Title: Special dishes?
Post by: Karl Gronneberg on February 01, 2007, 22:59:15 PM

Hi All,

I haven't had much Japanese food, but I am curious if there are any Special Dishes, which are only found in Okinawa, or are more common there, rather than the mainland?

Karl

Title: Re: Special dishes?
Post by: john on February 03, 2007, 00:21:10 AM

Well... I'd say that Okinawa definitely has some special dishes. You can see a bunch of stuff here (http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/026/e/index.html).

They eat goya in Okinawa. It's called bitter melon in English. It looks like a bumpy cucumber, but it's really bitter. I can't say I enjoy eating it. ;D

(http://www.okinawaforums.com/images/goya.jpg)

In my opinion the best Okinawan food is probably champuru which is a mix of many different ingredients.

To quote from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champuru):

Quote

Chanpurū (Japanese: チャンプルー) is a form of popular Okinawan stir fry dish, generally containing vegetables, tōfu, and some kind of meat or fish. Luncheon meat (such as SPAM or Danish Tulip), egg, moyashi and gōyā are some other common ingredients.

"Chanpurū" is Okinawan for "something mixed" and the word is sometimes used to refer to the culture of Okinawa, as it can be seen as a mixture of traditional Ryūkyū, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and North-American culture. It is thought to come from the Indonesian word "campur" meaning mixture.

Long a local specialty only found on Okinawa, chanpuru has in recent years through television shows and increased interest in Okinawan culture, spread to many restaurants on mainland Japan.

Also, there seem to be more pork based dishes in Okinawa than in mainland Japan.

I guess my favorite Okinawan food is fu champuru. I'm not exactly sure what fu is, it's shaped like a washer or bolt before you cook it, but it's good.

There's also Okinawan soba, but I'm not too fond of it actually.

Overall the local food is very good, and I actually prefer it to Japanese food most of the time.

John

Title: Re: Special dishes?
Post by: Karl Gronneberg on February 03, 2007, 02:52:40 AM

Hmm,

It's funny how things work out, the bloke who's taxi I drive, is a Pakistani fellow, he also has a little shop, in the town here, where he sells spices and foodstuffs. One of the things which always caught my eye, was the Bitter Melon, he sells, as I had never seen them before.

Now I am tempted to buy one and try cooking a dish with it, to see what it is like. What is the best way to prepare and cook such a thing?

BTW, your link to the other site has an extra J on the end you'll need to delete ???

Cheers, Karl

Title: Re: Special dishes?
Post by: john on February 03, 2007, 12:28:09 PM

Wow, I wonder how the extra J got in there... I copied and pasted it. I should check the links in my posts more thoroughly.

You want to try to make some goya champuru? Hmm... I'm not sure if I can be much of help there. I'll ask my girlfriend though, she makes it sometimes.

John

Title: Re: Special dishes?
Post by: Karl Gronneberg on February 05, 2007, 06:21:21 AM

Hi John,

Well I took the plunge, and made some Goya Champuru! I found a recipe on the net, and although, it didn't look as nice as the photo on the page I found, it was edible, lol!

I don't know if the Goya I used, probably coming from Pakistan, was the same as the ones there. But I didn't find it to be too bitter, well not as bad as I thought it would be, so I would probably try it agian.

I would be interested to see if it is as bitter there, when I eventually come over.

Anyway, thanks again, Karl

Okinawa Forums

General Category => Restaurants => Topic started by: Karl Gronneberg on February 01, 2007, 22:59:15 PM