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• Read more about Okinawan Food And Cuisine 101

Okinawan cuisine is very different from mainstream Japanese cuisine. While rice is adopted as a staple, the local food prepared is also completely different. The Ryukyu Kingdom, which is forbearer to Okinawa, gathered quite a lot of its culinary disciplines and designs from the China and other Asian trading nations of the world including Thailand and Korea.

How is food in Okinawa different from the mainstream food of Japan? 

In the cuisines of Okinawa, there’s an unexpected disregard for fish and other sea foods. Pork is the most loved food here, and it is eaten from top-to-tail, including even the ears (mimiga). Pork has existed from the time the Chinese introduced it in the 14th century. The pork served in Okinawan cuisines is always slow cooked to maintain its tenderness and to eliminate the fat.  Below is a platter of pork strips or bacon, with a dipping sauce(mixture of mirin, mustard and other unknown ingredients).

Unlike the mainstream food of Japan, Okinawan cooking has vegetables as its staples. Most of the vegetables involved, such as bitter melon and mugwort, are not part of the mainstream cooking in Japan. 

With that said, here are some of the most popular delicacies of Okinawa:

Goya champuru

You can’t talk about Okinawan food without mentioning Okinawa’s unique dish, Goya champuru. Locals prepare this dish in many different ways. It can be deep-fried like tempura, thinly sliced and thrown in salads or pickled for use as a side dish. Goya is full of Vitamin C, making it terribly sour when consumed raw. You’ll often find it served with tuna or scrambled eggs.

^{by pelican}

Rafute

Rafute, which is made up of succulent pieces of pork’s belly area simmered in soy sauce and glazed with brown sugar, definitely has a mass appeal. The dish was invented in China, but can be easily found in places like Okinawa and other Asian countries.

Okinawa soba

With bonito fish flakes and konbu (kelp) swimming in the clear broth of pork, Okinawa soba noodles are slightly chewy.

Taco rice

^{by ayustety}

Visitors often find themselves perplexed by the taco rice -- a bowl of salsa, cheese and spiced ground beef served on top of white rice. Just consider it Okinawa’s reply to the West’s taco salad.

Umi budo

^{by jetalone}

As suggested by the name umi budo (sea grapes), these fine seaweed clusters resemble small bunches of grapes. Their texture is really a wonder. Offered with a spicy ponzu dipping marinade, the jewel-toned bubbles often pop in your mouth like a caviar. 

Tempura

Okinawans have adopted this Japanese main course wholeheartedly. Using local ingredients like sweet potatoes and goya instead of prawns, this dish is generally served with eggplant and mushrooms. 

Sata andagi

Almost all of us love donuts. Rather than being fluffy with deep brown crust covering a cakey center, Sata andagi is more a heavyweight cruller.

While it is impossible to define every kind of food available in Okinawan cuisines, its intriguing and bold features will make you fall in love with this food-specially when coupled with a glass of awamori or Orion beer, the area’s indigenous liquor.

^{donut image:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Yatobi}

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• Read more about Is Teriyaki Sauce Really Healthy?

Asian fusion has become increasingly popular in the last ten years, and with that popularity came a surge in the use of Asian condiments: soy sauce, sesame oil, siracha, ginger, hoisin sauce, etc....

One of the more popular condiments is teriyaki sauce. It is sweet, thick and rich and goes well with meat and sea foods. What people don't know is that word Teriyaki describes acooking method, where food is grilled and is glazed with sauce several times. This sauce used in Teriyaki is called "tare," a mixture of honey or sugar,mirin or sake, and soy sauce.

^{by coolinsights - Grilled chicken in teriyaki sauce}

In North America, Teriyaki sauce is a common condiment, and the ingredients are slightly different from Tare. Store bought Teriyaki sauce is made without sake and have other ingredients such as garlic, brown sugar, fruit juices like orange or pineapple. The focus of this article is on the western-style Teriyaki Sauce. So back to our main question below!

What we are going to ask ourselves today is "Is teriyaki sauce healthy." Sure it tastes really good, but is actually good for you? Let's see!

Ingredients in Teriyaki Sauce and its Nutritional Value

Teriaki sauce is mainly made of soy sauce with spices, ginger, brown sugar, garlic and pineapple juice added for taste, which makes it a low-calorie sauce, especially when compared to creamier and richer sauces like barbecue sauce, ranch sauce, cheese sauce, etc. One tablespoon of teriyaki sauce has 17 calories, while one tablespoon of ranch sauce has a whopping 73!

However, the brown sugar and pineapple juice make the teriyaki sauce a very sugary condiment and thus high in carbohydrates. 75% of teriyaki sauce's calories come from carbs, which is a lot.

Teriyaki sauce is also very high in sodium, but it is low in saturated fats and cholesterol and a good source of iron (fights fatigue), magnesium (excellent for blood pressure) and phosphorous (good for your kidneys).

Overall, teriyaki sauce is not unhealthy, but it isn't a health food either: it has too much salt, sugar and carbs to be consider truly "healthy." However, when consumed in small amounts, it can easily fit into your daily macros (the macronutrients you have to eat everyday to stay healthy). We do not recommend that you cook with teriyaki sauce everyday, or use it as a dipping sauce often, but using it once or twice week, in small amounts, would not be harmful to your health.

^{by Lil' DeeTwice cooked honey & soy farm duck, buerre bosch pears, pink eye potatoes, gingered bok choy & teriyaki sauce}

Teriyaki Sauce Versus Soy Sauce

Teriyaki sauce is soy sauce's more complex and bolder cousin. As we have seen, teriyaki sauce is mainly made of soy sauce with other ingredients added for taste. There are two kinds of soy sauce: tamari, which is made from soy only and shoyu which is made from both soy and wheat. Both kinds of soy sauce are high in sodium (salt) but contain no sugar or juices and are much lower in carbs than teriyaki sauce.

Soy sauce is healthier than teriyaki sauce: it is simpler and less processed. It also a good source of many minerals such as iron, magnesium and manganese (good for bones and bone structure.) Although it is healthier than teriyaki sauce, soy sauce should be used sparingly because of its high sodium content.

Conclusion

Teriyaki sauce is not unhealthy but should be used in small amounts and not every day. It has numerous health benefits but these benefits hardly offsets the high sodium, sugar and carb contents of the sauce. It should also be said that teriyaki sauce is a much healthier choice than most sauces on the market: if you have to have sauce with your meal, go for teriyaki or soy sauce instead of the creamier sauces like BBQ sauce.