🍜 Okinawa Soba (Noodle from Okinawa Prefecture)
The characteristic of ‘Okinawa Soba' is its thick noodle made from what noodle (not using buckwheat flour, only using Wheat flour) knead with lye water, and thick rich soup made from rich broth from pork bone and bonito flakes. It is common to put simmered pork belly, stick ‘kamaboko' (fish cake), green onion or pickled red ginger on top of noodles, but nowadays there are variety of noodles like ‘Souki Soba' (noodle with sparerib), ‘Nankotsu Souki Soba' (noodle with gristle and sparerib),or vegetable noodle. In addition, each noodle in different areas has its own characteristics, like ‘Miyako soba' (noodle in Miyako area) or ‘Yaeyama soba' (noodle in Yaeyama area). As noodles in ‘Okinawa soba', well-known Okinawa's local food, aren't made from ‘soba-ko' (buckwheat flour), in 1976, the administrative guidance was given by Japan Fair Trade Commission that it should not be called ‘soba'. Okinawa Raw-noodle Cooperative negotiated with the Commission again and again to regain their beloved name of ‘Okinawa soba' and to protect food culture in Okinawa, then finally got the trademark registration of ‘Okinawa soba'. To commemorate the day of this achievement, they declared October 17th as ‘Okinawa Soba Day'. A Chinese opened a noodle restaurant in Naha City in middle of Meiji era (1868~1912), which is considered as an origin of ‘Okinawa soba'.