Tag: Cooking Local

CONTRIBUTED BY LOUISE DUPUY Kokusai Dori (street) is a hugely popular tourist spot located in Naha, Okinawa’s capital city. The name Kokusai Dori translates to...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELSEY HUGHES I stumbled upon The Set Table accidentally when a friend of mine offered me her meal for the week. The meal...

CONTRIBUTED BY GRAZIA SANNA Many foreigners would agree with me if I said that Japanese cuisine is a very tasty and special one – definitely...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI I saw this huge green vegetable, with a sticker price of around $1.75, and decided that I must learn to like...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI Kabocha (カボチャ) is a winter squash, but it’s often called Japanese pumpkin. I remember seeing it occasionally in the states, but...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI Beni imo (紅いも) may be my most favorite thing about living on Okinawa. Seriously, I love this ‘tater! It’s like a...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI So, goya is available here in Okinawa during the summer. Guess what it’s good for? Cooling. The bitter taste of this...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI It’s called an Okinawan lime, but I think it’s much tastier than lime. If limes and tangerines had a teeny tiny...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI We have the winged bean here, with lots of names like asparagus pea, Goa pea, and Thai green bean. Interesting-looking bean,...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI I’m enamored with the array of purple vegetables that I find in Okinawan farmer’s markets. One such delight is the fujimame...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI If you’ve ever been to a Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant in the states, then you’ve had a taste of this dressing, atop...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI I can’t get enough of purple vegetables. At the farmer’s market recently, I found gorgeous purple carrots. I thought to snatch...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI Winter melon, Ash gourd, Wax gourd, or White gourd … so many names for this guy! So, is it really a...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI Our garden is overflowing with lettuce, so I brought salad to a recent barbecue. People suspiciously eyed the flowers on top,...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI I picked up some Okinawan spinach, or handama (ハンダマ), recently. There are two varieties; one has a beautiful purple color on...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI We spent New Year’s Eve in Kyoto this year with my sister-in-law and her beau. It was beautiful and busy, but...

CONTRIBUTED BY LEVI COLE One of the things I love about Okinawa are the numerous undiscovered local treasures that are often in plain sight. Kohama’s...

CONTRIBUTED BY LEAH MAGID One of the frequently asked questions on “the Facebook” is, “Where can I find ?” Well, if your “item” happens to...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI I’m on a pickling spree this week! I love pickled ginger, or gari as it’s called in Japanese, and usually ask...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI   Goya Chanpuru is an Okinawan classic. Goya　(ゴーヤー) is a knobby green bitter melon that is useful during the hot, humid summers...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI   Gobo (ゴボウ) is the Japanese name for burdock. It’s a root vegetable that has a very pleasant and earthy taste. Kinpira...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI I made some steamed beni imo (ベニイモ) and was feeling ho-hum about mashed beni imo or a soup. I wanted something...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI Kabocha （カボチャ）is a type of winter squash, sometimes called a Japanese Pumpkin. Even though it’s called a winter squash, it ripens...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI Beautiful, simple, and fresh, I always make this salad when I have dragon fruit (ドラゴンフルーツ). You might see these pretty...

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI Well, it’s blazing hot here in Okinawa. Pair the heat with the high humidity and it’s like a never-ending sauna....

CONTRIBUTED BY SHELL BURGER Living off base, I pass a lot of buildings where all the signage is in kanji, so I am normally at...

CONTRIBUTED BY SHELL BURGER When I first arrived on-island, I was skeptical to buy food and produce off base. After seeing the prices for items at...

CONTRIBUTED BY SHELL BURGER While walking back from my neighborhood farmer’s market, which unfortunately I did not know is closed on Sundays, I decided to stop...

CONTRIBUTED BY LAKESHA COLE New to the island, learning how to make sushi rolls from a connoisseur of all things sushi was definitely at the top...

CONTRIBUTED BY CALYN PAQUIN Just how many of you crave for a bowl of hot soba noodle soup in the middle of Okinawa’s hot summer...