Pork Tamago Onigiri Makishi Head Shop

Onigiri is the soul food of Japan. Okinawa also has onigiri, but they are a little different from those eaten in the “mainland”…

Pork-tamago onigiri is an Okinawan soul food consisting of a rice ball stuffed with egg omelet and Spam (canned American sausage). It is commonly sold at convenience stores in Okinawa Prefecture, and many recipes have been introduced on Cookpad and other sites.

Taking a hint from this pork and egg rice ball, a store that sells special rice balls with Okinawan ingredients such as bitter gourd, island rakkyo, island tofu, navelaten, and chikina were found in a narrow alley by the Makishi Public Market, with a long line of tourists waiting to get in. Here is the scene…

New Fast Food “Pork Tamago Onigiri” from Okinawa…Developing from a Local Food to a Major Attraction for Tourists

The name of the restaurant is “Pork Tamago Onigiri Honten” as it is. As a new fast food restaurant that makes it easy to enjoy Okinawan ingredients, as of November 2018, there are three stores in Okinawa Prefecture: the Makishi main store, the Chatan store, and the Naha Airport store.

Here’s what the store looks like. Instead of relying on the latest cooking equipment, everything is handmade by local ladies. They actually start making the onigiri after receiving your order, so you can always get a freshly made, hot onigiri.

This time, while walking to the Makishi Public Market during lunch time, I happened to spot the line and purchased two items from the menu of more than ten different dishes: Ebitaru and thick fried island tofu with homemade oil miso. I waited in line for about 20 minutes. The onigiri was so large that I could feel it in my right hand. We immediately decided to eat them in the eating area in the back…

We started with the Ebitaru (priced at 280 yen).

It looks more like an onigirizushi than an onigiri. A piece of fried shrimp topped with tartar sauce is placed on a rice ball along with a standard pork egg.

First, take a bite… The crispy fried shrimp and softly baked omelette can be chewed through the front teeth without any resistance. Next, the chewy cooked rice increases its presence in the mouth, and after it passes through the throat, the savory aroma of SPAM escapes through the nose. The rice is freshly made and is completely different from the pork and egg rice balls sold at convenience stores.

Next, thick fried tofu with homemade oil miso (priced at 400 yen).

Sandwiched in place of the fried shrimp is a thick, thick fried island tofu that looks about three times as thick as the SPAM. The weight of the dish is very heavy. The thickly fried island tofu is soft and fluffy in the mouth, and the soy flavor is richer than that of regular tofu. And the homemade oil miso used to flavor the tofu…in a word, it is like the miso used in morokyu (a dish served at an izakaya (Japanese style bar). It is a perfect match. And lastly, the aroma of SPAM, which has been cooked fragrantly just like the EBITARU, passes through your nose.

Each onigiri is about the same size as two or three ordinary rice balls from a convenience store, so a woman can probably fill her stomach with just one. If you want a quick bite of Okinawan food, this is the place to go. It might be a good idea to explore Kokusai-dori with a pork and egg rice ball in hand.

From an Okinawan soul food, it is now a main attraction! The main Pork Tamago Onigiri store is a 9-minute walk from Yui Rail Miebashi Station.

The Pork Tamago Onigiri introduced here are also available at a store in Naha Airport. Please try them upon arrival at Naha Airport or before takeoff.

Here are the details of the store.

About a 9-minute walk from Miebashi Station on the Yui Rail. It is about the same distance from Makishi Station. It is located a little bit inside from the area of Don Quijote on Kokusai-dori.

P.S. Near the Pork Tamago Onigiri main restaurant, there is also this store…