Cuisine of Hawaii
Encyclopedia
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, particularly of American
Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
, Chinese
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
, Filipino, Japanese
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
, Korean, Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
n and Portuguese
Portuguese cuisine
Portuguese cuisine is characterised by rich, filling and full-flavored dishes and is closely related to Mediterranean cuisine. The influence of Portugal's former colonial possessions is also notable, especially in the wide variety of spices used. These spices include piri piri and black pepper, as...
origins, including plant and animal food sources imported from around the world for agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
use in Hawaii. Many local restaurants serve the ubiquitous plate lunch
Plate lunch
The plate lunch The plate lunch The plate lunch (Hawaiian: pā mea ai is a syncretic menu item that is a quintessential part of the cuisine of Hawaii, roughly equivalent to a Southern U.S. meat-and-threes plate. However, the inclusion of pan-Asian ingredients makes the plate lunch unique to Hawaii....
featuring the Asian
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
staple, two scoops of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, a simplified version of American macaroni salad
Macaroni salad
Macaroni salad is a salad, served cold made with cooked elbow macaroni pasta and usually prepared with mayonnaise. Much like potato salad or coleslaw in its use, it is often served as an accompaniment to barbecue, fried chicken, or other picnic style entrees...
(consisting of macaroni noodles and mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
), and a variety of different toppings ranging from the hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
patty, a fried egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
, and gravy
Gravy
Gravy is a sauce made often from the juices that run naturally from meat or vegetables during cooking. In North America the term can refer to a wider variety of sauces and gravy is often thicker than in Britain...
of a Loco Moco
Loco Moco
Loco moco is a dish native to Hawaiian cuisine. There are many variations, but the essential loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. Variations may include chili, bacon, ham, Spam, kalua pork, Portuguese sausage, teriyaki beef, teriyaki...
, Japanese style tonkatsu
Tonkatsu
Tonkatsu , invented in the late 19th century, is a popular dish in Japan. It consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet one to two centimeters thick and sliced into bite-sized pieces, generally served with shredded cabbage and/or miso soup...
or the traditional lu'au favorite, kalua
Kalua
Kālua is a traditional Hawaiian cooking method that utilizes an imu, a type of underground oven. The word kālua, which literally means "to cook in an underground oven", may also be used to describe the food cooked in this manner, such as kālua pig or kālua turkey, which are commonly served at luau...
pig.
Modern Hawaiian cuisine may also include a style of cuisine that has emerged over the past two decades, now known as Hawaii regional cuisine
Hawaii regional cuisine
Hawaii regional cuisine, abbreviated to HRC, is two concepts; It's the moniker for a style of cooking, and secondly, it’s the name a group of twelve chefs gave their organization which began as a drinking club....
(Abbreviated as HRC).
Pre-contact period
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
n seafarers arrived on the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
in 300–500 AD, few edible plants existed in the new land, aside from a few fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s and fruits that grew at higher elevations. Botanists and archaeologists believe that these voyagers introduced anywhere between 27 and possibly more than 30 plants to the islands, mainly for food. The most important of them was taro
Taro
Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
. For centuries taro, and the poi
Poi (food)
Poi is a Hawaiian word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the taro plant . Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm until it is a highly viscous fluid...
made from it, was the main staple
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
of their diet, and it is still much loved today. In addition to taro, sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
es and yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
s were planted. The Marquesans, the first settlers from Polynesia, brought breadfruit
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
and the Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
ans later introduced the baking banana. These settlers from Polynesia also brought coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s and sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
. They found plenty of fish, shellfish, and limu
Limu (algae)
Limu is the Hawaiian word for algae. There are approximately one hundred Hawaiian names for kinds of limu, sixty of which can be matched with scientific names. Limu played an important part in the ancient Hawaiian diet. It was used to add flavor to an otherwise particularly bland diet of kalo ,...
in the new land. Flightless bird
Flightless bird
Flightless birds are birds which lack the ability to fly, relying instead on their ability to run or swim. They are thought to have evolved from flying ancestors. There are about forty species in existence today, the best known being the ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea, kiwi, and penguin...
s were easy to catch and nests were full of eggs for the taking. Most Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
had no meat animals except bats and lizards, so ancient Polynesians sailed the Pacific with pigs, chickens and dogs as cargo. Pigs were raised for religious sacrifice
Animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature...
, and the meat was offered at altars, some of which was consumed by priests and the rest eaten in a mass celebration. The early Hawaiian diet was diverse, and may have included as many as 130 different types of seafood and 230 types of sweet potatoes. Some species of land and sea birds were consumed into extinction.
