What a special night.

My town, my house, my guests. This was so far the most beautiful of all editions of Cenas con Maria.

From July till November 2018 the island of Okinawa was my home. I was working as a cook at this Chinese restaurant called Mandarin  in a small and touristic village 45 km from the capital Naha, where I discovered unique and unforgettable tastes from Chinese and Japanese cuisine.

It was a very interesting 6 months exploring new flavors, aromas and textures, it wouldn’t be fair to keep it to myself. I felt like people needed to taste that taste I tasted. Badly. Sweet, salty. All mixed, all combining.

For this 5th edition of  Cenas con Maria my inspiration came from Asia, specially from Taiwan and Okinawa.

On the menu you will find the traditional missô paste marinated with Okinawa black pork (aguu), Chinese La-Yu pepper to give that spiciness to our dumplings made with purple potato dough. You will also see the famous brownie with a Japanese touch: the green tea.  I tried to bring all the ingredients that represented Okinawa for me, their memories and my experience. Yes, I brought most of the ingredients in my suitcase and I planned this menu for 6 months. I am very honored that it came to life this way. Let me show you: