Okinawan Taco Rice

With the current craze of all kinds of “bowls” at every kind of restaurants imaginable, it may seem like I’m following the trend by just putting taco meat over rice. But, I can’t take the credit for coming up with this wonderful concoction that is Okinawan Taco Rice!

Okinawan Specialty Foods

Okinawa is the southern-most island prefecture of Japan. Okinawa’s latitude is about the same as Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; plus being on the Pacific Ocean, it’s technically a tropical island. Actually, Okinawa prefecture is made up of over 150 small islands, the largest of which is also called Okinawa. (This is another similarity between Okinawa and Hawaii. Okinawa, to me, felt like a weird blend between mainland Japan and Hawaii with a hint of Chinese culture infused in it!)

Because of the climate and the history of Okinawa, it has a very unique set of specialty foods compared to the rest of Japan. Sea grapes, goya (bitter melon), and purple sweet potato are just a few of the foods that are found mainly in Okinawa. Taco Rice is one of those Okinawan specialty foods.

Sea grapes with soy sauce and mirin — Okinawan specialty: sea grapes

Okinawan purple sweet potato soft serve ice cream cone — Okinawan specialty: purple sweet potato soft serve ice cream

So, how did taco rice end up being the specialty food of Okinawa? It’s a fusion recipe that totally makes sense to come out of Okinawa.

Okinawa has had a heavy American military presence for decades, since WWII. With all the American families who are stationed there, Americanized tacos, of course, are common all-time favorite meals. To appeal to the military personnel and families, local restaurants started offering affordable yet familiar menu items. And taco rice was born.

My Taco Rice Review

When we visited Okinawa, taco rice was at the top of my list of things to try. I loved the concept of it! From the concept of combining two things from two different cultures to come up with one specialty food, to the concept of combining two things that I personally like:

Taco = Good!
Rice = Good!

But Taco + Rice? It was a bit of a letdown. At least the one we tried was. Why? Because all the ingredients (rice, ground beef, shredded lettuce, cheese…) were so DRY that I felt like a chipmunk shoving the tree shavings in its mouth! The flavors didn’t mix well as I felt like they should. There are now many ways to make taco rice that vary by restaurant. Taco meat in some of the restaurant is reportedly flavored with more traditional Japanese ingredients such as soy sauce and mirin.

The taco rice purists may think it’s perfect as is. Maybe the texture is part of the charm and nostalgia that go with this dish. But here is my version of it with just a minor adjustment: A little bit of sauce to make the whole dish bursting with that zesty taco flavor! It’s simple yet so satisfying!

Taco Seasonings

I used the homemade taco seasoning for this recipe just to see if I could add some soy sauce and mirin to come up with a decent flavor. But I abandoned the idea quickly when I couldn’t get my head around what taco would taste like with soy sauce…. So, you can easily use the pre-mixed packet of the taco seasoning to make this just as well. Just substitute the entire “Taco Seasoning” section from the recipe with a packet of the taco seasonings of your choice.

Related topic: See the 5 simple tips to cook perfect Japanese rice