Large manbika fish served in Kitanakagusuku school lunches

Large <em>manbika</em> fish served in Kitanakagusuku school lunches

On May 10 at Kitanakagusuku Elementary School the pupils were excited to see manbika over one meter long.


May 18, 2012 Yukito Toyama of Ryukyu Shimpo

On May 10, Children’s Day, the Kitanakagusuku Elementary School served grilled common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) or manbika in Uchinaguchi in school lunches, cooking the fish in its original shape in the likeness of the colorful carp banners. Before lunch, about 120 first-year pupils visited the Kitanakagusuku School Food Supply Center and saw the staff cooking the manbika. The children squealed in excitement when they saw the big fish, which were over one meter (39.4 inches) long.

The School Food Supply Center has offered manbika in school lunches for the last 14 years as part of dietary education and from the standpoint of local production for local consumption. They supplied them to Shimabukuro Elementary School on May 9 and to Kitanakagusuku Junior High School on May 11.

In class no. 4 of the first grade in Kitanakagusuku Elementary School, the pupils skillfully separated the fish from the bone, with some them saying, “It tastes good” and “I’d like some more!”

Kenji Sonan, the director of the School Food Supply Center, said that he saw a child who drew a fillet as a picture of fish, and this was one of reasons that they started the manbika school lunch. “It is very important to give children ideas in dietary education. I hope that through the manbika lunch these children remember their school lunches for the rest of their lives.”

(English translation by T&CT, Lima Tokumori and Mark Ealey)

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