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You can't talk about Okinawa without talking about its rich food culture. The following list is the bare minimum of Okinawan culinary terms you need to know.
Okinawan Language (uchinaguchi) <Okinawan Food>
Uchina Ryouri: Okinawan Food
Goya: Bitter melon. Looks like an oversized pickle with rough surface.
Na-bei-la： Green Loofah.
Foo-chi-baa：Mugwort
Cham-pu-ru： Stir-fried There are goya champuru, somin (sohmen) champuru, fuu champuru, etc.
<Food shot from Yu-nangi resaurant serving traditional okinawan food. bottom left, sukugarasu, bottom right fuu champuru, top right jeeh-mah-mee Tofu, top left kelp with deep fried tofu>
Agooh Buta: Okinawan indigenous pig.
Mimigah: Cartilage from pig's ear.
Chiragah: Skin of a pig's face.
Raf-teih: Pork belly stewed with broth, soy sauce, and awamori-sake.
(Ashi)Tebichi： Longevity food stewing porks feet for hours until the oil is out and the gelatin remains.
<photo left shows Tebichi dish at Okame restaurant>
Shima Tofu: Hard Okinawan tofu. 'Shima' means island, referring to Okinawa. Used for champuru.
Jee-mah-mee Tofu: Tofu made from peanuts.
Tofu yoh: Fermented Shima tofu boiled in Awamori-sake. <Photo shot of Jee-mah-mee Tofu at En>
Aasa: Aosa-seaweed. Type of seaweed that grows on rocks. Great for soups as in Aasa-jiru.
Umi budoh: Type of seaweed with unique texture, 'popping' with every bite.
Sunui: Known in other parts of Japan as Mozuku, it is brown seaweed. Eaten raw with vinegar flavoring.
Shima Rakkyo: Okinawan shallots. Smaller in size relative to other shallots and bit more stingy in flavor.
Shima Maasu: Salt from Okinawa.
(Kufa) Ju-shee: Rice cooked with stock, Okinawan style.
Irabuchah: Parrotfish.
Gurukun: Banana Fish. Prefectural fish of Okinawa. Love it fried!
Bitaro: Lutjanus Kasmira, a type of snapper.
Sukugarasu: Salted Baby Mottled Spinefoot. Great when served on top of Shima Tofu.
Irabu: Type of sea eel. Normally, smoked or dried.
<Photo left Irabuchah, photo right fried gurukun>
Shee-kwa-sah: Citrus fruit. In between lemon, lime, and orange. Sour when green and sweetens when orange. Said to deter cancer.
Koh-rei-goosu: Okinawan spicy condiment with hot chilly pepper put inside awamori-sake.
Sohki-soba
: Okinawan soba with stewed pork spare rib on top.
<photo shows ju-shee cooked with soba stock and okinawan soba-noodles at Kishimoto Shokudo Yaeyama restaurant>
Taco Rice: Tacos filling on top of rice. Flavor adjusted with Salsa Sauce.
Saatah-an-dahgee: Okinawan donuts.
Chinpin: Crepe using black sugar.
Sanpin cha: Okinawan Jasmine tea.
Oo-ppin chan: Turmeric tea.
*Spelling of Okinawan language were written phonetically. Translation may lack accuracy.