Sea salt
Sea salt, salt obtained by the evaporation of seawater, is used in cooking and cosmetics. It is historically called bay salt or solar salt...
was a common condiment in ancient Hawaii, and Inamona, a relish
Relish
A relish is a cooked, pickled, or chopped vegetable or fruit food item which is typically used as a condiment.In North America, relish commonly alludes to sweet pickle relish-like sauce that often condiments hot dogs, hamburgers and other types of fast food.-Description and ingredients:The item...
made of roasted, mashed kukui nutmeats, sea salt and sometimes mixed with seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
s, often accompanied the meals. At important occasions, a traditional feast, ‘aha‘aina, was held. When a woman was to have her first child, her husband started raising a pig for the ‘Aha‘aina Mawaewae feast that was celebrated for the birth of a child. Besides the pig, mullet
Goatfish
Goatfishes are tropical marine perciform fish of the family Mullidae. Seldom found in brackish waters, goatfish are most associated with the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans...
, shrimp, crab, seaweeds and taro leaves were required for the feast. The modern name for such feasts, lū‘au, was not used until 1856, replacing the Hawaiian words ‘aha‘aina and pā‘ina. The name lū‘au came from the name of a food always served at a ‘aha‘aina — young taro tops baked with coconut milk
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...
and chicken or octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
.
Prior to cooking, pigs and dogs were killed by strangulation or by holding their nostrils shut, in order to conserve the animal's blood. Meat was prepared by flattening out the whole eviscerated animal and broiling it over hot coals, or it was spitted on sticks. Large pieces of meat, such as fowl, pigs and dogs, would be typically cooked in earth oven
Earth oven
An earth oven or cooking pit is one of the most simple and long-used cooking structures . At its simplest, an earth oven is simply a pit in the ground used to trap heat and bake, smoke, or steam food...
s, or spitted over a fire during ceremonial feasts. Hawaiian earth ovens, known as an imu
IMU
IMU may refer to:*Inertial measurement unit*Initial markup*Interactive Member Universal*Interactive Marketing Unit*International Mathematical Union*International Medical University*Interurban Multiple Units used by Citytrain...
, combine roasting
Roasting
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization or Maillard browning of the surface of the food, which is considered by some as a flavor enhancement. Roasting uses more indirect, diffused heat , and is...
and steaming
Steaming
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. Steaming is considered a healthy cooking technique and capable of cooking almost all kinds of food.-Method:...
in a method called kālua
Kalua
Kālua is a traditional Hawaiian cooking method that utilizes an imu, a type of underground oven. The word kālua, which literally means "to cook in an underground oven", may also be used to describe the food cooked in this manner, such as kālua pig or kālua turkey, which are commonly served at luau...
. A pit is dug into earth and lined with volcanic rock
Volcanic rock
Volcanic rock is a rock formed from magma erupted from a volcano. In other words, it is an igneous rock of volcanic origin...
s and other rocks that do not split when heated to a high temperature, such as granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. A fire is built with ember
Ember
Embers are the glowing, hot coals made of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material that remain after, or sometimes precede a fire. Embers can glow very hot, sometimes as hot as the fire which created them...
s, and when the rocks are glowing hot, the embers are removed and the foods wrapped in ti, ginger or banana leaves are put into the pit, covered with wet leaves, mats and a layer of earth. Water may be added through a bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
tube to create steam. The intense heat from the hot rocks cooked food thoroughly — the quantity of food for several days could be cooked at once, taken out and eaten as needed, and the cover replaced to keep the remainder warm. Sweet potatoes, taro, breadfruit and other vegetables were cooked in the imu, as well as fish. Saltwater eel was salted and dried before being put into the imu. Chickens, pigs and dogs
Dog meat
Dog meat refers to edible parts and the flesh derived from dogs. Human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including ancient China, ancient Mexico, and ancient Rome. According to contemporary reports, dog meat is consumed in a variety of countries such as...
were put into the imu with hot rocks inserted in the abdominal cavities. Men did all of the cooking, and food for women was cooked in a separate imu; afterwards men and women ate meals separately. The ancient practice of cooking with the imu continues to this day, for special occasions.
Post-contact period
In 1778, Captain James CookJames Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
visited the island of Niihau
Niihau
Niihau or Niihau is the seventh largest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii, having an area of . Niihau lies southwest of Kauai across the Kaulakahi Channel. Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian Coot, the Black-winged Stilt, and the...
, leaving a ram goat, ewes, a boar, an English sow, and seeds for melons, pumpkins, and onions. In 1793, Captain George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
brought the first cattle to the islands; longhorns
Longhorn cattle
Longhorn cattle are a long-horned brown and white breed of beef cattle originating from Craven in the north of England. They have a white patch along the line of their spine and under their bellies....
from California were presented to King Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
. With no natural predators, the new cattle multiplied out of control; the king hired an American man named John Parker to capture and domesticate cattle. Many of the cattle were butchered and beef was introduced to Hawaiian cuisine.
In 1813, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
was first cultivated in Honolulu by Don Francisco de Paula Marin
Don Francisco de Paula Marin
Don Francisco de Paula Marín was a Spaniard who became influential in the early Kingdom of Hawaii. Often called Manini, Marini or other variations, he became a confidant of Hawaiian King Kamehameha I...
