Sokijiru ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

Okinawa Prefecture

Sokijiru

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Main lore areas

All areas throughout the prefecture
Main ingredients used

Pork bone-in ribs

History/origin/related events

Pork is cooked without wasting any part of it, and for this bone-in meat is frequently used. Clear soup with bone-in ribs that have been simmered to softness is called “soki soup ”(sokijiru), as well as “soki bone soup”. “Soki soba”, in which Okinawan soba is added to stewed pork ribs, is popular outside the prefecture, but within the prefecture, sokijiru is more popular. Pork ribs on the bone have a good balance of fat and meat, and also smells good, so cooking it as a simple soup allows you to directly enjoy the flavor. The key to making it delicious is to let it simmer thoroughly until the meat becomes so tender it begins to fall off the bone. It is made with daikon in winter and winter melon in summer, and well-known as the taste of home cooking. In the past, people would butcher the pig they raised at the the end of the year, and celebrate New Year’s with pork dishes like “sokijiru”. In modern times it is an indispensable dish for New Year’s in Okinawa Prefecture.
Opportunities and times of eating habits

In Okinawa, various pork dishes are eaten on New Year’s to the extent that it’s called Pork New Year’s. Commoners who usually lead humble lives cook pork on special days like New Year’s, offering it first at the Buddhist altar before eating it.
How to eat

For pork bone-in ribs, you’ll wash them once with cold water and then with hot water. Wash the konbu and let it reconstitute in water, then tie it into knots. Let the dried shiitake reconstitute in water, and then cut them into halves. Add the ribs and the water to the pot and let boil; after carefully removing the scum, turn off the heat and add the konbu and shiitake. Let simmer on low heat for an hour and a half until the meat softens. Season with salt and soy sauce during the process, and once the konbu softens, remove it along with the shiitake. Add the water used to reconstitute the konbu and dried shiitake, as well as the bonito stock, and adjust the taste to a lightly seasoned soup.
Efforts for Preservation and Succession

(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)
Besides typically being made at home, it is also served in restaurants and as school lunch within the prefecture. Also, it is sold in retort packs in retail shops.

RECIPE

Ingredients (serves 4)

Rib meat (2 flanks of boned ribs) 8 pieces
Konbu (kelp) 1.5 stalk
Dried shiitake 2 mushroom
Water 6 cups
Bonito stock a moderate amount
Salt 1 tsp
Soy sauce a little

How to cook

1. After washing the ribs, quickly blanch them.
2. Let konbu reconstitute in water, and tie into knots.
3. Let shiitake reconstitute in water, and cut into halves.
4. Add ribs and water to a pot and set to high heat; once boiled, carefully remove the scum.
5. Add konbu, shiitake to 4 and simmer on low heat for about an hour and a half until the ribs become soft (when the meat begins to fall off the bone).
6. Lightly season with salt and soy sauce during the process, and remove the konbu once it has softened along with the shiitake.
7. Restore konbu and shiitake to 6, and add bonito stock until the broth fills up to about 4 cups; season to taste.

provider : Ryukyu cuisine researcher Junko ASHITOMI

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

Contact

Food Cultures Office, Overseas Market Development and Food Cultures Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel:+81-3-3502-5516

Sokijiru ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

Okinawa Prefecture

Sokijiru

Main lore areas

Main ingredients used

History/origin/related events

Opportunities and times of eating habits

How to eat

Efforts for Preservation and Succession

RECIPE

Ingredients (serves 4)

How to cook