakata, and Nagahama. Noodles and toppings vary by...
- Hakata TorimonFukuoka
Hakata Torimon is a modern Fukuoka confection with a soft outer dough and a smooth white-bean filling enriched with butter and dairy flavors. It...
- Mizutaki Chicken Hot PotFukuoka
Mizutaki is a Fukuoka chicken hot pot in which chicken is simmered with vegetables and tofu in a clean but deeply flavored broth. Hakata-style...
- Motsunabe Offal Hot PotFukuoka
Motsunabe is a Fukuoka hot pot built around beef offal, cabbage, garlic chives, garlic, and chili. Soy sauce and miso are the most common broth...
- Umegae MochiFukuoka
Umegae mochi is a Dazaifu specialty made by enclosing red bean paste in a rice-flour dough and griddling it in a plum-blossom mold. The thin toasted...
- Amami KeihanKagoshima
Keihan is an Amami Oshima dish in which shredded chicken, thin omelet, shiitake, green onion, citrus peel, pickles, and seaweed are arranged over...
- Kagoshima Satsuma-ageKagoshima
Satsuma-age seasons ground fish, shapes it and fries it until springy and fragrant; Kagoshima versions often have a noticeable sweetness.
- KarukanKagoshima
Karukan is a white steamed confection from Kagoshima made with grated yam, rice flour, and sugar. It has a light, springy texture and a restrained...
- Ikinari DangoKumamoto
Ikinari dango is a Kumamoto steamed sweet that wraps a thick slice of sweet potato and red bean paste in a simple wheat-flour dough. The result...
- Kumamoto BasashiKumamoto
Basashi is thinly sliced raw horse meat and one of Kumamoto's best-known regional foods. Cuts range from clean, lean red meat to marbled sections...
- Kumamoto TaipienKumamoto
Taipien is a Kumamoto Chinese-style soup filled with glass noodles, seafood, pork, vegetables and often a deep-fried egg.
- Chicken NanbanMiyazaki
Chicken nanban is a Miyazaki dish of battered fried chicken soaked or dressed in sweet vinegar. Many versions add a generous egg-rich tartar sauce...
- Nagasaki CastellaNagasaki
Nagasaki castella is a dense, moist sponge cake made mainly from eggs, sugar, flour, and syrup. Its fine crumb, rich egg aroma, and coarse sugar...
- Nagasaki ChamponNagasaki
Nagasaki champon is a hearty noodle soup loaded with pork, seafood, and vegetables. Its distinctive noodles are cooked in the broth rather than boiled...
- Nagasaki Sara UdonNagasaki
Sara udon tops crisp thin noodles or browned thick noodles with a glossy sauce of seafood, pork, and vegetables.
- Sasebo BurgerNagasaki
Sasebo Burger is a collective name for made-to-order hamburgers sold in Sasebo, with each shop choosing its own patties, bacon, egg, cheese...
- ToritenOita
Toriten is Oita-style chicken tempura: bite-size seasoned chicken coated in a light flour-and-egg batter and fried. Breast, thigh, or tenderloin may...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- Ogi YokanSaga
Ogi yokan is a celebrated sweet from Ogi City in Saga. The traditional style develops a crystallized sugar crust that feels crisp at first bite...
- Yobuko Squid CuisineSaga
Yobuko in Karatsu is famous for squid served as ikizukuri, cut and presented immediately to emphasize translucence, sweetness, and firm texture...