, a Spanish botanist and advisor to King Kamehameha I. Although grape vines were introduced by Captain Vancouver around 1792, Marin is credited with the first Hawaiian vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
in 1815 and planting the now rare Mission grape
Mission (grape)
Mission grapes are a variety of Vitis vinifera introduced from Spain to the western coasts of North and South America in the 16th century by Catholic New World missionaries for use in making sacramental, table, and fortified wines.-History:...
variety. Marin also brewed the first beer in 1812, and planted the first coffee crop in 1817, but his plantings failed. Marin, called "Manini" by the Hawaiians, experimented with planting oranges, limes, beans, cabbages, potatoes, peaches, melons, maize and lettuce.
By the late 19th century, pineapple and sugarcane plantations
Sugar plantations in Hawaii
Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants in approximately 600 AD and was observed by Captain Cook upon arrival in the islands in 1778. Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a...
owned and run by American settlers took over much of Hawaii's land, and these two crops became the most important sources of revenues for the Hawaiian economy.
Ethnic foods
Chinese immigration to Hawaii
The Chinese in Hawaii frequently referred to by their Hawaiian name Pākē, constitute about 4.7% of the state's population, most of whom have ancestors from Zhongshan in Guangdong. This number does not include people of mixed Chinese and Hawaiian descent...
, Koreans, Japanese
Japanese in Hawaii
The Japanese in Hawaii simply Japanese or “Local Japanese”, rarely Kepanī are the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii. At their height in 1920, they constituted 43% of Hawaii's population. They now number about 16.7% of the islands' population, according to the 2000 U.S...
, Filipinos, and Portuguese. Each ethnic group wanted its own food in workplaces, and farms and grocery markets were established. The Chinese immigrants brought Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...
, cooking the first stir fry, sweet and sour
Sweet and sour
Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It has long been popular in North America and Europe, where it is stereotypically considered a component of standard Chinese cuisine...
, and dim sum
Dim sum
Dim sum refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates...
dishes in the Islands, and replaced poi with rice, adding their own herbs and spices. Chinese rice growers imported familiar fish varieties from Asia to stock local streams and irrigation ditches.
Korean immigration to Hawaii
Korean immigration to Hawaii
Koreans in Hawaii came in two distinct waves have occurred in the last century. The first cohort arrived in Hawaii between 1903 and 1924; the second wave began in 1965. On January 13, 2003, President George W...
brought kimchi
Kimchi
Kimchi , also spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings. There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green onions or cucumber. It is the most common...
and built barbecue pits to cook marinated meats. Korean style bulgogi
Bulgogi
Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated barbecued beef, although chicken or pork may also be used. It is listed at number 23 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll complied by CNN Go in 2011.-Etymology:...
or boneless meat with moderately-sweet garlic sauce and galbi
Galbi
Galbi or kalbi generally refers to a variety of gui or grilled dishes in Korean cuisine that is made with marinated beef short ribs in a ganjang-based sauce . In the Korean language, galbi literally means "rib" and can often indicate uncooked ribs...
or meat with bones and moderately-sweet garlic sauce as well, and another Korean favorite bibimbab or mixed rice with seasoned vegetables, namul
Namul
Namul is a general term for a Korean seasoned vegetable dish. The name of the dish may vary slightly depending on what vegetables are used and how they are prepared, but they will nonetheless still be a type of namul....
, sweet and spicy gochujang
Gochujang
Gochujang is a savory and pungent fermented Korean condiment. Traditionally, it has been naturally fermented over years in large earthen pots outdoors, more often on an elevated stone platform, called jangdokdae in the backyard...
and bulgogi topping also became an integral part of Hawaiian cuisine.
The Portuguese immigrants came to Hawaii from the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
in the late 19th century, introducing their foods with an emphasis on pork, tomatoes and chili pepper
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
s, and built forno, their traditional beehive oven
Beehive oven
A beehive oven is an early type of oven. It gets its name from its domed shape, which resembles that of an old-fashioned beehive, and was in common use in the Americas and Europe from the Middle Ages to the advent of the gas and electric ovens. Beehive ovens were common in households used for...
, to make Pão Doce, the Portuguese sweet bread
Portuguese sweet bread
Portuguese sweet bread is a bread made with milk, sugar and/or honey to produce a subtly sweet lightly textured loaf...
and malasada
Malasada
A malasada is a Portuguese confection. They were first made by inhabitants of Madeira Island. Malasadas are made of egg-sized balls of yeast dough that are deep-fried in oil and coated with granulated sugar. A popular variation is where they are hand dropped into the oil and people have to guess...
. Whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
s brought in salted fish, which ultimately became lomi-lomi salmon. The Japanese brought bento
Bento
is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware...
and sashimi
Sashimi
Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat, most commonly fish, sliced into thin pieces.-Origin:The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e...
, and, although many of their vegetable seeds would not grow in the climate of the Islands, they succeeded in making tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
and soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
. The homes of Japanese immigrants lacked ovens, so their cooking relied on frying, steaming, broiling, and simmering
Simmering
Simmering is a food preparation technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept at or just below the boiling point of water , but higher than poaching temperature...
