6 Square Pork Tamago Onigiri from Okinawa for Some Reason

《1355th consecutive day!》

If you ask what the shape of an onigiri is, what comes to mind usually boils down to two types.


Triangular and round.

I have reported on over 1,000 onigiri so far, and most of the ones sold at convenience stores, supermarkets, and specialty onigiri shops are triangular.
When you look into the origins of that triangular shape, it often connects back to ancient traditions like Mount Fuji or mountain worship.

Round shapes seem to be more common for onigiri made at home.
Onigiri are food that needs to be portable, like for field trips or hiking. Thinking about it that way, the round shape might be the best for not falling apart when carried, and if you think about the filling being in the middle, there is a sense of security that the distance to the filling is constant no matter where you start eating from.
(As an aside, when I investigated whether onigiri wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil tasted better,the result was that aluminum foil tastes better)

Also, although they are in the minority, there are shapes like bale-shaped or disc-shaped ones.

Even when looking at books or websites about onigiri, only these shapes are mentioned.

But actually, in my reports on over 1,000 onigiri, I discovered that there is another shape!

That is...
a square.

Wait, a square...???

Like a diamond-shaped rice cake? A waffle? Or maybe a Peyoung yakisoba container?

It feels like an image far removed from an onigiri.

But that is the standard shape for a certain type of onigiri in a certain place.

What kind of onigiri, you ask?

(Even though I put it in the title...)

It is the pork tamago onigiri you eat in Okinawa!!!

Proof is better than argument!
Take a look at the reports so far!

➊ A・DA・N (Onna no Eki Nakayukui) Onna Village

❷ Parlor Chiki-ran (Haneji Tamago no Eki) Nago City

❸ Shigira Beach House, Miyakojima City

❹ Roadside Station Kyoda, Nago City

❺ Kuuyu (Roadside Station Ginoza), Ginoza Village

● Could it be that spam musubi is the origin?

They are all square! Square! Square!

They really are perfect squares.

Of course, not all of them are square.
For example, the type of pork-egg rice ball that is made to order, which has become popular recently, is not square but rather has a fluffy shape similar to an 'onigirazu' (rice ball without the wrapping).

But for some reason, all the pork-egg rice balls you find at parlors selling light meals in Okinawa are square.

Hmm. I wonder why.

It really bothers me.

However, even after researching various sources, I cannot find a single article that mentions why they are square.
To begin with, the origins of the pork-egg rice ball are unclear, with various theories such as it being derived from Hawaiian Spam musubi, or that it originated from luncheon meat and eggs eaten at U.S. military bases after the war.

Even if Spam musubi were the origin, the shape should be bale-shaped...
But I want you to compare them.

They have become something completely different from Spam musubi.

● Thinking about why they are square

From here on, I would like to share the theories I have come up with myself.

Actually, I have started seeing pork-egg rice balls quite often in the Kanto region recently.
There are signs of a boom emerging little by little, and I think the era of the pork-egg rice ball might arrive all at once.

However, the pork tamago onigiri you see in the Kanto region are often bale-shaped.
Or, they have a fluffy shape like an onigirazu.

I haven't seen anything like Okinawa's square pork tamago yet.

What is the difference between the bale-shaped and square pork tamago?

Hmm.
Hmm.

Ah, there was one difference!
That is how the luncheon meat is used.

Yes, in Okinawa's square pork tamago, the luncheon meat is large. Or rather, the cut is large, and it is sliced horizontally to make the surface area as large as possible.

Perhaps the shape of the rice naturally became square to wrap around the large square surface of the luncheon meat.
This might be a unique way of using it that is only possible in Okinawa, where luncheon meat is widespread. In Kanto, it has an image of being a high-end canned food... so maybe people can't use it so boldly.

Moreover, it must be easier to make the fried egg square too!
Furthermore, the rice and the ingredients are firmly attached surface-to-surface, which allows the flavor to blend more evenly.
Come to think of it, the pork tamago onigiri sold at parlors were all wrapped in plastic wrap. If it is assumed that they will be eaten after some time has passed, this way of blending the flavors must also be an important point.

In other words, the large square pork and egg. Perhaps the square onigiri was created to maximize the surface area and flavor of those ingredients.

Certainly, even in Okinawa, other onigiri like juicy are mountain-shaped or round. The square onigiri is only for pork tamago.
I feel like the theory that it settled into this shape as a result of specializing in the luncheon meat ingredient is correct.

I would really like to hear what various people have to say about this.

I've suddenly got a craving for square pork tamago onigiri.
So, from here on, a report on a new pork tamago onigiri!

6. Mirai Shokudo, Ginoza Village

There was an Okinawa soba restaurant attached to the Ginoza Roadside Station.
Apparently, you can eat a unique local noodle made with potatoes called 'jaga-men'.
But, the restaurant doesn't seem to have a name.

When I looked it up on my smartphone, it seems the name is Mirai Shokudo.

However...

For some reason, information about this restaurant had disappeared from the roadside station's website and the Ginoza Village tourism page...
Moreover, I found this sentence.

Mirai Shokudo closed on April 18, 2022.

No, I went there during Golden Week.
Look, the shop was definitely open...

Could it be a phantom!?

They probably opened specially for Golden Week, but the details are unknown.

I discovered pork tamago onigiri at the counter!
When I asked the staff, they said there were two types: green vegetables and kinpira.

Kinpira pork tamago onigiri!
It's square after all!!!

It's quite large and feels heavy.
The pork and egg are packed in until they are almost overflowing.

Chomp.
Ah, this is good.
The savory flavor of the thickly cut luncheon meat.
The sweetness of the egg omelet that is so big it's bursting out.
And the kinpira simmered in a sweet and salty sauce.

These all become one with the rice and rush into my mouth.

Square pork tamago onigiri are the best.

Okinawa has developed its own unique food culture.
I want to eat even more things and discover its charm.

It really makes my heart race (chimudondon)!

That was a delicious meal!

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