Local Dishes

1. うちなーすば

   U-chi-naa-su-ba

   Okinawa soba (wheat noodles in pork-and-bonito broth)

   Usage

   The dish you will see on the most shop curtains in Okinawa. Despite the name it uses wheat, not buckwheat, noodles, in a pork-and-bonito broth

   Grammar Note

   Uchinaa (Okinawa) + suba (soba). Suba means buckwheat noodles, but Okinawa soba is made of wheat, so learn it as the compound. Also written うちなあすば

2. そーきそば

   Soo-ki-so-ba

   Soki soba (Okinawa soba topped with stewed pork spare ribs)

   Usage

   Okinawa soba topped with sweet-savoury stewed pork ribs. Many shops let you choose bone-in ribs or the softer cartilage cut

   Grammar Note

   Sooki means "rib" (sookibuni = rib bone). As a dish name it is "Okinawan-style stewed pork spare ribs"

3. ごーやーちゃんぷるー

   Goo-yaa-chan-pu-ruu

   Goya champuru (bitter melon stir-fried with tofu, egg and pork)

   Usage

   The signature Okinawan dish. The bitterness is strong — if it is not for you, say nigasan (bitter) and ask for a different champuru

   Grammar Note

   A compound of goojaa "bitter melon" and caNpuruu "a dish of tofu and vegetables stir-fried in oil"

4. とーふちゃんぷるー

   Too-fu-chan-pu-ruu

   Tofu champuru (stir-fried Okinawan tofu)

   Usage

   The go-to order if bitter melon is not for you. Okinawan tofu is firm and low in water, so it holds its shape when stir-fried

   Grammar Note

   toohucaNpuruu "a dish; tofu stir-fried in oil"

5. そーみんぷっとぅるー

   Soo-min-put-tu-ruu

   Soomin puttoruu (stir-fried somen noodles)

   Usage

   A home-style staple also found in diners, usually with tuna and garlic chives. Some shops write it "soomin champuru" instead

   Grammar Note

   soomiNpuQturuu "a dish; somen stir-fried in oil"

6. なーべーらーんぶしー

   Naa-bee-raa-n-bu-shii

   Naabeeraa nbushii (luffa simmered in miso)

   Usage

   A summer home dish. In Okinawa luffa is eaten young as a vegetable; it cooks down soft and is served with tofu and pork

   Grammar Note

   A compound of naabeeraa "luffa" and ?Nbusii "a dish of vegetables with tofu or meat simmered with little liquid"

7. くーぶいりち

   Kuu-bu-i-ri-chi

   Kuubu irichi (finely shredded kelp stir-fried with pork)

   Usage

   A fixture of New Year and memorial-service boxes. Okinawa grows no kelp yet eats among the most in Japan — a dish that records its trading history

   Grammar Note

   Kuubu?irici "a dish; kelp cut into fine strips and stir-fried with meat, fish cake, omelette and fried tofu — often made around New Year". Irichi comes from ?iricii "stir-fry". Modern menus often lengthen it to kuubu irichii

8. らふてー

   Ra-fu-tee

   Rafute (skin-on pork belly braised in awamori and soy sauce)

   Usage

   Braised slowly in awamori, soy sauce and brown sugar with the skin left on — the point that distinguishes it from the Kagoshima version, which removes the skin

   Grammar Note

   Rafutee 【羅火腿】 is pork belly stewed in soy sauce, awamori and brown sugar. The variant rafutii is also seen, but the Shuri-Naha form is rafutee

9. あしてぃびち

   A-shi-ti-bi-chi

   Ashi tibichi (stewed pig's trotters)

   Usage

   Pig's trotters simmered until the collagen melts. Some shops serve it as a soup, others as a topping for Okinawa soba

   Grammar Note

   ?asitibici "a dish of pig's feet, regarded as a delicacy"; ashitibichi is "pig's feet soup". A bare tibici refers to ?utibici, which is a different celebratory stew of meat, tofu, daikon and kelp — so the ashi- form is the safe one for trotters

10. みぬだる

    Mi-nu-da-ru

    Minudaru (pork steamed under a black sesame paste)

    Usage

    A dish of the Ryukyuan court. The name is said to describe the black sesame draped over the meat like a straw cape. You meet it in celebration and memorial boxes

    Grammar Note

    minudaru "a dish; pork coated with squid ink and black sesame, seasoned with soy sauce and steamed". Most modern versions leave out the squid ink

11. いなむどぅち

    I-na-mu-du-chi

    Inamuduchi (white-miso soup with pork and konjac)

    Usage

    The soup of celebrations: sweet white miso with pork, konjac, shiitake and fish cake cut into matchsticks

    Grammar Note

    ?inamuduci "a dish; pork cooked in white miso in place of wild boar — literally 'mock boar'". Written 【猪擬】 in kanji. Ina = boar, muduchi = imitation

12. どぅるわかしー

    Du-ru-wa-ka-shii

    Duru wakashii (mashed taro simmered with pork and mushrooms)

    Usage

    A celebration dish whose name means "boiling mud", after its look. It firms up as it cools and is also deep-fried as "duru-ten"

