Taco Rice is a popular Okinawan dish and a modern fusion of Tex-Mex and Japanese cuisines. Instead of putting taco toppings on a corn shell, toppings are put on a bed of cooked rice. It sounds a little bit strange to have taco toppings on rice, but it is surprisingly delicious. The bright colour combination of the toppings is appetising.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 360-400g/0.8-0.9lb cooked rice (hot, note 1)
- 90g/3.2oz tomato deseeded and diced
- 60g/2.1oz red onion finely chopped (note 2)
- 30g/1.1oz green capsicum finely chopped
- ½ tsp garlic grated
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or lime juice)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3-4 dashes Tabasco (optional)
- 200g/7.1oz beef mince/ground beef (note 3)
- 100g/3.5oz onion finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ -1 tsp chilli powder (note 4)
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 1½ cups lettuce finely shredded
- 50g/1.8oz avocado cut into 1cm cubes
- 50g/1.8oz10 shredded cheese (note 5)
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If you don’t like the heat in the chopped onions, submerge them in cold/ice water and leave them for 10-15 minutes. Drain and squeeze water out of them.
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Put all the Salsa ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
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Sauté onion and garlic in a frying pan until the onion pieces become brownish.
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Add mince/ground meat to the pan and cook until the meat changes colour.
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Add all the Taco Meat Seasoning ingredients to the pan and mix well.
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When liquid evaporates, turn the heat off.
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Spread rice on a serving plate.
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Put the Taco Meat over the rice.
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Scatter shredded lettuce and avocado pieces over the meat.
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Put the salsa on top, then scatter the shredded cheese over the mound.
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Serve immediately while the rice is hot.
1. A large serving of rice offers a good balance with the Taco Meat. You can cut down the volume of rice if you like.
2. You can substitute it with brown or white onion.
3. Instead of beef you can use pork, chicken, or a mixture of pork & beef.
4. 1 teaspoon of chilli powder makes the Taco Meat noticeable heat with 1 teaspoon of chilli powder. You can reduce the quantity to make the meat less spicy. But I think that a little bit of spiciness makes a difference in the taste of the meat.
If you are making Okinawan Taco Rice for your children, you can omit chilli powder.
5. I bought a bag of shredded tasty cheese for this. You can also use Monterey Jack, Colby, or Gouda.
6. Nutrition per serving. It is a bit serving and the calories are high. You can reduce the quantity of rice to cut it back.
serving: 566g calories: 783kcal fat: 38g (49%) saturated fat: 13g (65%) trans fat: 1.4g polyunsaturated fat: 2.5g monounsaturated fat: 17g cholesterol: 96mg (32%) sodium: 1216mg (53%) carbohydrates: 78g (28%) dietary fibre: 5.8g (21%) sugar: 14g protein: 31g vitamin D: 0mcg (1%) calcium: 288mg (22%) iron: 6.7mg (37%) potassium: 1082mg (23%)