Green Caviar? ~ ７ Okinawa famous foods~

はいさい！My name is Wassamu. I'm a university student in Okinawa.
Okinawan food culture is so interesting because they looks like Japanese, Chinese and American mixed foods.
I'd like to introduce the Okinawa food culture and dishes today.

About Okinawa

 Firstly, I'll tell you about the overview of Okinawa. Okinawa has humid subtropical climate and you can see various living things and plants. Plus, Okinawa is surrounded by beautiful blue waters. In the crystal-clear waters, colorful coral reefs and a wide variety of marine life, which reside there, create a dream-like world. Before World War Ⅱ, Okinawa is influenced by Japanese and Chinese culture since Okinawa was the prospering trading hub.  In 1945, as World War II came to a close, Okinawa was placed under American rule, and until it was reverted to Japan on May 15, 1972, it went through a different history from that of the Mainland with heavy influence from the United States.

Okinawa noodle(Okinawa soba)

 Most famous and most popular food in Okinawa is "Okinawa noodle"(Okinawa Soba).  We love it and we eat it almost once a week(depends on person, of course). Porks are used for the noodle. Historically, Okinawa people often eat porks because they have at least one pig per household. So, porks are used for many Okinawa food. 

Taco-Rice

  As I mentioned, some Okinawan foods are influenced by American food culture. Taco-Rice is one of the American Okinawa food. It consists of taco-flavored ground beef served on a bed of rice, frequently served with shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato and salsa.

Pork Tamago Rice Ball

 This one is also American Okinawa food, called Pork Tamago Rice Ball. Okinawa foods such as "Shima Tofu" ,"Goya" or "Miso" , and Spam are used for it. (Spam is a canned cooked pork made by American companies) http://porktamago.com

Okinawan Stir fly vegetables 

 This is Okinawan stir fly vegetables called "Champuru". Champuru means "mixed". Literally, some foods are mixed, for example, Tofu, Goya, and Spam. The photo on the bottom is my handmade. I love Champuru.

Green Caviar

  Green caviar? Green caviar? Green caviar!
This is green caviar. We call it "Umibudou", which means ocean grape.
What does it taste like? It's not sweet, but a little salty. Unfortunately, I haven't eat real caviar, so I don't know whether the taste is similar with caviar. Anyway, I love Green caviar.

From now, I'll show you Okinawan sweets

Mango

  My favorite fruits, Mango! I think Asian mango is different from Western one in taste and size. So, you should try the Asian Mango. The reason why I chose to come to university at Okinawa is   Okinawa's Mango is so delicious. But, the weakness is high price. If you buy high quality Mango, it's about 25 dollars. I often buy it a low price, about 5 dollars,  in the local supermarkets.

Zenzai

Zenzai is a Okinawan shaved ice with red kidney beans and rice flour dumplings.  In the summer, It's sweltering in Okinawa and you would like to eat it.

Conclusion

Come to Okinawa!

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