I was reading one of my favorite shojo manga, “Kamisama Kiss” and it’s the school trip arc. One of the main subtopics for the trip is eating taco rice.
I read that it was invented for the American Troops stationed in Okinawa in 1984. It’s a combination of what most US citizens think of as taco fillings and instead of a tortilla it’s placed on top of rice and now is the most sought after dish for tourist in Okinawa.
There are tons of recipes online, so you can look them up.
BTW, taco’s aren’t always filled like that, and in Mexican and Chicano families not made with “shells” (what is that? not what I grew up with!), tacos can be the reason for using up leftovers in a meal or tacos can have fresh fillings made. Tacos aren’t made with flour tortillas – those are burritos (or if fried chimicangas – but to be real they take a special flour tortilla not found in most places – Sonora and parts of AZ, paper thin (you can see through them) and about 2 feet in diameter).
One article on Taco Rice said that it was because it was less expensive than tacos, but another said less time to make. Making a fresh tortilla from fresh masa is very quick and easy, whether hand-patted or pressed (someone used to hand-patting tortillas can be quicker than pressing them – it’s all about practice). However, unless they had a press meant for a restaurant (which would be horribly expensive and expensive to import) it really would be faster to make large amounts of rice (and they wouldn’t have access to fresh masa – and masa harina just doesn’t do it – I wouldn’t touch food make with masa harina – has to be fresh masa, or fresh masa that’s been frozen – it’s all about the best taste).
I’m sure someone will ask me now if I’ve tried Taco Rice. However, I’m not much of a rice eater (some Mexican and Chincano families do eat rice – but not all of them) and it’s so much quicker for me to make a tortilla. If I was going to have a otaku party, then I would make Taco Rice, but otherwise, doubt it.
seattlekifujin 