"Champuru" Ryukyuan Cuisine
Further more, the Chinese aristocrats who took Japanese citizenship and tended to congregate in the Kume District of Naha City developed a book of etiquette for annual occasions modeled on Chinese examples of the proper conduct for weddings, funerals and other ceremonies. In spite of this, a simple one-soup, two-vegetable menu seems to have been the fare on New Year's Day. Later, a Chinese-style meal was served, a real "three-offerings, three-tastes" dish combining mutton, beef and pork. It is said that the nested box cuisine of today is a simpler version of this.
What we now call Ryukyu cuisine is a meat cuisine featuring pork. As such, today's Ryukyu cuisine has been strongly influenced by Chinese cooking styles. But not just Chinese; the Japanese influence can be seen everywhere. Ryukyu cuisine can probably be called a cuisine that skillfully uses and combines local ingredients and ingredients obtained through trade and commerce. It can certainly be called a "Champuru" culinary culture, a cuisine that freely mixes and mingles a variety of influences.
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