The Menu of Ukansen Cuisine
The Menu as a Whole:
The Sappo envoys themselves made no record in China of the foods that were served to entertain them, the foods we now call Ukansen cuisine. For details of the menu, we have to look at 19th century records on the Ryukyu side.
The sources are "Ryukyu Sapposhi Papers" (1808) and "Ryukyu Kansen Records" (1866). By that time, after a long history of entertaining the Sappo envoy guests, the format had probably become set.
What is called Chinese low-table cuisine differs from the cuisine of the royal court.
The menu included five courses with four dishes per course, plus dim sum and soup. Besides the five courses, there were various kinds of sweets, "Juroku Hin" and "Kantaku" (whole pig, whole sheep, duck, chicken , many decorative items)
The names of the dishes on the menu are not recorded as such; the names of major ingredients stand in for dish names, and under these there is a listing of other ingredients. Seasonings and cooking methods are not recorded.
The menu has been replicated many times in modern-day Okinawa, based on the records of the time and what is known about the cuisine of the Chinese imperial court. This time, Junko Ashitomo and Chinese chef Tabuchi will undertake recreating the Ukansen cuisine menu with the cooperation of the Okinawa Cooking School.
For the most part, it will be Chinese food, but there will also be entrees using local Ryukyu ingredients as well as some Japanese dishes.
The ingredients for each course are as follows:
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