Updated November 12, 2024

Take a second to think about Okinawan cuisine, and see what comes to mind. Goya champuru (an Okinawan stir fry dish with bitter melon), Okinawa soba, sea grapes, sata andagi (a sweet treat similar to donuts) - you probably thought of one of these, right? Whether you're at a restaurant, a roadside rest area, or a marketplace, you'll be able to enjoy these Okinawan delicacies, but there are plenty more Okinawan dishes that are so delicious that once you've tried them you won't be able to stop! And the one place you'll be able to experience all of them is, unexpectedly, at an izakaya (a traditional Japanese bar).

It's definitely not karasu or garasu - introducing sukugarasu!

Sukugarasu is an Okinawan preserved food, consisting of baby fish pickled whole in salt. Sukugarasu is pretty salty, so in Okinawa it's usually served on top of bite-sized pieces of Okinawa tofu, and enjoyed alongside some sake. In the Okinawan dialect, "suku" refers to the mottled spinefoot fish (known as aigo in Japan), and "garasu" means pickling in salt. Make sure you don't get it confused with karasu (crow) or garasu (glass)! The sight of the tiny fish delicately placed on top of the tofu is seriously impressive!

Kubuirichi - a popular school lunch item at every elementary school in Okinawa

Kubuirichi is what people in Okinawa call kombu stir-fry. In Okinawa kombu is often added to meals as it is, rather than being used as a base for dashi (Japanese soup stock)! Kubuirichi is finely sliced kombu fried with pork, to which dashi is added before being gently boiled together. And it really does make regular appearances in the school lunches of Okinawan children! When I was a kid I hated kubuirichi with a passion, but as an adult I find its flavor to be nostalgic and mild. It's perfect with a glass of awamori, a strong liquor unique to Okinawa.

Jushi - it's anything but juicy!

Kufa jushi is rice seasoned and cooked with various ingredients. For many families, kufa jushi is a much-loved rice dish that is indispensable during events like celebrations and Buddhist services. The seasonings and ingredients used in kufa jushi vary across Okinawa and from family to family, but one thing is guaranteed - it's far from juicy. It's often pretty crumbly in texture, and it's richly flavored. The rice is very similar to another Japanese rice dish called takikomi gohan, but the difference is that many parts of pork are used in the dish. It may not be juicy, but it's definitely tasty.

Duruduru they or don't they - duruten duruduru!

These days you can eat duruten no matter which izakaya you go to. But duruten first appeared at a restaurant called Urizun. Duruten originates from a traditional Ryukyuan dish (Ryukyu is the ancient name of Okinawa) made from boiled Okinawan taro called duruwakashii, which despite being very time consuming to prepare, apparently didn't sell very well at all. It's said that duruten was first created when people shaped the unsold duruwakashii into rough patties before frying them. To Japanese ears "duru" conjures feelings of dorodoro or dorotto, meaning thick or mushy, but duruten are actually soft and croquette-like in texture, and they're so delicious that once you've tried one you'll want to eat them all the time.

When a typhoon hits, nothing beats hirayachi

It seems like even Okinawa-style restaurants don't often offer hirayachi, but you can always rely on an izakaya. If you try to imagine an Okinawan version of chijimi (a savory Korean pancake) you won't be far off, but hirayachi is an example of typical home cooking, made by mixing wheat flour with water before adding carrots, green onions and garlic chives (also known as Chinese leek), seasoning with salt and dashi, and finally frying into a thin pancake in a frying pan. For some reason it's famous as an emergency meal, eaten when a typhoon has come and it's impossible to go outside, maybe because it's quick and easy to make, but it's also a pretty filling snack.

Lastly...

There are so many more Okinawan dishes that I couldn't possibly introduce them all! Many dishes incorporate pork and of course we can't forget the famous goya, bittermelon! But I can say one thing for certain. Every single Okinawan dish is delicious. They may be powerful in both name and appearance, but each and every one has a wonderfully mild flavor! Perhaps Okinawan cuisine tells us something about the personality of Okinawan people!!