Okinawans nailed the "slow-cooker" concept with this week's delicious dish, Okinawa Shoyu Pork, from Allrecipes' cook, Diana. Fulfilling the promise of a culture that prides itself on head-to-tail pig cookery, pork is both delicacy and everyday food. With one of the longest life expectancies in the world, they might just have something here! Served with rice and traditional vegetables, this shoyu pork is melt-in-your-mouth tender, its sweetness complimented very well by the vegetables and rice.
Sometimes we need comfort food. This simple yet satisfying dish, served over a bowl of rice could very easily become your next "go-to" recipe! Tender, flavorful and delicious, this is mouth-wateringly tasty! Melt in your mouth tender, with just the right amount of salt and sweet, this is sure to be a new family favorite!
View the Okinawa Shoyu Pork Recipe
Diana has been an Allrecipes.com member since 2006 and a huge fan ever since. A Lt. Colonel in the United States Air Force working in the emerging mission of cyberspace operations, Diana is a force to be reckoned with, whether in uniform or in an apron! Born in Okinawa, Japan (her father in the military for 33 years), she now resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Passionate about life, this is no more evident than in her kitchen. With authentic experience, I can personally attest that I ate her Okinawa Shoyu Pork with my eyes before taking a bite!
"I'm a mom to two great children both of whom are pretty good about eating and trying new foods! For this school year, we also have a foreign exchange student from Japan living with us. Our dinner times are family times and the kids are involved in picking out recipes, planning weekly meals, grocery shopping, and cooking. My 16 year old is a fabulous young cook, and makes dishes such as red beans and rice, coconut curry chicken and salmon! My 13 year old is becoming an avid baker. And our 18 year old exchange student is enjoying cooking with us, and is filling her recipe book with recipes to take home. We have traveled the world with the military and love trying all types of new foods and dishes."
Diana loves to cook Asian foods, specifically Japanese and Thai, fish (mostly salmon), soups and pastas.
"I'm venturing into Vietnamese, Mexican and Indian dishes. We're a very active and busy family, so recipes that are less complicated but use great ingredients, resulting in fabulous dishes, are what we search for! I believe in cooking with fresh, raw ingredients, using them to make healthy, delicious meals!"
Regardless of what's cooking in Diana's kitchen, this dynamic cook will make sure it's healthy AND DEE-licious!
"Give me children that's raised on good sound pork afore all the game in the country. Game's good as a relish and so's bread; but pork is the staff of life... My children I calkerlate to bring up on pork with just as much bread and butter as they want." ~ James Fenimore Cooper
"Pork - no animal is more used for nourishment and none more indispensable in the kitchen; employed either fresh or salt, all is useful, even to its bristles and its blood; it is the superfluous riches of the farmer, and helps to pay the rent of the cottager." ~ Alexis Soyer
Let me start with a bold statement right up front: Okinawan food is downright delicious! Now that I've set the tone, I'll step back a bit and describe a little about our visit to Allrecipes' cook, Diana and Colorado Springs, Colorado. A Colorado native myself, it was great coming back to the Rockies. Diane had her entire family ready and waiting as well as good friend, Dan, and we immediately headed over to the Air Force Academy. Right up against the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains, at approximately 7,258 feet of elevation, the campus of the Academy covers 18,000 acres. With class in session, we enjoyed a quick tour including the iconic, accordion-like structure of the chapel. With a biting wind, we all agreed it was time to head back to Diana's kitchen to find out "What's Cooking?".
Okinawa's reputation for having the longest life spans of any people in Japan is attributed to many things, including the temperate climate, the combination of Okinawan mindset, and diet. An almost stoic acceptance of what life brings, blended with a belief that food is 'kusiumun', medicine, leads to the belief that food is 'nuchigusui', healthy for life. It's important to note, however, that Okinawan food is not Japanese food. Aside from embracing rice as a staple, local food is totally different. Okinawan cookery is distinguished by three unique forms: The foods of the farmers or common people of Okinawa, Naha cooking, and Shuri court cooking. The common people of Okinawa consumed lots of sweet potatoes and ate simple meals that could be scraped together from their farm crops. In Naha you found the largest urban center on the island and it was also a port town. To the Naha people, cooking was considered to be an art and their cuisine was just a notch below the Royal court cuisine of Shuri, the ancient capital of Okinawa.
Pork is so ubiquitous in the Okinawan diet that to say "meat" is equivalent to "pork." From head to tail, everything is used, except as the saying goes, "Only the "oink" and the toenails are wanting". Pork is usually thought of as a fatty meat, but in Okinawan cooking, the pork is typically slow-cooked or boiled off to achieve tenderness and to eliminate fat. While a few dishes may require a gastronomic leap of faith, this week's Okinawan Shoyu Pork does not!
The attention to detail Diana paid to the recipe and arranging the food, making it appealing to the eye, was definitely reflective of the influence traditional Okinawan cooking has in her kitchen! Her mother was also visiting from Okinawa and had nothing but praise for her daughter's wizardry. She was perhaps a bit nervous with a film crew in her kitchen, but with a Zen-like demeanor, she was obviously very centered in her cooking, working to ensure her food was beautiful, delicate, and flavored beyond my wildest expectations. She knows how to put food together and keep you wanting more. What a lucky family! Thank you, Diana!
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