This is yet another “filler” post, while I continue hammering away at my coverage of the 4th Annual Up in Smoke Cook-Off event, which is taking me seemingly FOREVER due to the amount of photos involved. Almost done guys, almost done.
Anyhow, this year’s Okinawan Festival featured several new food items, including Chocolate Covered Andagi (only available at Saturday night’s Bon Dance), Chicken Nishime, and this here “Taco Rice“. Taco Rice? WTH?
As it sounds, and according to OkinawanFestival.com, Taco Rice is described as “a dish invented in Okinawa which combines the main ingredients of the Tex-Mex taco, but layered on a bed of rice”. Which is basically a layer of chili, salsa, lettuce, crispy tortilla strips and a blend of mexican cheese over a bed of white rice.
I don’t know man. I’m shaking my head on this one. If it were on a bed of Spanish or Mexican style rice, most definitely. But on white rice?
This reminds me of the guy in a pizza parlor eating a slice of pizza with a bowl of rice on the side. You know you got a relative or friend who does that! I know you do! LOL!!!
I wouldn’t doubt there’s those of the “Gotta’ get rice” mentality that probably eat rice with spaghetti sauce on it, and even perhaps ice cream on rice. Ack! LOL!!!
Funny enough, I asked the girl at the booth serving the Taco Rice (which was selling for 5 scrips IIRC) how it tastes, and she said she didn’t really care for it, so I passed on trying it. Perhaps 2am on a Saturday night when I’m high ‘n dry and there’s nothing else to eat, sure, I’ll go for it. 12 noon with so many better-sounding options to choose at the festival? Next. lol
On a positive note, they started serving Andadogs with a whole hot dog. None of this half hot dog stuff. And oh, is it as oishii as ever!
Here’s the new Chicken Nishime…
4th Annual Up in Smoke Cook-off coverage coming soon!
This post reminds me of when I was young. Here in Lihue we had an establishment known as Judy’s Okazuya.Judy was from Japan The food was pick and choose, but she had a daily special.Once a week it was spaghetti and meat sauce which she inevitable served with a side of hot green peas.The only Western food she ever had other than Spam. I thought that was really strange. Until I went to Italy and saw it all over the place. And later learned spaghetti was an extremely popular meal in Japan also.LOL.
(We serve it all the time ourselves now).
Spaghetti with green peas sounds like a typical grade school cafeteria lunch.
I remember seeing taco rice in Okinawa when visiting back in 1996. Never tried it had better food options to choose from. Like you said maybe on a bed of mexican rice would be doable.
The late Nate Lum of the “HYN Pake in Okinawa” Food Blog posted a picture of the wide variety of luncheon meats sold in Okinawa, labeling it as the “poor man’s pork” there. From what I understand, it’s quite common to find Goya Champuru made with luncheon meat (SPAM) there in Okinawa. Pretty wild. I guess that Goya (bitter melon) is so healthy, it counteracts the negative effects of luncheon meat, giving them Oki’s such fantastic longevity.
The taco bowl sounds like a simpler version of Chipotles rice bowl. Now that’s yum!
Or perhaps a “Poke Bowl”…
http://tastyislandhawaii.com/2008/10/13/kakaako-eats-the-poke-bowl/
Taco rice is better than you think. Growing up in Los Angeles, moving to Japan and enjoying really good Japanese food naturally over time I started to crave foods that I grew up with eating – American, Italian, Mexican, etc. I could cook things like meatloaf, pasta, stew, etc. and I could go out for pizza, loco moco, McDonalds, etc. Mexican was a hard nut to crack. Forget about trying to find tortillas, refried beans or even salsa. Then I discovered taco rice. Yes, it seemed strange but I just had to try it. To my surprise it was really good. Same was true when I introduced sunny side eggs on top of rice with shoyu, Tabasco and Portuguese sausage to my in-laws and friends. They thought I was nuts but they tried it and it was game over. When I visited LA or Honolulu I would stock up on taco spice, salsa and whatever would fit into my suitcases. Sometimes things seem strange but like eating ling hing mui seed on rice like umeboshi some how it works. Look how many people from the mainland visit Hawaii and leave thinking loco moco and / or chili on rice is a gift from the heavens. Like Andrew Zimmerman says on his Bizzare Food show “if it looks good then eat it.”
The origin of taco rice in Okinawa is because of the US military personal who were probably craving the same foods as I was. There’s a US Naval base in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu and the area is known as a hamburger haven with over 40 hamburger shops. And speaking of rice there’s a Japanese hamburger chain called MOS burger ( there was a location in Waikiki ) that has a flat soft rice cake instead of the traditional bun. http://www.mosburger.com.sg/mos_menu.php
Sheesh. OK. OK then! I’ll try it. You sure are passionate about it! LOL Portuguese Sausage, Eggs and Rice with Shoyu on top is most definitely one of the greatest comfort foods on this planet. Or at least here in Hawaii. And the egg gotta’ be sunnyside-up and RUNNY. LOVE THAT! Never tried it with Tobasco though. I’ll have to try that. The US Military is the same reason of origin why SPAM is so popular both in Okinawa, Hawaii and Guam.
A while ago, Debbie-chan eMailed me a photo of the MOS Burger “Okinawa Burger”. You can see it at the end of my Sato’s “Famous Fried Noodles” post here:
http://tastyislandhawaii.com/2011/03/18/waipahu-eats-satos-okazuya-famous-fried-noodles/
Here’s a direct link to the “Okinawa Burger” image:
http://tastyislandhawaii.com/images11/pc_ashitibichi/mos_okinawa_burger.jpg
Pomai, I know you think it strange for laulau to be serve with rice. Well pake like me got have it with rice and some Japanese like it also with rice. I do like poi also. We eat almost everything with rice.
Sorry man. Hawaiian food with rice is totally WRONG to me. The starch has to be Poi, or I just ain’t having it.
love love taco rice! too bad you didn’t try it.
Sorry about coming off so strong about the ‘taco rice.’ Sometimes I just get a little too excited about silly things. Lucky for me I have taco spice and I can find serrano chilis to make my own salsa so I’ll think about you when I’m eating my taco rice. hahaha. I also have 12 Portuguese sausages in my freezer right now. I might be in Honolulu in Oct. so I’ll stock up on more supplies and for sure pick up pounds of crack seed. 8)
Try the P sausage at Kapiolani College Farmers market. old fashioned with meat chopped instead of ground
Pat, you must be referring to the Kukui Brand sausages. The Japanese tourist at KCCFM eat that stuff up! Personally I don’t care for the flavor of their Portuguese Sausage, however I’m quite fond of the Pastele and Kim Chee Sausage! The only problem, because it’s so chunky, it falls apart if you slice it up. You gotta’ eat it in whole weiner form, such as on a stick like they serve it at the farmers market.
Milo, it’s all good. This entire blog is about me getting overly excited about food, which I don’t think is silly or strange at all… it’s a deep-down passion most of us humans have! Whoah, that really was deep.
I love all of the pictures you have put up it really has made your blog colorful.
Mahalos. Websites are a perpetual work in progress.