Sea grapes (umibudo) rank third in Okinawa's aquaculture by both volume and value and are known as one of the prefecture's signature products. Their popping texture is the point; in the north of the island most farms are family-run. This time I piled them on rice with an egg yolk for an Okinawan breakfast.
Ingredients
- Cooked rice
- Sea grapes (umibudo)
- Egg yolk
How I made it
- Fill a glass bowl with rice
- Heap sea grapes on top
- Drop an egg yolk in the middle, break it with chopsticks and mix
Sources: pref.okinawa.jp
This moment in the journey
Morning in Motobu, breakfast of sea grapes
Morning in Motobu, in the northern part of Okinawa's main island. On the red-tiled roof, a shisa lion gazed at the dawn sky. At the back of a lawn stood an old house with white board walls, which I was told was used as a location for the film Ito.
I filled a glass bowl with rice and heaped sea grapes on top. Through the kitchen window I could see the green of the garden. An egg yolk in the middle, and breakfast was ready.
This town is famous for the Churaumi Aquarium, and it also holds the earliest cherry blossom festival in Japan. Morning light came through the noren curtain onto the table. I broke the yolk with my chopsticks and stirred it into the popping sea grapes.
Watch this scene on YouTube0:28
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