Toruko Rice

Toruko rice is a famous dish in Nagasaki. The dish consists of Tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet), curry pilaf and spaghetti. The word Toruko means Turkey in Japan and rice means rice so it basically means Turkish rice. I am sure by now that all of you will find it weird because most people in Turkey believe in the Islam faith and they do not eat pork. Well, the story behind this dish is that the Japanese people think of Pilaf as a Turkish food and it resembles rice so it became to be known as Turkish rice. But why spaghetti and tonkatsu? If you look back at how Turkish kebabs are served, it is often served with meat (kebabs), rice and side dishes (like salad). The Japanese people in Nagasaki created their own version by putting the Japanese favourite tonkatsu on the rice with a side of spaghetti (because it is Western and they've been using it as a side dish for many other Japanese style Western food). Nowadays most restaurants uses white rice instead of pilaf but it is not rare to find a place that still uses pilaf.

Though it seems that the origin of Toruko rice came from Nagasaki, this dish can also be found in some regions of Osaka and Hyogo prefectures. If you ever want to try something out of the ordinary then I recommend trying this great dish. The combination of the rice and spaghetti with the special sauce they made for the tonkatsu is a match made in heaven.

Toruko Rice from a convenience store