Food in Okinawa

I was having a conversation with my dad the other day about foods here in Okinawa. When we first arrived on island everything seemed quite overwhelming. We were surprised about how different Japanese food was here on island compared to how it was in the movies. It took us awhile to get use to everything, but now we have developed quite a few favorite foods here on island.

Okinawan food is different than food on mainland Japan. Okinawa is really famous for their soba. Its a soup that is a lot like ramen noodles only made fresh and a lot better. Sam and I LOVE soba. It is made with homemade egg noodles, tofu, seaweed, green onions, pork, and this salty ginger seasoning. It tastes a lot better than it sounds.

The girls love more traditional Japanese food. The most famous kind is cutlet curry. This is a crispy fried pork cutlet served with curry and veggies over rice. I admit we have this at least once a week.

There is of course the even more traditional sushi. Sushi is more of a eat out thing here. There is this place here called sushi-go-round where the chefs make the sushi right in front of you and it goes around this wheel and you just pick the kind you want. Its kind of hit and miss, but I like it anyway. The girls usually just order fried squid, which tastes surprisingly like chicken.

Tea here is a real specialty. Its in every vending machine. You have to be really careful when you by them because 90% of them don't have sugar. The first time Sam and I tasted them they were really gross. It tasted like chalk. I really like it now. My favorite drink comes from a place called Quickly's. They make all kinds of cold teas. I wasn't sure at first, but now I am addicted. My favorite is Jasmine Pearl Milk tea. It is a Jasmine tea with milk and tapioca beans. It is surprisingly addictive. But don't worry. If any of you make it over to this side of the world there are more traditional foods here.

Overall we are really loving the food here, and are kinda worried at how well the kids will adapt when we take them back to the states. Who knows, maybe we will find someplace that makes fried squid in the U.S. too. :)