, leading to the popularization of tempura
Tempura
], is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.-Batter:A light batter is made of cold water and soft wheat flour . Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added...
and noodle soup
Noodle soup
Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is an East and Southeast Asian staple. Less well known, a form of fresh noodle is used in soup in certain parts of Europe , and in northern China; usually, it is served for breakfast...
s in Hawaii. By the early 20th century, the Japanese were the largest ethnic group and rice became the third largest crop in the Islands.
Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii
Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii
Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii began when Puerto Rico's sugar industry was devastated by two hurricanes in 1899. The devastation caused a world wide shortage in sugar and a huge demand for the product from Hawaii...
began in 1900, contributing spicy, Spanish-seasoned thick soups, casserole
Casserole
A casserole, from the French for "saucepan", is a large, deep dish used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word casserole is also used for the food cooked and served in such a vessel, with the cookware itself called a casserole dish or casserole pan...
s, pasteles
Pasteles
Pasteles are a traditional dish in several Latin American countries. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and Panama, it is similar to a tamale. In Central American cuisine, it more closely resembles a British pasty or an Italian calzone.In...
, and meat turnovers. Filipinos reached Hawaii in 1909, bringing peas and beans, the adobo
Adobo
Adobo is the immersion of raw food into a preparation, in the form of a stock , of different components, including paprika , oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar — mixed according to the place of origin and the food with which it is intended to be used—primarily to preserve and enhance the flavor of...
style of vinegar and garlic dishes, choosing to boil, stew, broil, and fry food instead of baking, and eating sweet potatoes as a staple instead of rice. Samoans
Samoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa ; and American Samoa, an...
arrived in 1919, building their earth ovens above ground instead of below like the imu, and made poi from fruit instead of taro. After the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
ended in 1975 immigrants from Southeast Asia arrived, bringing lemongrass, fish sauce
Fish sauce
Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in numerous cultures in Southeast Asia and the coastal regions of East Asia, and features heavily in Thai and Vietnamese...
and galangal
Galangal
Galangal is a rhizome of plants of the genus Alpinia or Kaempferia in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originated from Indonesia...
popular in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.
Late 19th – 20th century
Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Royal Hawaiian Hotel, also known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, is a hotel located at 2259 Kalākaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. One of the first hotels established in Waikiki, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is considered one of the flagship hotels in Hawaii tourism...
opened on Hotel Street, and as one of the most refined hotels in the Pacific, it catered to wealthy clients. The Royal Hawaiian dining room served dishes on par with the best restaurants in Europe, with an 1874 menu offering dishes such as mullet, spring lamb, chicken with tomatoes, and Cabinet Pudding.
The massive pineapple industry of Hawaii was born when the "Pineapple King", James Dole
James Dole
James Drummond Dole , also known as the "Pineapple King'", was an American industrialist who developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii and established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. Hawaiian Pineapple Company, or HAPCO, was later reorganized to become the Dole Food Company, which now does...
, planted pineapples on the island of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
in 1901. In 1922, Dole purchased the island of Lanai
Lanai
Lānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....
for a large-scale pineapple production. By 1950, his Hawaiian Pineapple Company was the largest pineapple company in the world.
George R. Carter
George Robert Carter was the second Territorial Governor of Hawaii, serving from 1903 to 1907.He was born December 28, 1866 in Honolulu. His mother was Sybil Augusta Judd , daughter of Gerrit P...
, Territorial Governor of Hawai'i, promoted increasing local agricultural production saying that "there was a time when Hawaii supplied California with flour, also potatoes and other vegetables. Now California produces her own and sends part of the surplus here." Newspaper editorials of the time also questioned why locally-grown guava
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
s were rotting on the ground while agribusiness were planting non-native pineapples in Hawaii. These concerns were not addressed until almost a century later, when the regional cuisine movement began encouraging the food industry to "grow local, buy local, and eat local." Since the 1970s, pineapples were grown more cheaply in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, so the Hawaiian agriculture has taken a diverse approach, producing a variety of crops including squash, tomatoes, chili peppers and lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
. From 1978-1988, chefs who came to Hawaii would avoid Hawaii-grown ingredients like their European counterparts, preferring to ship everything in from the U.S. mainland, or as far away as Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
Sam Choy
Sam Choy is a chef, restaurateur, and television personality known as a founding contributor of "Pacific rim cuisine". Choy is an alumnus of the Kapiolani Community College Culinary Arts program. One of his first jobs as a chef was at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City...
, George Mavrothalassitis
George Mavrothalassitis
George Mavrothalassitis is a chef and restaurateur known as one of the cofounders of Hawaii Regional Cuisine in the early 1990s. Mavrothalassitis is particularly known for individual pairings of wines with each dish in a multicourse meal.-Life:...
, Alan Wong
Alan Wong
Alan Wong is a chef and restaurateur known as one of 12 cofounders of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. They came together to form an organization to create a new American regional cuisine, highlighting Hawaii's locally grown ingredients and diverse ethnic styles...
