On 10th Dec, anniversary for Slow Food movement, we, members of the Slow Food Ryukyus, gathered in Miyako Island to hold an event to celebrate the registration of seven ingredients on the Ark of Taste.

 

【Menu】

・Ndamari：Miki, a drink made by fermenting millet

・Yushi-tofu of Utsumami：Ryukyus style tofu made from indigenous soy beans

・Akamami’s mamina champuru：Indigenous red bean sprout stir-fry with tofu

・Hukyagi made from Ffumami and Upgyan：Ryukyus style rice cake made from indigenous black beans and sorghum

・Datcha made from Jime and Tsun：Rice ball made of indigenous rice and millet

〜extra〜

・Okara salad：Salad utilizing soy pulp from Tofu making
・Raftee by grany Chiyo：Ryukyus style stewed pork belly

 

Nearly 60 participants, from Miyako islands and even neighboring islands, gathered for the day!
For the children as well as for some of the adults, the ingredients and dishes of the day were all things they had heard and seen for the first time.
For the seniors of the islands, many of the dishes and ingredients were nostalgic, things that should have been a part of islands life and culture, but have somehow drifted away.
As if to bridge the distance, we started by learning the names of the ingredients and then got to know them through cooking so that we could become familiar with them one by one.

 

The participants, led by Mrs. Chiyo Tsukayama, who has been involved in Slow Food activities on the island for more than 20 years, worked together to prepare the food, then enjoyed a delicious and enjoyable Slow Food-y time!
We joined hands and gave thanks for the blessings.

The “Ark of Taste” is Slow Food’s project to preserve and inherit food biodiversity.
Pursuing this project is an expression of our will to continue to protect our food for the lives and culture on our islands.
There are many conflicts and difficulties involved in preserving them, but it is still surviving and is being reconnected by someone else’s hands adapting to change.
The progress is slow but determined.
We should cherish each seed and life, keeping in mind that the situation in disaster-stricken areas and conflict zones, which are physically far away from us but occurring in the same time period, are also connected to us.