Potama | Healthy & Natural Style Be.Okinawa

Different in ingredients and shape from the typical Japanese onigiri (rice ball), pork and egg onigiri is an Okinawan rice ball made by wrapping pork luncheon meat and egg in rice. There is a shop in Okinawa called "Potama" that specializes in selling this type of onigiri, which is known as Okinawa's soul food. This time, we visited one of their several branches, the Makishi Market shop, and asked them about how the shop came to be and about the shop's unique menu.

Potama Makishi Market Shop

What inspired the owner to open the shop was the homemade "pork and egg onigiri" that his wife made for breakfast after they got married in Okinawa. After eating a freshly made, hot, and fluffy handmade pork and egg onigiri that was completely different from any other onigiri he had ever purchased at stores, he was blown away by how delicious it tasted. The experience of that time became the starting point of "Potama," the pork and egg onigiri specialty shop, and he opened the shop out of a desire to deliver delicious, freshly made Okinawan onigiri with love and care to their customers.

A unique feature of Potama's onigiri is that each and every onigiri is handmade upon receiving an order in order to provide freshly made and tasty onigiri. The restaurant is also particular about its ingredients, using the rice within four days since it has been milled, and offering menu items that use Okinawan ingredients such as island tofu and bitter gourd. Aside from onigiri, Okinawan ingredients are also used in other items on the menu, such as a drink that uses shikuwasa in sanpin tea (Jasmine tea), and mozuku soup that uses mozuku seaweed from Okinawa with its dashi freshly made from bonito flakes every day.

Photo: “Bitter Gourd Tempura Pork and Egg Onigiri”

There is more than just the standard pork and egg onigiri! A wide variety of menu items are available

In addition to the Standard Menu, which includes the most basic pork luncheon meat and egg onigiri and to which ingredients such as abura-miso, dried bonito and kombu, or mentaiko-mayo are added, there is also Special Menu, which includes items such as "Shrimp Tartar" with fried shrimp, "Deep Fried Tofu & Abura Miso" with thick fried tofu and abura-miso sandwiched in between, and a Limited Menu that is exclusive to each branch that incorporates the food culture of the location.

With such a wide variety, one may wonder which are the most popular products. The most popular item at the Makishi Market Shop is the most standard pork and egg onigiri “Po-Tama,” which has a perfect balance of saltiness and allows you to simply taste the deliciousness of the ingredients. The second popular is "Fried Fish with Tartar Sauce & Island Rakkyo," which combines fried fish and tartar sauce with the accent of salted island rakkyo. The third is "Chikinaa," a menu item available only at Makishi Market Shop, which has salted takana (mustard greens), known in Okinawa as Chikinaa.

Photo 1: “Fried Fish with Tartar Sauce & Island Rakkyo”. Photo 2: “Sanpin Tea with Shikuwasa”.

In addition to rice balls, there are also a selection of drinks and side dishes that are perfect for serving with onigiri, including the drink “Sanpin Tea with Shikuwasa,” which is available during the time when shikuwasa is in season, and “Mozuku Soup” with Okinawa's firm-textured mozuku seaweed and the bonito broth that is made in the shop every morning. A craft beer called "Potama Ale," produced by Ukishima Brewing, a craft beer brewery that has a shop in the Makishi Market, also goes well with the pork and egg onigiri.

Eat-in space is open from the morning

The Makishi Market shop has an eat-in space with a total of 16 seats. It is open from 7:00 a.m. and can be used from the time of breakfast.

There is also Naha Airport International Flight Food Court branch! Enjoy the limited menu items from each location

Aside from the Makishi Market branch, Potama has five other locations in Okinawa Prefecture: the Naha Airport International Flight Food Court shop, the Naha Airport Domestic Flight Arrival Lobby shop, the Chatan American Village shop, and the Okinawa Motobu shop. You can enjoy the limited edition of pork and egg onigiri that incorporate the unique characteristics of each region at each shop, such as the "Motobu Agu Pork Shougayaki" that boasts the No. 1 popularity at the Okinawa Motobu shop, and the "Garlic Butter Steak" at the Chatan American Village shop (*except Naha Airport Domestic Flight Arrival Lobby shop).

Photo: “Motobu Agu Pork Shougayaki”. Photo 2: “Garlic Butter Steak”.

The limited onigiri offered at the Naha Airport International Flight Food Court shop, which is convenient for shopping after arrival and before departure, is “Luroufan”.

Photo 1 & 2: Naha Airport International Flight Food Court shop. Photo 3: “Lroufan”.

Since Potama is committed to serving freshly prepared food at all of its locations, it can take 40 to 50 minutes from the time you get in line to the time you receive your order during busy hours. It is recommended that you allow plenty of time when visiting.

Potama Makishi Market Shop

Address: 2-8-35, Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa

TEL: +81-98-867-9550

Mapcode：33 157 323*00

Parking: not available

Website: http://porktamago.com/

Instagram: ＠pork_tamago_onigiri