is a type of noodle soup

Noodle soup

Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is an East and Southeast Asian staple. Less well known, a form of fresh noodle is used in soup in certain parts of Europe , and in northern China; usually, it is served for breakfast...

 eaten in Okinawa. In Okinawa, it is sometimes simply called soba

Soba

is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...

or suba, although it is different from buckwheat noodles known as soba

Soba

is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...

 in the rest of Japan. The thick wheat noodles resemble udon

Udon

is a type of thick wheat-flour noodle of Japanese cuisine.Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in its simplest form as kake udon, in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru which is made of dashi, soy sauce , and mirin. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions...

, while the soup is more similar to that of ramen

Ramen

is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as , , kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn...

.

The noodles tend to have a circular cross section in the Yaeyama Islands

Yaeyama Islands

The Yaeyama Islands are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.The isles are the remotest part of Japan from the main islands and contains Japan's most southern and most western inhabited islands.The islands form the southern part of the volcanic Nansei Islands...

, and tend to be slightly flat in the rest of the Okinawan archipelago. It is served in a broth flavored with konbu (edible seaweed), katsuobushi

Katsuobushi

is the Japanese name for dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna .Shaved Katsuobushi and dried kelp - kombu - are the main ingredients of dashi, a broth that forms the basis of many soups and sauces in Japanese cuisine.Katsuobushi's distinct umami flavor comes from its high...

 flakes and pork.

Standard toppings are kamaboko

Kamaboko

is a type of cured surimi, a Japanese processed seafood product, in which various white fish are pureed, combined with additives such as MSG, formed into distinctive loaves, and then steamed until fully cooked and firm. The steamed loaves are then sliced and served unheated with various dipping...

 (fish cake), sliced scallion

Scallion

Scallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...

 and a thick slice of stewed or , and usually garnished with beni shoga

Beni shoga

is a type of tsukemono . It is made from ginger cut into thin strips, colored red, and pickled in umezu , the pickling solution used to make umeboshi; the red color is derived from red perilla. It is served with many Japanese dishes, including gyūdon, okonomiyaki, and yakisoba.Beni shōga is not the...

(pickled ginger).

For extra spice, diners can add a few drops of kōrēgūsu (高麗胡椒, コーレーグース "Korean pepper"), which consists of chile peppers soaked in awamori

Awamori

Awamori is an alcoholic beverage indigenous to and unique to Okinawa, Japan. It is made from rice, and is not a direct product of brewing but of distillation ....

 rice liquor.

Varieties include:

• Sōki soba (ソーキそば) - topped with extra ribs, known as sōki
  Soki
  is a specialty of the cuisine of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Sōki are stewed pork spare ribs, with the cartilage still attached. They are often served with Okinawa soba.-Sōki soba:Okinawa soba with stewed sōki on top...
  
   in Okinawan
  Okinawan language
  Central Okinawan, or simply Okinawan , is a Northern Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kumejima, Tonaki, Aguni, and a number of smaller peripheral islands...
  
  .
• Tebichi soba (てびちそば) - topped with stewed pig trotter
  Trotter
  Trotter may refer to:* Del Boy, Rodney and Grandad - Fictional Trotter Family from BBC sictom Only Fools and Horses* Clan Trotter, a lowland Scottish family* Trotter, a horse trained for harness racing* Italian Trotter, a breed of horse...
  
  s.

History

What is now called Okinawa soba

Soba

is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...

 was originally brought from China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 some 500 years ago. Braised pork rib noodle soup is still a common street food in Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

 Province. Zhejiang is the closest province of mainland China to the Ryukyu Islands and was a trading hub between Japan and China in the past.

During the era of the Ryūkyū Kingdom

Ryukyu Kingdom

The Ryūkyū Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan...

, before Okinawa's annexation by Japan in the late 1800s, Okinawa soba could only be eaten by royalty. After Okinawa's annexation, however, during Japan's Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

, the prohibition was lifted, and Okinawa soba could be eaten by commoners.

Is it soba?

The word soba

Soba

is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...

in Japanese means "buckwheat

Buckwheat

Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...

," but Okinawa soba noodles contain no buckwheat—they are made entirely from wheat. After Okinawa was returned to Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in 1972, Japan's soba-growers' association tried to make Okinawa drop the name "soba," since according to regulations on the naming of noodles, a noodle must contain at least 30% buckwheat in order to bear the name "soba." In the end, the Okinawan soba makers won an exception based on the argument that "Okinawa soba" was a vital part of Okinawan culture, and that soba can occasionally mean noodles in general. (Ramen

Ramen

is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as , , kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn...

, also made from wheat flour, is sometimes called Shina Soba or Chuka Soba, both meaning "Chinese soba". Yakisoba

Yakisoba

', literally "fried noodles", is a dish often sold at festivals in Japan, but originates in China. The dish was derived by the Chinese from the traditional chow mein, but has been more heavily integrated into Japanese cuisine like ramen...

 (stir-fried Chinese noodles) also contain no buckwheat.)

Today, if one wants to eat buckwheat noodles in Okinawa, one must generally look for on the menu.