, Peter Merriman
Peter Merriman
Peter Merriman is a chef, restaurateur and one of the original 12 founding chefs of Hawaii regional cuisine. In 2011, he and the other Hawaii Regional Cuisine chefs were inducted to the Hawaii Restaurant Association Hall of Fame.- Biography :...
, and Roy Yamaguchi
Roy Yamaguchi
-Biography:Yamaguchi was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan but now lives in the U.S. State of Hawaii.After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, he spent time in Los Angeles in apprenticeships at L'Escoffier and L'Ermitage under the late master chef Jean Bertanou....
formed a non profit as Hawaii regional cuisine
Hawaii regional cuisine
Hawaii regional cuisine, abbreviated to HRC, is two concepts; It's the moniker for a style of cooking, and secondly, it’s the name a group of twelve chefs gave their organization which began as a drinking club....
and worked to publish the 1994 cookbook by Janice Wald Henderson, "The New Cuisine of Hawaii." These chefs also sponsored a cookbook to be sold for charity. The goal of this new group of chefs was to link local agriculture with the restaurant industry, making Hawaii Regional Cuisine (see also Hawaii regional cuisine
Hawaii regional cuisine
Hawaii regional cuisine, abbreviated to HRC, is two concepts; It's the moniker for a style of cooking, and secondly, it’s the name a group of twelve chefs gave their organization which began as a drinking club....
) a reflection of the community. For this, they took an uninspired international hotel cuisine based on imported products and replaced it with a cuisine based on locally grown foods.
Japanese-American baker Robert Taira
Robert Taira
Robert Taira was the founder of King's Hawaiian bakery. Taira created a Portuguese sweet bread recipe in Hawaii and was one of the first businessmen to bring Hawaiian food to the mainland United States.Taira opened his first bakery in Hilo, Hawaii, where his Portuguese bread became extremely...
, came up with a recipe for the Hawaiian version of Portuguese sweet bread in the 1950s. Taira began to commercially produce the bread in Hawaii, and it became successful in Honolulu bakeries and coffee shops, with plant production expanding to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. By the 1980s, Taira's company, King's Hawaiian Bakery, was grossing US$20 million annually.
Don the Beachcomber
Don the Beachcomber
Donn Beach , born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, is the founding father of tiki restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The many so-called "Polynesian" restaurants and pubs that enjoyed great popularity are directly descended from what he created...
, a former bootlegger
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, opened what is acknowledged to be the first of Tiki restaurants, and claims the creation of the mai tai
Mai Tai
The Mai Tai is an alcoholic cocktail based on rum, Curaçao liqueur, and lime juice, associated with "Polynesian-style" settings.-History:It was purportedly invented at the Trader Vic's restaurant in Oakland, California in 1944. Trader Vic's rival, Don the Beachcomber, claimed to have created it in...
. As servicemen and servicewomen from the Pacific theater of World War II began coming home they brought recipes and tastes that could not be satisfied at the Italian, French, and American restaurants of the era. Tiki restaurants soon began appearing that were often accompanied by tiki bar
Tiki bar
A tiki bar is an exotic–themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the "mai tai" or "Zombie cocktail". Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their Tiki culture décor which is based upon a romanticized conception of primitive tropical...
s with tropical drinks. One of these chains that took advantage of this new clientele with a taste for the exotic was run by Trader Vic
Trader Vic
Trader Vic's is a restaurant chain headquartered in San Francisco, California. Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. was the founder of a chain of Polynesian-themed restaurants that bore his nickname, "Trader Vic," and was one of two people who claimed to have invented the Mai Tai...
. Of the 26 restaurants which at one time existed, only a few, such as the Emeryville location, remain. Much of the food served at tiki restaurants is considered to be Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...
, but the fusion of Hawaiian ingredients is what made it tiki.
Vegetables, fruits and nuts
- Taro (Colocasia esculenta): A popular and ancient plant that has been harvested for at least 30,000 years by indigenous people in New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. There are hundreds of varieties of taro, and the cormCormA corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....
of the wetlandWetlandA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
variety makes the best poiPoi (food)Poi is a Hawaiian word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the taro plant . Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm until it is a highly viscous fluid...
, as well as taro starch or flour. The dry-land variety has a crispy texture and used for making taro chips. The smaller Japanese variety is used for stewed dishesStewA stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
. - Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)
- Candle Nut (Aleurites moluccana) or Kukui: Roasted kernels traditionally used as candles; main ingredient in the ancient Hawaiian condiment, 'inamona
- Coconut (Cocos nucifera)
- Polynesian Arrowroot (Tacca leontopetaloides) or pia plant: Primary thickener. Cooked arrowroot is mixed with papaya, banana, or pumpkin in baked deserts. Haupia, a Hawaiian coconut cream pudding, uses pia as a thickener.
- Ki (also Ti) (Cordyline fruticosa): After distillation technique came to Hawaii, the root of the ti was turned into liquor called 'okolehao'
- Winged Beans (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
- JicamaJícamaPachyrhizus erosus, commonly known as Jícama , Yam, and Mexican Turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Jícama is one species in the genus Pachyrhizus. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as yam bean,...