    Grammar Note

    duruwakasii "a dish; taro (taa?Nmu), taro stems (taamuzi), konjac and fried tofu simmered to a thick mash"

13. ひらやーちー

    Hi-ra-yaa-chii

    Hirayaachii (thin Okinawan savoury pancake)

    Usage

    A thin wheat-flour pancake with garlic chives or tuna folded in — famously what families cook on typhoon days when the shops are shut

    Grammar Note

    hirayaachii 【平焼ちー】 "Okinawan-style okonomiyaki". Note hwirajacii is a different dish — sweet-potato starch kneaded with sweet potato and deep-fried — so use the hirayaachii form for the modern pancake

14. くふぁじゅーしー

    Ku-fa-juu-shii

    Kufa juushii (Okinawan seasoned rice cooked with pork and kelp)

    Usage

    Firm seasoned rice cooked with pork, kelp and carrot. It is often sold shaped into rice balls

    Grammar Note

    kuhwaZuuSii "seasoned rice cooked with various ingredients; also simply ZuuSii". Kufa means "firm", pairing with 'jahwaraZuuSii, the soft porridge version

15. ふーちばーじゅーしー

    Fuu-chi-baa-juu-shii

    Fuuchibaa juushii (rice cooked with Okinawan mugwort)

    Usage

    A standard side at soba shops. The mugwort is fragrant and slightly bitter — order kufa juushii instead if that is not for you

    Grammar Note

    A compound of huuCibaa "mugwort, whose young leaves are eaten and put into mochi" and ZuuSii "seasoned rice"

16. とーふよー

    Too-fu-yoo

    Toofuyoo (tofu fermented in awamori and red koji)

    Usage

    A delicacy fermented for months in awamori and red koji. Do not eat it in one bite — scrape a little at a time with the toothpick provided. It is served alongside awamori

    Grammar Note

    toohujoo "fermented tofu; people of taste take it with tea"

17. じーまーみどーふ

    Jii-maa-mi-doo-fu

    Jiimaami doofu (peanut "tofu", set with sweet potato starch)

    Usage

    Warning: it is made from peanuts, not soybeans. Despite the name "tofu", anyone with a peanut allergy must avoid it

    Grammar Note

    A compound of ziimaami "peanut, literally ground-bean" and toohu "tofu", voiced to -doofu (mooi doofu shows the same voicing)

18. すくがらす

    Su-ku-ga-ra-su

    Sukugarasu (young rabbitfish salted whole, served on tofu)

    Usage

    The classic bar snack: the little fish laid one by one on island tofu. It is very salty — always eat it with the tofu

    Grammar Note

    sjukugarasju "salted sjuku"; sjuku is "a small fish of the Ryukyu coast, eaten salted", and garasju is "salt-pickled" (on its own, karasju). Sukugarasu is young mottled spinefoot pickled in salt, usually served on tofu

19. いちゃがらす

    I-cha-ga-ra-su

    Ichagarasu (salted squid)

    Usage

    A small plate served with awamori — an izakaya standard alongside sukugarasu

    Grammar Note

    ?icagarasju "salted squid". Icha is ?ica "squid" (also ?ika)

20. あんだんす

    An-dan-su

    Andansu (miso stir-fried with pork and oil)

    Usage

    A spread for rice and rice balls, and a travel ration: dissolve it in hot water and it becomes miso soup on the spot

    Grammar Note

    ?aNdaNsu "miso stir-fried in oil, with meat mixed in; taken with tea, put inside rice balls, and used as travel miso since it makes soup when dissolved in hot water". Anda is ?aNda "oil, fat". Modern packaging usually lengthens it to andansuu

21. さーたーあんだーぎー

    Saa-taa-an-daa-gii

    Saataa andaagii (Okinawan fried sweet dough balls)

    Usage

    Sold in markets, roadside stations and convenience stores alike. A good one splits open as it fries

    Grammar Note

    saataa?aNdaagii "a confection; wheat flour kneaded with water and sugar and deep-fried"; without sugar it is just ?aNdaagii. From saataa (sugar) + ?aNda (oil) + ?agii (frying). The third vowel is also written short (saataa andagii); the long form (saataa andaagii) is the base form

22. ちんすこー

    Chin-su-koo

    Chinsukoo (Ryukyuan shortbread-style biscuit)

    Usage

    The standard souvenir sweet: a crumbly biscuit of wheat flour, sugar and lard, made since the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom

    Grammar Note

    ciNsukoo "a confection; rice flour and sugar kneaded with oil and pressed in a mould". Written 【金楚糕】 in kanji. Being Sino-Ryukyuan rather than a Western loan, it is written in hiragana here

23. むーちー

    Muu-chii

    Muuchii (mochi steamed in a shell-ginger leaf)

    Usage

    The mochi of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, when supermarkets pile it high. The leaf is a wrapper — do not eat it

    Grammar Note

    muucii 【鬼餅】 "the rite of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, when mochi is made for the children — and the mochi itself, wrapped in a fan-palm (kuba) or shell-ginger (saNniN) leaf"

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