Juushii

Juushii is the general Okinawan word for rice cooked with other things in it. Kufa means firm, and kufa-juushii is cooked like a takikomi rice with pork broth, soy, diced pork belly, carrot, shiitake and kamaboko, finished with a spoon of lard stirred through once it has steamed. MAFF records it as a dish for celebrations and ceremonies that has become an everyday side. Soba shops sell it by the small bowl, often as a set with the soba, and at busy shops it can sell out by early afternoon.

Yafara means soft, and yafara-juushii (also called boroboro-juushii) is closer to zosui, simmered loose in plenty of pork or bonito stock. MAFF says families make it more in winter because it warms the body, and many people cook it when they feel unwell. The best-known version is fuuchibaa-juushii with mugwort leaves, and kandabaa-juushii uses sweet-potato leaves. A newer habit is to stir in a raw egg and a knob of butter just before eating.

Some versions belong to the ritual calendar. Families eat ungee-juushii with young ginger leaves on the evening of Ungee, the 13th day of the seventh lunar month, when the Obon ancestors arrive. Tunjii-juushii with paddy taro or taro marks the winter solstice.