Rafute Explained

Rafute is a pork belly dish in the Okinawan cuisine of the island of Okinawa, Japan. Rafute is skin-on pork belly^[1] stewed in soy sauce and brown sugar. It is traditionally considered to help with longevity.^[2] Rafute was originally a form of Okinawan Royal Cuisine.^[3]

In Hawaii, rafute is known as "shoyu pork,"^[4] which is served in plate lunches. In the early 1900s, Okinawan immigrants in Hawaii introduced rafute into the local cuisine which later inspired other variations such as shoyu chicken. Okinawans owned and ran many restaurants and okazuya throughout Hawaii in the 1940s.^[5]

See also

• • • • • , many started by Okinawans

Notes and References

1. Web site: Okinawa Food Guide. www.japan-guide.com. en. 2021-08-29.
2. A surprising slice of Japan by Tom Downey June/ July 2013 AFAR page 38
3. Web site: Okinawa Food Guide. www.japan-guide.com. en. 2018-03-28.
4. Book: Corum, Ann Kondo . 2000 . Ethnic Foods of Hawaiʻi . Honolulu, Hawaii . Bess Press . 78 .
5. Book: Matsuda . Mitsugu . The Japanese in Hawaii, 1868-1967, a Bibliography of the First Hundred Years . 1968 . Social Science Research Institute, University of Hawaii . Honolulu.