Okinawa Soba

Okinawa soba (沖縄そば?, Okinawan: うちなーすば Uchinaa Suba) is a type of noodle soup eaten in Okinawa. In Okinawa, it is sometimes simply called soba or suba, although it is different from buckwheat noodles known as soba in the rest of Japan. The thick wheat noodles resemble udon, while the soup is more similar to that of ramen.

The noodles tend to have a circular cross section in the Yaeyama 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 flakes and pork.

Standard toppings are kamaboko (fish cake), sliced scallion and a thick slice of stewed san-mai niku (三枚肉, pork belly?) or sōki (ソーキ, boneless pork ribs?), and usually garnished with beni shoga (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 rice liquor.

Varieties include:

• Sōki soba (ソーキそば) - topped with extra ribs, known as sōki in Okinawan.
• Tebichi soba (てびちそば) - topped with stewed Pig's trotters.