Mark's Hawaiian Food Word of the Week Blog

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

2008-12-18T18:16:00.002-06:00

Howdy Folks -

No... I didn't manage to produce a word a week... But a lot of stuff happened since I started this blog - I got my Doctorate, Grant and Erica got married, I got a job, Molly and I moved to Dallas, we had a beautiful baby...

At this late date I'm going to officially sign off leaving you with the posts I made, some correspondence with Pomai of the highly-re-reccomended Tasty Island blog, and my list of notes - a review of the few posts I made... and a list of things to google/wiki/youtube until you get a handle on them... I'll see you in the islands! - Mark

(Note: given the quality of The Tasty Island - these links focus on Kawai locations/foods)

...

li hing mui -posted jan1
macademia nut -posted jan2
Macademia nut icecream -posted jan 3
shave ice -jan4
halo halo -jan5
ube halaya -feb1
Roy's of Hawaii -feb2
apple bananas -feb3
kona brewery -done
http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/Hawaii-Business/November-2007/Brewing-National-Success/ - done
poi -done
pupu (origin of pupu platter) -done
spam -done
ono -done
portuguese bean soup - done
portuguese sweet bread (malassadas) pão doce, - done
miso soup
Chicken Adobo
sweet potatoes
teriyaki (beef, chicken, fish)
ti leaves
taro
poke
mahi mahi
pipikaula
saimin
lu'au
(Taro leaves, often baked with coconut cream and chicken or octopus; the word eventually came to mean a Hawaiian feast, which is also known as 'aha'aina or pa'ina.)
http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/luaurecipes/l/aa041902a.htm
cake- banana, quava, coconut
Chicken Katsu
huli-huli chicken
macaroni salad (island style)
kalua pig
char siu
corn chowder
kulolo
lau lau
lomi lomi salmon
Chicken Lu`au
chicken adobo http://gohawaii.about.com/od/luaurecipes/r/chicken_adobo.htm
Haupia
sushi
Kintaro's
Hanalei Roll
Bali Hi Bomb roll

Whalers Brewpub
waimea brewery

.....

Kintaro’s
4-370 Kuhio Hwy.
Kapaa, HI 96746
Phone: (808) 822-3341
The very best Japanese and sushi restaurant on the island. A local favorite. Also, they have Tempanyaki for an exciting dining experience. You must try the Hanalei Roll or Bali Hai Bomb sushi rolls.

Celebrity Contact

2008-12-18T17:49:00.002-06:00

Howdy -

This handy concise suggestion-riddled email was just solicited and quickly received from the author of the fantastic and thorough Oahu-food blog The Tasty Island. Though I've referenced it before - I strongly encourage all to check it out - make use of the drop-down menu by style on the left - check the Okazuya category for local deli grindz. The links below were added by me - I may reprint out correspondence if it continues. The request was for a top recommended list of his top rated (4-5 spam musubi) places.

...

Aloha Mark,

Assuming you folks will be staying in Waikiki, let's start there. For finer dining ($30-$50/person) I've had excellent 4-5-SPAM Musubi experiences (even exceeded that at one) at The Ocean House (this one is right on Waikiki's beach front), Roy's Waikiki and Sansei. You can search and find those reviews on my blog. For casual dining, good times as well as sipping on a cold beer, wine or Tropical Itch, you can't skip the Waikiki experience without an afternoon sunset at Duke's at the Outrigger on Waikiki Beach. Go between 4 and 6 on the weekends for live (free) Hawaiian contemporary music. If you're a sports fan, you can have the sports bar-meets-tiki bar experience at The Shack Waikiki. I'm their webmaster, but I recommend their not because of that, but because of the ambiance, good burgers (along with just about everything else on their menu) and abundance of big screen tv's, not to mention eye candy, FWIW, all at very reasonable prices for Waikiki. Much cheaper than the other places I mentioned.

Don't forget to grab a shave ice at Waiola Shave ice on Kapahulu avenue, which is within walking distance from Waikiki. There, you can also get a few other "where the locals go" favorites. Such as a "Zip Pac" or "Loco Moco" from Zippy's, and also fantastic Poke from Ono Hawaiian Seafood. You'll find all those places reviewed on my blog.

