taco rice

{{Short description|Popular example of Okinawan cuisine}}

File:Taco Rice (cropped).jpg]]

File:Taco Rice at Shidamee.jpg]]

{{nihongo|Taco rice|タコライス|takoraisu}} is a popular example of modern Okinawan cuisine. It consists of taco-flavored ground beef served on a bed of rice, frequently served with shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato and salsa.{{cite web |url= http://www.ocvb.or.jp/card/en/0000211078.html |title= Today's Food Culture - Time to rediscover traditional cooking |date = 31 March 2005 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061130193931/http://www.ocvb.or.jp/card/en/0000211078.html | archive-date = 30 November 2006 | access-date= 19 May 2015 |publisher= Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau}}{{cite book | title = The Ethnomusicologists' Cookbook: Complete Meals from Around the World | author= Sean Williams |publisher = Routledge | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=qRffAQAAQBAJ&q=taco+rice+okinawa&pg=PA49 | date = 2013 | page = 49 | isbn = 9781135518967 | access-date = 19 May 2015 }}

Charlie's Tacos, serving tacos in shells made from rice flour, had been established in 1956 as the first "taco place" in Okinawa.{{cite news |last=Sewake|first=Colin |date=9 October 2019|title=Food Culture – The Taco Rice Story|at=see Charlie’s Tacos |newspaper=The Hawai'i Herald (Hawaii Hochi) - Hawaii's Japanese American Journal |access-date=6 September 2023 |url=https://www.thehawaiiherald.com/2019/10/09/food-culture-the-taco-rice-story/ }}{{cite web |last=Siy|first=Sherilyn |date=30 March 2016 |title=Charlie's Tacos - Naha, Okinawa|website=Japan Travel.com|access-date=6 September 2023 |url=https://en.japantravel.com/okinawa/charlies-tacos/27642 }}{{cite book | title =Searching for Happily Ever After | author= Christopher Scharping |publisher = Xlibris Corporation | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Ow68IYipXogC&q=taco+rice+okinawa&pg=PA289 | date = 2012 | page = 49 | isbn = 9781479732401 | access-date = 19 May 2015 }}{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}} Taco rice was created in 1984 by Matsuzo Gibo and introduced at two of his cafes, Parlor Senri and King Tacos, located just a minute from the main gate of Camp Hansen in Kin, Okinawa.{{cite web|url=http://www.wearethemighty.com/taco-rice-cheese-okinawa-2015-03 | title=This Japanese Dish Exists Only Because Of The US Military |date = 17 March 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150519220248/http://www.wearethemighty.com/taco-rice-cheese-okinawa-2015-03 | archive-date = 19 May 2015 | access-date= 19 May 2015| publisher= We Are The Mighty}}{{Citation | author = Oscar Johnson and Elena Sugiyama j| title = A TRIBUTE TO TACO RICE: The U.S. military's favorite Mex-Oki fusion food | newspaper = Stars and Stripes Okinawa | date = 28 March 2015 | url = http://okinawa.stripes.com/news/tribute-taco-rice-us-militarys-favorite-mex-oki-fusion-food| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150519220526/http://okinawa.stripes.com/news/tribute-taco-rice-us-militarys-favorite-mex-oki-fusion-food | archive-date = 19 May 2015| access-date = 19 May 2015}}

Taco rice is a popular dish among U.S. military personnel stationed in Okinawa as lunch or late night food. KFC put it on their menu throughout Japan for a time during the 1990s and Yoshinoya, a nationwide gyūdon restaurant, serves it in the chain's restaurants in Okinawa prefecture. In addition, Taco Bell offers it as a menu option at the chain's restaurant in the Shibuya district of Tokyo.{{Cn|date=April 2025}}

The Tex-Mex flavor is sometimes replaced by the use of soy sauce, mirin and sake. Occasionally it is served with rice in a tortilla roll.{{Cn|date=April 2025}}