Pork
Spam
Hormel
Hormel Foods Corporation is a food company based in southeastern Minnesota , perhaps best known as the producer of Spam luncheon meat. The company was founded as George A. Hormel & Company in Austin, Minnesota, U.S., by George A. Hormel in 1891. The company changed its name to Hormel Foods...
company's canned meat product Spam
Spam (food)
Spam is a canned precooked meat product made by the Hormel Foods Corporation, first introduced in 1937. The labeled ingredients in the classic variety of Spam are chopped pork shoulder meat, with ham meat added, salt, water, modified potato starch as a binder, and sodium nitrite as a preservative...
has been highly popular in Hawaii for decades. Hawaiians are the second largest consumers of Spam in the world, right behind Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. Originally brought to Hawaii by American servicemen in their rations, Spam became an important source of protein for locals after fishing around the Islands was prohibited during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 2005, Hawaiians consumed more than five million cans of Spam.
Spam is used in local dishes in a variety of ways, most commonly fried and served with rice. In breakfast, fried eggs are often served together. Spam can also be wrapped in ti and roasted, skewered and deep fried
Deep frying
Deep frying is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or fat. This is normally performed with a deep fryer or chip pan; industrially, a pressure fryer or vacuum fryer may be used....
, or stir-fried with cabbage. It is added to saimin or fried rice
Fried rice
Fried rice is a popular component of Asian cuisine, especially Chinese food. It is made from steamed rice stir-fried in a wok, often with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, and meat. It is sometimes served as the penultimate dish in Chinese banquets...
, mashed with tofu, or served with cold sōmen
Somen
are very thin, white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour. The noodles are usually served cold and are less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The distinction between sōmen and the next thicker wheat noodles hiyamugi and even thicker Japanese wheat noodles udon is mostly the size of the noodle...
or baked macaroni and cheese
Macaroni and cheese
Macaroni and cheese, also known as "mac and cheese", "macaroni cheese" in British English, or "macaroni pie" in Caribbean English, is a casserole consisting of cooked macaroni and cheese sauce...
. It is also used in chutney
Chutney
Chutney is a a condiment used in South Asian cuisine that usually contains a spice and vegetable mix.Chutneys are wet or dry, having a coarse to fine texture. The Anglo-Indian loan word refers to fresh and pickled preparations indiscriminately, with preserves often sweetened. At least several...
for pupus, in sandwiches with mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
, or baked with guava jelly. Spam musubi
Spam musubi
Spam musubi is a popular snack and lunch food in Hawaii composed a slice of grilled Spam atop of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori in the tradition of Japanese omusubi....
, a slice of fried Spam upon a bed of rice wrapped with a strip of nori
Nori
is the Japanese name for various edible seaweed species of the red alga Porphyra including most notably P. yezoensis and P. tenera, sometimes called laver. Finished products are made by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking...
, is a popular snack in Hawaii which found its way onto Island sushi menus in the 1980s.
Beef
In the 19th century, John Parker brought over Mexican cowboys to train the Hawaiians in cattle ranching. The Hawaiian cowboys of Kamuela and KulaKula, Hawaii
Kula is a district of Maui, Hawaii that stretches across the "up-country", the western-facing slopes of Haleakalā, from Makawao to Ulupalakua. Most of the residential areas lie between about 500 to 1,100 m in elevation...
came to be called paniolos. Cattle ranching grew rapidly for the next one hundred years. In 1960, half of the land in Hawaii was devoted to ranching for beef export, but by 1990 the number had shrunk to 25 percent. The paniolos chewed pipikaula ("beef rope"), a salted and dried beef that resembles beef jerky. Pipikaula would usually be broiled before serving. With the influence of Asian cooking, beef strips are commonly marinated in soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
. When beef is dried in the sun, a screened box is traditionally used to keep the meat from dust and flies. Dried meat could often be found as a relish or appetizer at a lū‘au.
Fish and seafood
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
is the most important fish in Hawaiian cuisine. Varieties include the skipjack tuna
Skipjack tuna
The skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. It is otherwise known as the aku, arctic bonito, mushmouth, oceanic bonito, striped tuna, or victor fish...
(aku), the yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin tuna
The yellowfin tuna is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from its Hawaiian name ahi although the name ahi in Hawaiian also refers to the closely related bigeye tuna. The species name, albacares can lead to...
(ahi), and the albacore tuna (tombo). Ahi in particular has a long history, since ancient Hawaiians used it on long ocean voyages because it is well preserved when salted and dried. A large portion of the local tuna fishery goes to Japan to be sold for sashimi
Sashimi
Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat, most commonly fish, sliced into thin pieces.-Origin:The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e...
. Tuna is eaten as sashimi in Hawaii as well, but is also grilled or sautéed, or made into poke.
The Pacific blue marlin
Marlin
Marlin, family Istiophoridae, are fish with an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike...
(kajiki) is barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
d or grilled, but should not be overcooked due to its very low fat content. The broadbill swordfish
Swordfish
Swordfish , also known as broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood...
