Chanpuru

Chanpurū

Gōyā chanpurū
Alternative names	チャンプルー
Type	Stir fry
Place of origin	Japan
Region or state	Okinawa Prefecture
Main ingredients	Tofu, vegetables
Cookbook: Chanpurū  Media: Chanpurū

Chanpurū (チャンプルー) is an Okinawan stir fry dish. It is considered the representative dish of Okinawan cuisine.^[1][2] Chanpurū generally consists of tofu combined with some kind of vegetable, meat, or fish.^[2] Luncheon meat (such as Spam or Danish Tulip), egg, moyashi (bean sprouts) and gōyā (bitter melon) are some other common ingredients. Spam is not typically used in mainland Japan; but it is more common in Okinawa due primarily to the historical influence of its introduction by the US Navy. Chanpurū is Okinawan for "something mixed" and the word is sometimes used to refer to the culture of Okinawa, as it can be seen as a mixture of traditional Okinawan, Chinese, mainland Japanese, Southeast Asian and North American culture. The term originates from the Malay or Indonesian word campur (pronounced "cham-poor"), meaning "mix".^[3]

Long a local specialty only found on Okinawa, chanpurū has in recent years, through television shows and increased interest in Okinawan culture, spread to many restaurants on mainland Japan.

Types of chanpurū

Gōyā chanpurū

Gōyā chanpurū is the quintessential chanpurū. It consists of gōyā (bitter melon), egg, tōfu, and either Spam or thinly sliced pork.^[2][4] It often also includes vegetables such as carrots.

Tōfu chanpurū

Tōfu chanpurū is tofu stir-fried with vegetables and Spam, bacon, thinly sliced pork belly, or canned tuna. Unlike tofu from mainland Japan, Okinawan tofu is firm and does not fall apart when stir-fried.^[2] It is considered best form to crumble the tofu into the frying pan by hand, so as to avoid uniform cubes.

Māmina chanpurū

Māmina chanpurū is version of chanpurū that contains moyashi, or mung bean sprouts.^[1][2]

Fu chanpurū

Fu is a kind of flatbread made from wheat gluten, water, and eggs. It is stir-fried with vegetables and a meat as above.

Sōmen chanpurū

Sōmen (or somin in Okinawan) are very thin noodles resembling angel hair pasta. They are stir-fried lightly in oil with green onions and meat as above.

Cultural aspects

Chanpurū (sometimes written and pronounced champloo) is Okinawan for "something mixed" and Okinawans take great pride in describing their culture and traditional attitudes to people and food as chanpurū. They will cite examples of their happy acceptance of foreign cultural items in the popularity of awamori (originally a liquor from Thailand), tacos albeit with added rice (from Mexico) and rafute (a Chinese meat dish).

See also

• Champloose
• List of tofu dishes

References

1. "ちゃんぷるー" [Chanpuru]. Dijitaru Daijisen (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 56431036. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
2. "ちゃんぷるー" [Chanpuru]. Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 153301537. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
3. 岸　朝子（きし・あさこ）. "Chanpuru shokubunka" (in Japanese). doraku.asahi.com. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
4. "Goya Chanpuru". About.com Japanese Food. Retrieved September 7, 2011.