Okinawa Pref. NAHA – If Okinawans are quick to assert their cuisine has little in common with the mainland Japanese table, the same can be said of their confectionery.
Strongly influenced by Chinese tastes, the most refined sweets were exclusive to the royal court when Okinawa was an independent entity known as the Ryukyu Kingdom (1372-1879). Documents recovered from the World War II bombing of Shuri Castle suggest there were as many as 230 confectionery recipes, the finest delicacies served to visiting Chinese and Japanese envoys. Masae Arakaki, owner of the shop Arakaki Kashiten, and a direct descendant of the the kingdom’s last royal chef, maintains that “Ryukyu-kashi (Okinawan confectionery) is the fruit of a Ryukyu Kingdom aesthetic taste.”
Typifying these tastes are 肠丑颈颈谤耻苍办ō, a fluffy, steamed cake sprinkled with peanuts; chinbin, rolled crepes made with 办辞办耻迟ō (brown sugar); and 肠丑颈苍蝉耻办ō, a popular shortbread cookie made from wheat flour, sugar and lard. Use of the latter ingredient highlights one of the basic differences between mainland Japanese and Okinawan confectionery: The former uses water as a base, the latter oil.
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