USA - Hawaiian traditional food

USA

Visiting Hawaii will get you hooked with its diverse food choices. Aside from swimming in the beautiful beaches, you will enjoy eating Hawaiian foods. Hawaii is often referred to as a mixing pot of cultures, with various waves of immigrants bringing new ingredients and styles of cooking to the islands. Though now the islands of Hawaii include a diverse demographic of ethnicities all adding their own flavors, there still remains a vibrant following of traditional favorites, the true tastes of Hawaii.

Poi

Poi (Photo)

Poi, made from taro root, is a popular traditional Hawaiian food adopted from indigenous peoples of Hawaii and other Polynesian islands.

The influx and influence of different countries has transformed Hawaiians' meals, but their staple food has not changed. Taro has been the staple food in Hawaii and will continue to stay that way. Hawaiian traditional meal will always have Taro and will never be the same without it. No discussion of traditional foods of Hawaii would be complete without taro, arguably the most important part of the Hawaiian diet. Taro is one of the worlds oldest cultivated crops, arriving in Hawaii with the earliest Polynesians. In order to turn the taro into poi, it was often boiled or steamed in the imu, peeled, then mashed with water and pounded into a paste-like texture called pa’i'ai (the white or pink flesh often turns purple when cooked). The flavor changes distinctly once the poi has been made. Fresh poi is sweet and edible all by itself. Each day thereafter the poi loses sweetness and turns slightly sour, due to a natural fermentation in the preparation process.

Sour poi is still quite edible with salted fish or lomi salmon on the side.

Lomi-lomi Salmon

Lomi-lomi Salmon (Photo)

Lomi-lomi salmon is not originally native to Hawaii but was brought over by early western sailors from other Pacific islands as a side dish. The dish is now part of most traditional Hawaiian meals and makes a great addition to poi.

Lomi-lomi is a fresh tomato and salmon salad. It is typically prepared by mixing raw salted, cubed sushi-grade salmon with tomatoes, sweet gentle Maui onions (or sometimes green onion), and occasionally flakes of hot red chili pepper, or crushed ice. It is always served cold. Traditionally, the salt is rubbed onto the salmon, and the salmon, onions, and tomato are then massaged together with your hands.

Lomi-lomi salmon is a traditional side dish served at Hawaiian lū‘aus. It is said to complement traditional Hawaiian food consisting of raw diced ahi tuna, poke, kalua pig, laulau, and poi. Lomi-lomi salmon is a classic and integral part of most Hawaiian parties and gatherings, such as traditional luaus, and can be considered a Hawaiian ethnic food [1].

Laulau

Laulau (Photo)

Laulau is a steamed fish and pork wrapped in taro leaves and wrapped again in a ti leaf, also can include chicken, chicken-only, or pork-only. There are many different style and technique in preparing the dish and making it mandatory in any special occasion throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

Traditionally, laulau is made with pork wrapped in layers of taro leaves and cooked in an underground hot rock oven, called an imu, covered in banana leave for hours until it turns soft and smoky flavored. The meat is tender and juicy while the leaves turn to a spinach like consistency. Nowadays, you can easily find fish, chicken or pork laulau in Hawaii.

In modern times, the dish uses taro leaves, salted butterfish, and either pork, beef, or chicken and is usually steamed on the stove. Laulau is a typical plate lunch dish and is usually served with a side of rice and macaroni salad [1].

Kalua pig

Roasted kalua pig is uncovered from the imu (Photo)

Kalua pig, a food tradition adopted from indigenous Hawaiian people, appears at many luaus. Hawaiians prepare this traditional dish by placing a cleaned whole pig, rubbed with salt, in a large pit in the ground with lava rocks put over an open flame and covered with banana leaves, wet burlap, then with a layer of sand or soil. It takes eight hours for the pork to cook, leaving it extremely tender and remarkable smoky flavor by the time the luau begins.

Poke

Poke tuna (Photo)

Another favorite in the Hawaiian Islands especially with beer is poke. Poke is the Hawaiian version of Japanese sashimi (raw fish). Instead of slicing the fish thin like the Japanese, Hawaiian poke is served in bite sized hearty cubes. The most common type of fish is ahi tuna, but a number of other kinds of fresh saltwater fish are used. After the raw fish is cut into small chunks, it’s most commonly seasoned with ingredients like shoyu (soy sauce), sesame oil, limu (seaweed), kukui nut, coarse Hawaiian salt, and sweet Maui (or green) onions. Be sure to use sushi-grade tuna, as the poke isn't "cooked" with citrus juices as in seviche. Ahi tuna poke is served atop cucumber slices as a finger food.

Loco-Moco 

Loco-moco (Photo)

Loco moco is a traditional meal on any breakfast or lunch menu in Hawaiian cuisine. The dish has a number of variations, however, the essential loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried (sunny-side up) egg, and brown gravy. Variations may include chili, bacon, ham, Spam, kalua pork, Portuguese sausage, teriyaki beef, teriyaki chicken, mahi-mahi, shrimp, oysters, and other meats. As you eat, break the egg then blend the burger, egg, rice, and gravy on your fork for each bite for a real taste of paradise. Another variation calls for scrambled eggs instead of a fried egg.