To complete your "where the locals go to grind", look up the category "okazuya" on my blog, then try and make it to one of those places. St. Louis Delicatessen would be a good one to consider, since it's also not far or difficult to find from Waikiki. Whichever one has a selection of entrees which look most appealing to you folks. Some things may seem strange by sound or appearance, but like any other cuisine, you can't knock it until you try it. Okazuya is good stuff!

As you might expect by our geographic location, Hawaii has a major asian presence as far as dining options, whether it be Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Thai or Vietnamese cuisine. Oh, speaking of Vietnamese, for off-the-beaten path hole-in-the-wall gem, DO stop by Bac Nam. The food is stellar, and the prices are even more incredible. It's a small place, so try and arrive early for lunch or dinner, lest you wait in line out the door.

There's a food court in the Waikiki International Market Place, where you'll find a place called Bautista's Filipino Kitchen. Excellent, truly authentic Filipino dishes.

For authentic Hawaiian food, you can check out Haili's Hawaiian Food in Ward Farmer's Market. Next door to them, there's a place called The Poke Bowl, where they serve poke of your choice over a bowl of rice. That's good stuff too! They're just take-out joints, yet that'd be a good opportunity go to nearby Ala Moana Beach and sit by the beach to get your grind on. I haven't blogged them yet, but I've heard good things about them. There's also Ono Hawaiian Food on Kapahulu, another place I have yet to blog.

Is there any particular ethnic cuisine you're most interested in? Or style (barbecue, yakiniku, buffet, etc.)?

Mahalo for the compliments on my blog and thanks for the readership!

Pomai

--- On Wed, 12/17/08,

Howdy -

I'm a fan of your fantastic food blog the tasty island. As I've been slowly preparing for a family holiday trip to Oahu (my wife and I have been to Kauai for 10 days and loved it) I've really enjoyed reading your blog. The quantity of high res pictures and clever running dialog make it better than most TV!

I love the break-down by cuisine - but I'm writing to ask if there is a highly reccomended list - a place where I could see all your 5 spam musibi / Broke Da’ Mout’! rated joints listed... or if you can recommend any holiday specific events - we'll be there from the 23rd to the 30th...

Happy Holidays - and thanks for a great blog!

Mark

Oh no! Own oh! Ono!

2008-09-20T12:10:00.002-05:00

Hawai'i has two official state languages ...english... it is a US state... and Hawai'ian. Sadly, in a year 2000 census the state population of native Hawai'ian speakers was under 0.1% of the statewide population. Hawai'ian is not to be confused with a more widely spoken form of english technically called "Hawaiian Creole English" which developed from pidgin English and is often called simply "pidgin" (or Hawaiian Pidgin).

A handy guide to Pidgin and local terms appears in the fantatic/essential Wizard Publishing books. The word that the books use the most is probably the most essential: Ono. Note that Ono is another name for the scombrid fish, wahoo - a prize game fish that should appear on a menu before your Hawaiian visit is over. [ You can watch some Hawaiian fishermen reel in and club a monstorous 89.5 lb Ono. ]

An adjective meaing delicious, tastes good (as in good tasting food), Ono is a word that you just may be using so frequently you'll find that you're speaking another language.

malassadas (Portuguese sweet bread)

2008-09-20T12:00:00.002-05:00

Why two Portuguese items in a row?

Right before the turn of the last century (around 1878) an influx of Portuguese laborers were solicited by the island (more probably the sugar cane empire). With them came Portuguese food and pão doce, sweet bread malasadas (now malassadas).

A curious resource for malassadas is the personal/commerical page on comcast called "All about Malassadas." It pushes OSO-ONO fried desert dough in a way that makes the worlds tastes seem pretty unified under the unassailable banner of fried dough + sugar.

...do they eat fried dough for dessert on Mars? Let's ask guest columnist Sue Gorge - his reply:

Quando as coisas do coraá§á£o
Ná£o consegue compreender
O que a mente ná£o faz questá£o
E nem tem forá§as para obedecer
Quantos sonhos já¡ destruá
E deixei escapar das má£os
E se o futuro assim permitir
Ná£o pretendo viver em vá£o
Meu amor ná£o estamos sós
Tem um mundo a esperar por nós
Do infinito do céu azul
Pode ter vida em marte
Entao vem cá¡
Me dá¡ a sua lángua
Entá£o vem
Eu quero abraá§ar vocá«
Seu poder vem do sol
Minha medida
Entao vem
Vamos viver a vida
Entá£o vem
Se ná£o eu vou perder quem sou
Vou querer me mudar
Para uma Life on Mars?

