“Taco Rice” is a Bridge Between America and Japan

The other day my wife had a surprise for us: Mexican tacos, which were certainly more welcome than the local version would have been, since tako is octopus in Japanese. “But we only have one small package of tortillas,” she said, “so when those run out we’re going to have ‘Taco Rice.'” This is a popular dish from Okinawa, the prefecture that spent a quarter-century as a U.S. territory after World War II, and it’s basically taco flavored ground beef served over rice with cheese and lettuce piled on. It’s more than just a delicious food: like the Spam Musubi, a Japanese-style onigiri rice ball made with pressed ham that’s a staple food in Hawaii, Taco Rice a bridge of culture between East and West. While we ate our tacos and our Taco Rice, we carefully applied Taco Bell sauce from the hoard of packets we brought back from the U.S. last time, such a valuable commodity here. Remember, you can sample many different unique tastes from Japan including Taco Rice with our traditional Food Drops candies and new Food Furikake series.

‘Taco Rice’ is a hybrid Japanese-American-Mexican dish from Okinawa.