Okinawan Food 2 - Buta, Zhu-yuk, Pork

Buta and Zhu-yuk are pork in Japanese and Cantonese, respectively. 




It is fairly accurate to say Okinawan food is closer to Chinese food than to Japanese food as both eat pork, lots of them. And in Okinawa, even onigiri (rice balls) is served with spam, canned pork:

                            

Pork dishes are served almost every home-food diner in Okinawa. One of them we tried was Okinawan Soba. Though it is called soba, it is different from the classic soba, which you can see from below:

Okinawan Soba                                    Japanese Soba


Okinawan soba is much more chewy than its Japanese counterpart. The biggest difference, however, is that Okinawan soba is served with pork, sometimes with pork foot. The pork served in the above Okinawan soba is from the belly of a pig, which consists of alternate layers of fat and lean meat, making the whole dish similar to a Chinese dish in the name of Kou Yuk, a dish that is avoided by healthy-minded people but loved by gourmet:

Another Okinawan dish which is quite similar to a Chinese dish is mimiga (stir fry pork ear), which is crunchy and tastes more sophisticated than the Chinese pork ear:

The similarities of Okinawan and Chinese cuisine could be explained by that Ryukyu kingdom was close to the Chinese monarchies and that Okinawan chefs had to learn Chinese dishes (pork dishes in particular) to entertain Chinese officers.


Pork is my favourite meat as it is milder than beef but has a stronger personality than chicken. Therefore, I love Okinawan home food.