(shutome), popular and shipped all over the mainland United States, is high in fat and its steak
Steak
A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
s may be grilled, broiled, or used in stir-fries. The grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
s (hapuu) are most often steamed. The red snapper
Red snapper (fish)
The red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, is a fish found in the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States and, much less commonly, northward as far as Massachusetts. In Latin American Spanish it is known as huachinango or pargo...
(onaga) is steamed, poached
Poaching (cooking)
Poaching is the process of gently simmering food in liquid, generally milk, stock or wine.-Utilization:Poaching is particularly suitable for delicate food, such as eggs, poultry, fish and fruit, which might easily fall apart or dry out...
, or baked. The pink snapper (opakapaka) has a higher fat, and is steamed or baked, served with a light sauce. The Wahoo
Wahoo
The wahoo is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh make it a prize game fish...
(ono) is grilled or sautéed, and the dolphin fish (mahimahi) is usually cut into steaks and fried or grilled. The moonfish
Monodactylidae
The Monodactylidae is a family of fish within the Perciformes commonly referred to as monos, moonyfishes or fingerfishes. All are strongly laterally compressed with an approximately disc-shaped body and tall anal and dorsal fins. Unusually for fish, there are scales on the dorsal fin and sometimes...
(opah) is used for broiling, smoking, or making sashimi.
Spices
Showing the island's Asian influence, TeriyakiTeriyaki
Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade...
has become the most popular way of treating meats, including Spam.. Other common Asian spices include Five-spice powder
Five-spice powder
Five-spice powder is a mixture of five spices endemic to Chinese cuisine, but also used in other Asian cookery as well.-Formulae:The formulae are based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing the yin and yang in food. There are many variants. The most common is bajiao , cloves, cinnamon, huajiao ...
and Char siu
Char siu
Char siu , otherwise known as barbecued meat in China or Chinese-flavored barbecued meat outside China, is a popular way to flavor and prepare pork in Cantonese cuisine. It is classified as a type of siu mei, Cantonese roasted meat...
from China, Wasabi
Wasabi
, also known as Japanese horseradish, is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. Its root is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard rather than the capsaicin in a chili pepper,...
and Shoyu (Soy sauce)
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
from Japan, and Bagoong
Bagoong
Bagoong is a Philippine condiment made of partially or completely fermented fish or shrimps and salt. The fermentation process also results in fish sauce .The preparation of bagoong can vary regionally in the Philippines....
from the Philippines. Types of spices endemic to Hawaii cuisine include Huli-huli sauce and Chili pepper water
Chili Pepper Water
Chili Pepper Water is a condiment that is very popular in Hawaii and in its most basic culinary form is prepared from local red chilis, salt, and water....
.
Dishes
- Chicken long rice - Chicken cooked with chicken brothChicken soupChicken soup is a soup made by bringing to a boil and then simmering chicken parts and/or bones in water, with various vegetables and flavorings. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, often served with small pieces of chicken or vegetables, or with noodles or dumplings, or grains such...
, ginger, green onions, and long rice - Kalua Pig - Pulled porkPulled porkPulled pork is a form of barbecue in which pork, usually shoulder cut or mixed cuts, is cooked using a low-heat, long-cook method. With these extended times at low temperatures, the meat becomes tender enough that its weakened connective tissue allows the meat to be "pulled", or easily broken into...
with marinated, steamed cabbage - Crack seedCrack seedCrack seed is a category of snacks that originated in China. It is highly popular in many regions like Hawaii. Crack seed is basically preserved fruits that have been cracked or split with the seed or kernel partially exposed as a flavor enhancement. Common Chinese terms for this category of...
- Lau lauLau lauLaulau is a Hawaiian dish. Traditionally, it consisted of pork in wrapped taro leaf.In old Hawaii, laulau was assembled by taking a few luau leaves and placing a few pieces of fish and pork in the center. The ends of the luau leaf are folded and wrapped again in ti leaf. When ready, all the laulau...
- Steamed fish and pork wrapped in taroTaroTaro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
leaves and a ti leaf, also can include chicken, chicken-only, or pork-only - Loco MocoLoco MocoLoco moco is a dish native to Hawaiian cuisine. There are many variations, but the essential loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. Variations may include chili, bacon, ham, Spam, kalua pork, Portuguese sausage, teriyaki beef, teriyaki...
- Hamburger patties served with gravy and topped with two eggs - Lomi salmonLomi salmonLomi salmon is a side dish in Pacific island cuisine. It is a fresh tomato and salmon salad, and was introduced to Hawaiians by early western sailors...
- Sushi-grade salmon cubed combined with tomatoes, Maui onions, and chili pepper - MalasadaMalasadaA malasada is a Portuguese confection. They were first made by inhabitants of Madeira Island. Malasadas are made of egg-sized balls of yeast dough that are deep-fried in oil and coated with granulated sugar. A popular variation is where they are hand dropped into the oil and people have to guess...
