Kajimaya Kokuto (brown sugar)

Posted by Maki Nako

Okinawa is also known for the production of quality brown sugar. My pick for this month is kajimaya kokuto, brown sugar wrapped in a pinwheel shaped package with a prayer for longevity.

  Why longevity? It’s because the package shape is based on a pinwheel celebration, or kajimaya in the Okinawan language. It’s a traditional event held in Okinawa for those who turn 97 years old. The colorful print is a bingata motif, a traditional resist dyed textile of Okinawa. The pinwheel package was awarded the President’s Award by the Okinawa Branch Office of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation at the Okinawa Industrial Fair in 1998.

When I went to Shurijo Castle to take some photos for this article, I heard an interesting story from the employee in the photo below.

One time she sent this kajimaya kokuto to her grandmother-in-law living in Kumamoto Prefecture. The grandmother-in-law liked the taste very much and asked her to send more to give it to her friends. Then she told me her grandmother-in-law is in her 90s and her friends are almost 100 years old! It means this brown sugar is not only tasty but also soft enough (or melts easily in the mouth) for aged people. Furthermore, brown sugar has far more minerals than white sugar; for example it contains calcium, potassium and iron, so it can be a healthy snack.

 One package contains three different flavors: original, sesame, and shikuwasa (a kind of citrus). There are fifteen bite-sized blocks per package; five of each flavor. In addition, this exclusive Shurijo Castle edition comes with sanpin (jasmine) tea, another taste of Okinawa.

A gift box version of two kajimaya kokuto and three sanpin teabags is also available.

Available at Kyuyo Museum Shop in the Hokuden (North Hall) within the paid zone of Shuri jo Castle.
Open from 8:30. Closing time varies depending on the season.

Awamori

Do you love drinking? Are you looking for a tasty souvenir from Okinawa? I will introduce awamori this month.

You may recall “sake” when you are asked about Japanese alcoholic beverages, but in Okinawa, we have awamori, Japan’s oldest distilled liquor. One big difference between sake, refined Japanese rice wine, and awamori is the production process. Sake is classified as distilled liquor, while awamori as brewed beverage. Sake is made using yellow koji mold, and awamori is made using black koji mold of Okinawan origin. The black koji mold contains a large amount of citric acid with bacteria that do not spoil easily even in the hot and humid subtropical climate of Okinawa. Another difference is the rice. Awamori is made from long-grained indica rice while sake is from short-grained rice.

There are 46 awamori distillers in Okinawa and all types of awamori are made using black koji and the same ingredients and production method, but interestingly, the taste is totally different from one distillery to another! It is said the water used to produce the awamori makes the difference.

You can enjoy awamori on the rocks or with water as many Okinawans do. Another great way to savor awamori is cocktails! Awamori can be a good cocktail base just like gin, vodka, etc. Recently, various flavored awamori have also become available, such as coffee and ume plum. Awamori that has been aged for three years or more is called kusu in the Okinawan dialect. The older the awamori, the richer the taste and flavor it has.

 In addition, awamori plays an important part in cooking pork, one of the main foods for Okinawans. It gets rid of the distinctive smell of the meat and makes it tender. I bet you cannot find a family in Okinawa without a bottle of awamori at home.

Anyway, one of the good shops to find awamori of your taste is Okinawa-ya Awamorigura on Kokusai Street. They have a wide selection of awamori from almost all awamori distillers in Okinawa Prefecture including the remote islands. You can sample some of them (if you are not driving, of course). Why not try the fascinating local liquor and feel the Okinawan spirit?

Okinawa-ya　Awamori-gura

2-8-5 Matsuo Naha

Hours: 9:30-22:30

Tel: 098-868-5252

Andansu Miso

Posted by Maki Nako
              We all have our comfort foods or soul foods that we enjoy throughout our lives, with their tastes and smells bringing back memories in quick flashbacks like photographs in our minds. Home-cooked spaghetti sauce that has just the right amount of spices, blueberry pancakes on Sunday mornings, steaming sukiyaki hot pot on cold winter nights, and tuna casserole topped with breadcrumbs and baked to perfection. But among the list of my all-time favorites, is an item that isn’t a meal on its own, but an addition with so much presence that it manages, on occasions, to take center stage. This is andansu.

              Andansu, (pronounced un-dun-soo) in the Okinawan language, literally means oil and miso. It is prepared with pieces of pork or skipjack tuna mixed with sweet miso paste. Like the rest of Japan, Okinawa’s staple diet is rice. And just like with bread in western cultures, rice is served with the main course or enjoyed on its own, often with sprinkle toppings, seaweed, pickled vegetables, or whatever else to add some pizazz. Although some people like to spread andansu on their toast or other bread, it’s more popular served with rice. Since moving to Okinawa, I’ve never met anyone here who disliked a hot bowl of glittering white rice topped with a generous portion of andansu.

              At the onigiri (rice-ball) section at every convenience store, you will most definitely find a row of andansu-filled onigiri among a selection from tuna-and-mayonnaise, salmon-flakes, ume plums or seaweed fillings, just to name a few. It is also sometimes found in bento boxes (boxed meals), and all supermarkets throughout Okinawa carry at least a brand or two of ready-to-serve andansu. Okinawan households have their own special “tastes” of andansu, perhaps with recipes passed down from one generation to the next. With pretty much the same ingredients needed to prepare it, you wouldn’t think that its taste would vary so much, but every type I’ve ever tasted, from those bought at farmers’ markets and grocery stores to mom ‘n pop diners and friends’ family recipes, they are all so distinctly different, and all so pleasantly delicious.

             
               You can find them in sealed jars at souvenir shops and at the airport to take some home with you or bring as gifts. But do keep an eye out for the andansu when in Okinawa, as its distinctive taste will certainly be a fond reminder of these unique islands.

Ukon Going Natural

Posted by Mari Rita Tobaru

When friends come down to Okinawa to visit me, I realized that I always had a difficult time answering this question, “What would make a good present to take back home?”  Until just recently, I always answered vaguely, asking them questions in return in order to elicit answers in considering possible souvenirs from Okinawa that would be worth taking back and distributing to friends.

This summer, I found a solution to this problem. Two of my friends from Hawaii visited Okinawa in June, and we started talking about things to take back to Hawaii. One of them mentioned that she wanted to buy some ukon  products. This was quite a surprise to me. Although I live in Okinawa, I’d never thought of buying ukon or showed any interest in products made from ukon.

 Thus, our hunt for good ukon products began. We first visited a herb garden and along the tour, the owner explained that ukon, also widely known as curcumin or turmeric (curcuma longa), belongs to the ginger family. The garden had three different types of ukon: haru ukon (literally “spring ukon”), murasaki ukon (purple ukon) and aki ukon (fall ukon). We were told that each ukon has its own medicinal effects. For those who want more detailed info of its effects, check out this website from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/662.html

After doing some quick research, we found out that a kuro ukon (black ukon) also exists. This ukon is said to have a high polyphenol and anthocyanin content (more than blueberries). In the end, we all ended up buying black ukon products and gained a wealth of knowledge regarding Okinawa’s ukon product.