Chinese vegetables

We eat many kinds of vegetables and herbs in Okinawa. We eat Chinese vegetables which Japanese people are unfamiliar with as well. There is a history behind it.

Okinawa used to be the kingdom of Ryukyu which existed until 1879 when it became a part of Japan. We had a good relationship with China and used to trade with Japan, Korea and the Southeast Asian countries. For more details, visit this website.

Because of our history, we have many cultural influences from these countries, especially China. That's why Chinese vegetables are commonly eaten in Okinawa.

The leaf vegetable in the photo is one of the Chinese vegetables called "Unchee" in Okinawan dialect. We have our own names for each Chinese vegetable in our language. Therefore, we don't use Chinese names. These vegetables are only available in Chinese markets in the UK. We find it hard to recognise them because they used their own names.