Taco... Rice!?!?!!
After Yoko's post this weekend about taco ricing in Okinawa, I was super intrigued. Have you ever heard of such a thing??? As Yoko mentioned, taco rice origins lie in Okinawa, and is a product of the US occupation of the island. More about taco rice on Wiki- it's fascinating. Leave it up to the Japanese to take a cuisine, pick out what they like about it, put it over sticky white rice, and call it their own. GENIUS. Or wait, is it imperialistic? Lo and behold, come Monday lunchtime, the one and only Yamahomo brought ALL the ingredients to make this unique dish. I truly love this man. Here is how to construct taco rice, step by step, per Yamahomo's strict instructions. Plate white rice: 
Add shredded cheese: 
Spoon over taco beef: 
Top with lettuce: 
Add tomatoes: 
Add salsa and avocados. I think I cheated and put the avocados on top, instead of under the lettuce, but it's prettier this way. Sorry Yamahomo. 
The dish was... like nothing I have ever tasted. As someone who grew up eating Mexican food quite regularly, this is a surreal dish. I can't really pinpoint how to describe it... there's a Japanese word "fushigi", which in direct translation means "magical", but really means more like "otherworldly". That's the only word that came to mind. FUSHIGI. 
I wonder what the Okinawans would do with the chile relleno.
Add shredded cheese: 
Spoon over taco beef: 
Top with lettuce: 
Add tomatoes: 
Add salsa and avocados. I think I cheated and put the avocados on top, instead of under the lettuce, but it's prettier this way. Sorry Yamahomo. 
The dish was... like nothing I have ever tasted. As someone who grew up eating Mexican food quite regularly, this is a surreal dish. I can't really pinpoint how to describe it... there's a Japanese word "fushigi", which in direct translation means "magical", but really means more like "otherworldly". That's the only word that came to mind. FUSHIGI. 
I wonder what the Okinawans would do with the chile relleno.
