Innie or Outie

In America when we want a quick bite of something we often get a slice of luncheon meat, some cheese, a little lettuce, two slices of bread, and throw together a quickie sandwich. On Okinawa, a quickie munchie can be a bowl of rice topped with ochazuke (an instant snack of green tea and seaweed diluted with boiling water).

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Another instant product that is very popular on Okinawa is instant miso soup ( sort of the Japanese equivalent of canned soups in America).

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On occasion I combine these two products (I can just see the locals going into shock!) and create my own quickie rice gumbo.

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Japanese-style Instant Gumbo

1 and 1/2 cup precooked white rice
1 packet ochazuke
1 packet (set) instant miso soup
1 umeboshi (pickled plum)
boiling water

Place rice in serving bowl and pour contents of ochazuke and instant miso soup packets on top of rice. Pour 1 – 11/2 cup boiling water over rice mixture, and let stand for approximately 3 minutes. Thoroughly stir all ingredients and top with umeboshi.

There are several varieties of these two products available, so you can try different versions to find the flavor that suits your own taste best. The ingredients should be available in your local supermarket’s Asian foods section. Also, if you want meat with this, precooked bite-sized tonkatsu (chicken-fried pork cutlet), chicken dog, shrimp, or even spam can be used.