On day 7 of our travels in Okinawa, we got the opportunity to try out a cooking experience at Taste of Okinawa! We were looking forward to the session because the experience included a tour in the local market to suss out the freshest ingredients, followed by the hands-on cooking of authentic Okinawan meals. Goya champuro and rufute pork? Yes please!

Cooking Experience at Taste of Okinawa

As we had written a complete post of our cooking experience at Taste of Okinawa, we’ll be covering some other aspects of the tour and experience in this post.

From our hotel (Hotel Aqua Citta Naha by WBF), we took a 20 minutes walk to Taste of Okinawa. Rina, our host, greeted us and informed us that we were the only 2 guests in the morning! Thereafter, we left for Makishi market to get some fresh ingredients including pork for the raute. We also visited a shop for bonito, a local mom-and-pop shop for goya (Okinawa bitter gourd) and tofu (for the goya champuro) from a local supermarket – which apparently, delivers fresh tofu, 3 times a day. This was also why when we picked up the tofu, it was still warm!

During our cooking experience, we whipped up the following dishes:

1. Goya Champuru. A famous Okinawa dish that is a stir fry of tofu, eggs and goya, topped with bonito flakes.

2. Rafute with White Miso. A moist and tender pork belly reduced with a sweet miso saucec.

3. A-sa Soup. A mild-flavoured soup made with bonito soup stock and ‘a-sa’ (Okinawan seaweed).

4. Sata Andagi. Traditional Okinawan-style doughnuts made with Okinawa brown sugar.

Throughout the whole experience, we were meticulously guided by Rina. She would tell us to weigh out ingredients such as salt, sugar and flour. During the cooking itself, she would also keep a keen eye on the food to ensure that the taste turned out great (and not burnt!). We then learnt that she spoke such good English because she did high school in Michigan before coming back to Tokyo to do her degree.

Our favourite dishes were definitely the Goya Champuru as well as the Rafute. The tofu was so fresh and delicious! Rina was actually surprised that we finished the entire dish! The goya itself was not too bitter and we grew to love its fresh crunch on each bite. Definitely more shiok than the ones we have in Southeast Asia. Of course, the Rafute, after being pre-boiled by Rina and reduced over a low heat for 30 minutes turned out to be soooooooo tender! The reduced miso sauce went perfectly with the rice. This was washed down with the in-house beers (not included) at Taste of Okinawa.

Naminoue Beach and Akamaru Ramen

After the hearty and delicious meal at Taste of Okinawa, we headed in the direction of Naminoue Beach. Turns out that Naminoue Beach is the only beach in Naha City and it also boasts the clear blue waters – a signature of Okinawan beaches…

Music was played on the speakers at the beach. This created the “vibe” expected at a beach. We’d imagined that summers here would be pretty fantastic. Nearby, we also saw statues of 2 huge dragons. They were built as a symbol of friendship between Naha and Fuzhou City. It was quite relaxing to just chill at the beach. To hear the waves and take in the fresh sea breeze. Just before we left, we bought a green tea ice cream (150 yen) from one of the ice cream machines at the beach, to accompany us on the way back to the hotel.

For dinner, we tried out the Akamaru Ramen shop, just opposite from where we were staying at the Hotel Aqua Citta Naha.

Funny story. We wanted to do a takeaway so that we could dine in our room and enjoy some wines and beers from the Club Lounge. So Tom went across the road himself. As he stepped out of the lobby, it started to rain! (Slightly heavier than a drizzle). After he reached the Akamaru Ramen, the owner said that takeaway was only available for gyoza and rice. WHAT?! So Tom went back to the room to get Kate to go over to the ramen shop together.

After we exited the lobby (2nd time for Tom), the rain actually stopped! -_-”

This time, we ordered the LL (double large) Pork Ramen (780 yen), Cold Tan Tan Noodles (780 yen) and a small gyoza (350 yen)…

Both dishes were exceptional! Kate looooved the rich sesame taste of the cold noodles while its texture was slightly firm. Tom on the other hand enjoyed the smokey soyu taste of the ramen which was so rich and flavourful! Never knew that soyu soup could be this good! Moreover, the “mountain” of beansprouts added the sweetness and crunch to the entire dish. Slurp worthy!

At the end of the meal, we were also given a small square of Okinawan Black Sugar as a little sweet treat! 🙂

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To end off the evening, we chilled at the Club Lounge of Hotel Aqua Citta Naha before turning in early for the evening. Stay tuned as we check out a local beef restaurant (Motobo beef)!

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Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 1: Driving North and Checking Out the Attractions of Henza Island

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 2: Tasting Okinawa Soba, Driving on Melody Road Okinawa and Seeing the Yambaru Kuina (Rail)!

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 3: Playing Putt Golf, Visiting Cape Hedo and Checking in to Westeria Condominium Okinawa!

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 4: Visiting Okinawa Ocean Expo Park, Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Tropical Dream Center and Okichan Dolphin Theater

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 5: Visiting Okinawa Fruits Land, Daiso, Orion Happy Park and Capes Manzamo, Maeda and Zanpa!

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 6: Okinawa Outlet Mall and Free Flow Awamori at Hotel Aqua Citta Naha!

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 7: Cooking Experience at Taste of Okinawa and Dinner at Akamaru Ramen Shop

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 8: Hotel Maruki, Motobu Beef Restaurant and International Street Okinawa

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 9: Chillaxing in Naha City and Watching the Japanese “Bucket List” Movie (最高の人生の見つけ方)

Okinawa Travel Itinerary Day 10: Shurijo Castle, Nishihara Marine Park, Cape Chinen, Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park and Umikaji Terrace Senagajima