Blending Cuisines: Japan, Mexico, and the Southwest of the US

Photo Credit (Pixels)

The topic of Latin food is broad and can include many different types of cuisine. Take some drinks, like Cuban coffee, or eating experiences, like the unlimited Brazilian churrasco, which are both available in Tokyo. However, the relationship between Japanese food and cuisines from Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States is the main topic of this essay.

Taco Rice: A Southwest-Inspired Japanese Classic

According to legend, Matsuzo Gibo, the owner of a tavern, founded Parlor Senri, a restaurant in Kin, Okinawa. It was from this establishment that he introduced taco rice to the menus of other nearby eateries. Due to the popularity of his restaurant and its distinct Japanese interpretation of Southwestern US and Norteño Mexican food, he made the decision to make it the main draw at the original Kin King Tacos site.

The dish, which consists of spiced ground pork layered with cheese, lettuce, and tomato on top of a bed of white rice, narrates the tale of a businessman and chef who was inspired to help destitute American service members.

People in Kin might not be surprised to hear this, but taco rice hasn’t been the only factor in this success. In actuality, King Tacos’ menu has gone above and beyond to both rival and fend off threats from global chains like Taco Bell in Okinawa.

King Tacos is Japan’s most successful Mexican restaurant brand thanks to a winning combination of pricing, community pride, and flexibility. Although Okinawa may differ significantly from the rest of mainland Japan, other Mexican, Southwestern US, and Tex-Mex restaurants should likely use this recipe for success as a guide. Their market share is only increasing. It’s optimistic about what lies ahead for cowboy and Mexican cuisine.

Japanese Peanuts: A Mexican Delight with Origins in Japan

The snack sections of most Mexican grocery stores usually feature the following items: tamarindo (tamarind fruit mixed with sugar and peppers), obleas (dulce de leche sandwiched between two thin communion-style wafers), Jumex (a fruit juice brand), Jarritos (a carbonated fruit drink brand), and Japanese peanuts.

You may wonder what Japanese peanuts are. These are just peanuts that have been dipped in soy sauce and deep-fried with wheat flour. They are commonly referred to as “cracker nuts” in English because of the sound they produce when you bite into them.

Yoshigei Nakatani Moriguchi was the creator of these peculiar nibbles. He relocated from Hyogo Prefecture to Mexico City, where he was employed in the Nuevo Japón department store by businessman Heijiro Kato. In 1932, he made his new home there. But when the conflict started, he was unprepared. On the grounds that he was a spy for the Japanese Empire, his boss Kato was forcibly returned to Japan. Moriguchi was put in a challenging situation as a result, yet he used his creativity.

He used to work in Sumoto, Hyogo, in a confectionery. Recalling this, he made the decision to start his own home-based business. He and his spouse hawked traditional Mexican street candy. The significant profits came from combining rice flour, soy sauce, chili pepper, and Japanese and Mexican components to make a peanut snack. The snack gained a lot of popularity pretty fast.

Moriguchi turned that into a company named Nipon, which helped the family get by for many years. In fact, he was able to provide for his son Carlos Nakatani’s artistic career, helping him to become a well-known artist in Mexico.

Dr. Roy Nakayama: America’s First Horticulturist in the Southwest

Dr. Fabián Garca, the horticulture expert in charge of developing the pepper, created the first commercially successful 6-4 cultivar of modern New Mexico chili. He did this by combining the Hispano and Pueblo pepper kinds from Nuevo México. One man named Roy Nakayama was among Garcia’s students at New Mexico State University who carried on his work of producing and conserving

New Mexico chili peppers.


Before relocating to El Paso, Nakayama’s father, who was born in Toyama Prefecture, trained as a farmer in Nebraska. Following a large family, the couple relocated to Las Cruces, New Mexico, so that his son Roy could attend the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, which would eventually change its name to New Mexico State University.

Because of his contributions to the development of multiple New Mexico chile peppers, including the Big Jim cultivar, the state’s most hot pepper type, Nakayama is known as “Mr. Chile.” In addition, he developed the non-spicy R. Naky pepper cultivar in memory of his own wife Rose, who had difficulty handling hot dishes.

Even now, the aroma of roasting fresh green chiles fills the air throughout New Mexico throughout the late summer and early fall harvest seasons. A $50 million industry is now directly driven by New Mexico chili.

The New Mexico chile peppers that Nakayama improved are credited with helping to establish and popularize the Mexican food industry in the United States. It contributed to the preservation of a mainstay of New Mexican cuisine from the ancient Pueblo and Nuevo Méxicano populations. It is used as a modern topping for pizzas and in New Mexico roll maki sushi, as well as in classic meals like enchilada montada, breakfast burritos, and green chile burgers.