- Portuguese donut deep fried and coated with sugar - Manapua - PidginPidginA pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
for baoBAOBAO may refer to:* Baccalaureus in Arte Obstetricia, Bachelor of Obstetrics, a medical degree unique to Ireland.* Baryon acoustic oscillations, a signature of the early universe observed in galaxy surveys.* Benny Anderssons Orkester* Bullets And Octane...
, usually filled with char siuChar siuChar siu , otherwise known as barbecued meat in China or Chinese-flavored barbecued meat outside China, is a popular way to flavor and prepare pork in Cantonese cuisine. It is classified as a type of siu mei, Cantonese roasted meat... - MochiMochiMochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time...
- MusubiOnigiri, also known as or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori . Traditionally, an onigiri is filled with pickled ume , salted salmon, katsuobushi, kombu, tarako, or any other salty or sour ingredient as a natural preservative...
- Opihi
- PastelesPastelesPasteles are a traditional dish in several Latin American countries. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and Panama, it is similar to a tamale. In Central American cuisine, it more closely resembles a British pasty or an Italian calzone.In...
- PoiPoi (food)Poi is a Hawaiian word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the taro plant . Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm until it is a highly viscous fluid...
- Mashed taro root - Portuguese sweet breadPortuguese sweet breadPortuguese sweet bread is a bread made with milk, sugar and/or honey to produce a subtly sweet lightly textured loaf...
- SaiminSaiminSaimin is a noodle soup dish unique to Hawaii. Inspired by Japanese udon, Chinese mein, and Filipino pancit, saimin was developed during Hawaii's plantation era. It is a soup dish of soft wheat egg noodles served in hot dashi garnished with green onions...
- Noodle soupNoodle soupNoodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is an East and Southeast Asian staple. Less well known, a form of fresh noodle is used in soup in certain parts of Europe , and in northern China; usually, it is served for breakfast...
dish with various meats and/or dumplings - Squid luau
Poke
First contact (anthropology)
First contact is a term describing the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another. One notable example of first contact is that between the Spanish and the Arawak in 1492....
with Western and Asian cultures, green onions
Scallion
Scallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...
, chili peppers, and soy sauce have become common additions to it. Poke is different from sashimi
Sashimi
Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat, most commonly fish, sliced into thin pieces.-Origin:The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e...
, since the former is usually rough-cut and piled onto a plate, and can be made with less expensive pieces of fish.
Plate lunch
Usually served during lunch, plate lunches consists of an entreé of meat or seafood, two scoops of rice, and macaroni saladMacaroni salad
Macaroni salad is a salad, served cold made with cooked elbow macaroni pasta and usually prepared with mayonnaise. Much like potato salad or coleslaw in its use, it is often served as an accompaniment to barbecue, fried chicken, or other picnic style entrees...
.
Drinks
- Hawaiian tropical tikiTiki cultureTiki kitsch culture is a 20th-century theme used in Polynesian-style restaurants and clubs originally in the United States and then, to a lesser degree, around the world...
cocktails like the Blue HawaiiBlue Hawaii (drink)The Blue Hawaii is a tropical cocktail made of rum, pineapple juice, blue Curacao, sweet and sour mix, and sometimes vodka as well. It should not be confused with the similarly named Blue Hawaiian cocktail that contains creme of coconut instead of sweet and sour mix, and never includes...
and the Mai-Tai make use of rumRumRum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
. The rum is blended with a variety of tropical fruit juices and served with a decorative piece of fruit. - OkolehaoOkolehaoOkolehao is an alcoholic spirit whose main ingredient is the root of the Ti plant. Okolehao is also called 'oke' by the Native Hawaiians whose ancestors were the first to make it prior to contact with western explorers, missionaries, and seamen. Okolehao started out as a beer and when distillation...
is an old Hawaiian liquor made from the root of the ti plant. - KavaKavaKava or kava-kava is a crop of the western Pacific....
(Piper methysticum) (awa) is a traditional beverage of Oceania thought to have originated in VanuatuVanuatuVanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
. In modern times, kava bars have experienced some popularity in Hawaii, with commercial kava plantations on Maui, Molokai, Kauai, and Oahu. - Hawaii wineHawaii wineHawaii wine refers to wine made from the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of Maui is where the bulk of the state's wine is produced though there is some production on the island of Hawaii. The state mainly produces fruit wine such as a pineapple sparkling wine....
is produced mostly on the island of Maui and the island of HawaiiHawaii (island)The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
. - Hawaii beer is represented by the largest brewpub in the state, Kona Brewing CompanyKona Brewing CompanyKona Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island and is the top selling craft beer in the state. Kona’s Longboard Island Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale and Aloha Series beers Wailua Wheat Ale and Pipeline Porter are distributed in 28 states in the United States and...
. From 1901-1998, "Primo" was one of the most popular Hawaiian beers, and as of 2008, has returned to production, though it is now brewed in California. Historically, craft beers (microbrews) have been slow to take off in Hawaii due to a restrictive state law on brewpub sales. However, the law changed in 2003, and growlers are now available. The Maui Brewing Co. is the largest Hawaiian packaged beer brewer. microbrew.