hey, mike: Okinawan meals

I want to treat my parents to a traditional Okinawan meal during an upcoming visit, and I really want to surprise them with something truly unique and unusual. Any suggestions?

— Shari Wilcox

Okinawa is famed throughout Japan for using ingredients in traditional meals that are healthy and delicious. While some foods and ingredients can be considered a bit strange for many first-time eaters, that doesn’t mean diners shouldn’t brave some of Okinawa’s more unique ingredients and dishes. They might even be surprised how good the food actually tastes.

Visitors to the “island of the long-lived” should not leave without enjoying a few of the island’s more popular dishes, such as Okinawa soba (thick buckwheat noodles in a savory broth usually topped with pork), gôyâ champuru (a vegetable stir-fry made with the eminently healthy bitter melon), the sâtâ andagi (the Okinawan doughnut), and the savory pork dish, rafutê. Rafutê is made from pork belly cut into cubes and simmered for hours in a sauce made from dashi (a soup stock made from dried bonito flakes), soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, and awamori (a local spirit).

Other excellent examples of local cuisine that shouldn’t be missed are dishes made from one of the many kinds of local seaweed. Some of the more common varieties include konbu (kelp—used in several traditional Ryukyu dishes and popular in mainland Japan for creating soup stock) and mozuku (a stringy, crunchy seaweed often enjoyed in a vinegary salad). Other seaweeds include âsa (a fine, almost transparent seaweed used in soups), moi (a seaweed that is dried then used to create a gelatin), and the umibudô (affectionately known as the sea grape or “green caviar”).

While seaweeds, Okinawa soba, gôyâ, sâtâ andagi, and rafutê can be considered exotic to some, the island also features several other dishes and ingredients that make gôyâ seem as familiar as a Big Mac or slice of apple pie—such as chirichi and chiragâ.

It is said that many Okinawans enjoy pork so much that they use every part of the pig except the “oink.” Chirichi and chiragâ illustrate this saying with ample gusto.

Chirichi is a dish made from sautéed pig blood. Chi translates into “blood” and irichi (loosely) means “fry together.” This stir-fry was once eaten for medicinal purposes (to cure anemia), and frozen pig’s blood can still be found for sale in the freezers of some rural supermarkets, although it isn’t prepared in the home. Chirichi includes carrots, burdock, leeks, garlic leaves, miso, awamori, and boiled rice. Those who still enjoy chirichi add pork and tofu before serving.

Almost a tourist attraction in itself, chiragâ might remind some of a character in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Chiragâ is literally the face of a pig. It is often smoked and can be eaten like jerky or cut into thin strips and served in soup.

Whether or not it is eaten, chiragâ makes a great conversation piece and has become one of the representative icons of the Makishi Public Market, which is one of the most famous covered markets in Naha City. This market, which is a part of Heiwa Street (a covered arcade perpendicular to Kokusai Street), is an ideal place to enjoy all the traditional Okinawan foods mentioned above while soaking up the local culture.

—Mike Daley

Got questions for Mike? E-mail editor@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org.