Naha Noodle Shop · Wheat Noodle, Not Buckwheat

Okinawa Soba

Japan's own Fair Trade Commission tried to force a rename in 1976, ruling that "soba" legally requires buckwheat flour and Okinawa's noodles are 100% wheat — Okinawa fought back and won a special exemption on October 17, 1978, a date now celebrated annually as Okinawa Soba Day.

Thick, springy wheat noodles closer in texture to ramen than to mainland buckwheat soba are served in a pork-and-bonito broth, topped with a slab of stewed pork rib or belly, a fishcake slice and pickled red ginger.

Why it's made this way: The noodle developed independently in the former Ryukyu Kingdom under Chinese culinary influence, and the Okinawa Raw-Noodle Cooperative defended its right to the name "soba" specifically because the dish predates and exists outside mainland Japan's buckwheat-only definition.

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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.