Okinawan Foods

Okinawa is a tropical island and as such, it has some local food specialties that are fantastic! The thing we miss most from the location of our first house on island was the fact we were within walking distance of an AMAZING local restaurant called Sakae Ryouriten, AKA Seasonal Foods of Okinawa. Here is an overview of the amazing-ness (taken from two separate occasions - we eat a lot, but not this much a lot!):

This was a delicious, perfectly sauteed white fish with Japanese bitter melon (called "Goya"), fried garlic, tomatoes and Shikuwasa (an Okinawan citrus). Goya is supposedly super packed with nutrients and said to contribute to the overall long life spans of the Okinawan locals... that and sushi and green tea ;)

Joel and our meat loving friends appreciated this pork belly with sauteed onions and lemon. They told me it was "melt in your mouth good!"

Yet another dish upon which I gazed but did not partake - a pork and onion stuffed, salt rubbed, fried Japanese sweet potato, AKA purple sweet potato, AKA Beni Imo. This dish was ordered TWICE in one night and Joel and our friends labeled it "scrumptious". As an educational side note, the beni imo is used in a lot of desserts here on island - they LOVE their beni imo ice cream, short breads, and fried sweet potato chips. They're naturally a little sweet, but add a little salt to it in chip form and voila! A new favorite snack!

Tuna sashimi... I know. We've featured this before, but it's just so darn good! Coupled with the shikuwasa (which I use in lieu of limes and lemons now due to its flavor profile), okra, seaweed and wasabi (still not sure what the orange-ish yellow things are), dipped in soy sauce, this was a finger lickin' good side dish. 

I'm pretty sure this was chicken of some sort with basil and potatoes. Wouldn't know. Didn't try it. But, Joel and our friends were satisfied with every dish, so... yum?

One of our main fav's - the sauteed fish head. It comes out piping hot in a cast iron skillet with hot oil we were told to baste over the fish for a last bit of flavor. The vegetables with the spices in the fish "broth" were indescribably delicious and incredibly fresh!

Yummy fish head soup (can't see the head, sorry!) with tofu, seaweed, peppers and mushrooms. Did I tell y'all I can eat mushrooms now? Yeah, turns out I have mastered my distaste for their texture and am now experimenting with different types and cooking techniques. They're a ways away from becoming a favorite food of mine, but the fact I don't want to throw up due to their texture is a huge step for me, LOL!. My gateway mushroom you may ask? Hen of the Woods. Thank you, Tom Colicchio. (More on THAT meal in our next post regarding our Vegas trip!)

Now, THIS is one of my new favorite foods here in Okinawa. It's called Umibudou, or sea grape, because that's exactly what it is! It's an underwater plant that's kinda salty, but really unique in flavor and texture. It's just a cool food, especially when paired with fresh tomatoes in an Italian style dressing.

Last but not least, the Japanese love their version of Caesar salad. The dressing is lighter than what we're accustomed to in the States and they add a lot of extra 'fluff' to the salad. It's darn good though and I'm close to saying I prefer it to our American version...??

How'd you like this ALL FOOD blog?! Joel and I basically live our days just making it to the next meal, LOL! We have gotten back on the healthy food wagon lately though so we are now cooking most of our meals at home and packing our lunch. Thus, the times we do go out, we make it worth our while and this restaurant  NEVER disappoints!