Ukon are Japanese products made from tumeric (Curcuma Longa) a plant which belongs to the ginger family.
This plant mostly grows in India but also in other areas such as Southeast Asia and Okinawa.
Curcuma powder, used in South-eastern and Middle-eastern cuisine, is prepared from the rhizomes which are boiled for several hours and dried in hot ovens.
In Japan and more specifically Okinawa, tumeric is used for drinks and tea. Ukon drinks are usually presented in small bottles and are used to fight tiredness and hang over. Ukon tea is used for its medicinal properties.
In India and South-east Asia it is used as an antiseptic and an antibacterial agent.
In some places as Pakistan, Afghanistan or Okinawa, tumeric tea is very popular and used for its anti-inflammatory properties and to fight digestive disorders.
It is also used in some cosmetic products such as sunscreens and to dye clothes.
Goya (Momordica charantia) called bitter melon or bitter gourd in English is a tropical and subtropical vine of the Cucurbitaceae family (like cucumber).
This very bitter fruit is common in Africa, the Caribbean, India, Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan and Okinawa. Goya is not usually used in mainland Japan.
There are many different species which vary in size.
The fruit is usually eaten unripe when the skin is green and the seed and flesh white as it becomes more bitter as it ripens.
When a goya is ripe, the skin is getting yellow and the seeds red.
This refreshing fruit is widely used for its medicinal properties as it contains a lot of vitamin C.
China and Taiwan inhabitants use it since ever in their traditional medicine to treat skin problems as well as digestion difficulties or rheumatisms.
Goya can be used in many different ways: fried, dried, in soup or tea.
The most famous Okinawa’ dish made from goya is Champuru which include fired goya with pork and eggs. Eggs make the dish less bitter.
The modern Ryukyu glass artwork began with the use of the scraps of glass bottles which were brought to Okinawa by US armies. Recycled glass is usually impure and forms bubbles, but that is one of individual reasons Ryukyu glass is popular for.
Brightly-colored glass is Ryukyu glassware unique feature. These colors were originally made from Coca-Cola bottles for blue, Seven up bottles for green and beer bottles for brown.
Today, most of Ryukyu glass workshops use material glass, but there are still some workshops using scrap glass.
It is difficult to make bright coloration for red and in order to make a brilliant red for the glass platinum is added to it. That is the reason why red products are more expensive than the other colors ones.
Ryukyu glassware articles are all hand blown and made one by one. Consequently, every piece is unique.
Ryukyu glass is one of most popular Okinawa traditional arts. It is simple but nothing like industrial products and it makes people feel warm
The Beni Imo is a delicious purple sweet potato traditionally used in Okinawa.
Many kinds of food can be processed with such as cakes, ice cream, flour, sweets…
Yomitan, a village located on the main island, is specialised in the production of beni-imo with strong, purplish red flesh.