Portuguese Bean Soup

2008-09-20T11:42:00.002-05:00

Another luau staple... sopa de feijão.

This island comfort food gets its smoky strong pork flavor from
the pork hock stock (hocks being the lower part of the leg) and a goodly dose of portuguese sausage (a little fattier and saltier than normal). The sauce is otherwise tomato based and is fleshed out with some combination of potatoes, beans, carrots, onions and a little cilantro on top.

Being a staple of the home across a wide geographic region of the world (Portugal to Hawai'i) recipes vary widely:

Here's one from the fantastic Tasty Island Blog (Honolulu) which is based on a recipe at the Hawai'ian food blog OnoKineGrindz. I would like to offer a third recipe at epicurious.com that appeared in Bon Appetit in Dec. '92 - it skrimps on the hock stock (calling for shicken stock) and opts for Spanish Chorizo. The chefs seem to hope this smoked sausage will provide enough smoke to the broth...

Spam Spam Spam Spam

2008-07-28T00:03:00.005-05:00

Hawai'ians eat more Hormel SPAM per capital than any other state. In Hawaii, Spam is so popular it is sometimes dubbed "The Hawaiian Steak." It is traditionally reheated (cooked), resulting in a different taste than Spam eaten by many Americans on the mainland, who may eat Spam cold. One popular Spam dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi, in which cooked Spam is combined with rice and nori seaweed and classified as onigiri. (wikipedia)

The goofy-looking spam musubi provide a rating system for the wonderful Honolulu Food Blog The Tasty Island. (Bored by this site's content? Check that rad Hawai'i food blog out!)

Trivia: In the Hawai'i-set film "50 first dates", what does Sean Astin present a box of to Adam Sandler before Sandler sets sail? (hint: it's two things...)

Scenes from the annual Spam Jam in Waikiki!

Hungry yet?

Hawaii Foods (Nutritional info)

2008-07-27T23:56:00.004-05:00

http://www.hawaiifoods.hawaii.edu

Okay - not a food word, but a resource - this site put on by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii will give you nutritional information for any hawaiin food you can think of.

In this article by calorielab.com they talk about this site, some common Hawai'ian fare, and the fact that 37.5% of native Hawai'ians are obese. (See any IZ album art.)

“In Hawaii, data clearly substantiate that Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations are more at risk for overweight and obesity and obesity-attributable health complications than other ethnic groups,” according to the Obesity in Hawaii white paper by Brooke S. Evans. She goes on to write, “Food is a big part of life in Hawaii—with a variety of social and cultural meanings surrounding what people eat. Although traditional healthy foods in Hawaii (e.g. taro, fish) are still consumed on a regular basis, a range of other less healthy (e.g. fast food, “plate lunch,”) foods are also readily available.

“Hawaii is an ideal location to eat healthy with fresh fruit and vegetables year round, but often cost is a prohibitive factor for healthy eating as fast and processed foods are typically cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables. Moreover, in certain neighborhoods in Hawaii (i.e. both rural and urban communities), supermarkets are not easily assessable and residents must rely on quick shops and fast food restaurants for their meals.”

Check out what's in poi.

Pupu (platter)

2008-07-27T23:46:00.002-05:00

Pupu:

Pūpū originally referred to the fish, chicken, or banana relish served with kava and has many meanings including Among its other meanings in Hawaiian are: shell; circular motif; bunch, tuft, bundle, or bouquet; to gather together, as in a net. Today it is taken to mean appetizer and usually means American-Chinese food including: egg roll, spare ribs, chicken wings, chicken fingers, beef teriyaki, skewered beef, fried wontons, crab rangoon, fried shrimp, among other items, accompanied with a small hibachi grill. (wikipedia)

Note: A pu pu platter is not what you think (urban dictionary).

Poi

2008-07-27T23:24:00.004-05:00

Yum! Why haven't we done this one yet? ...well, because I'll bet it's not as tasty or interesting as Li Hing Mui, my first post. Poi, and the boy that loves it.

After nearly 30 min of searching for the now removed you-tube clip from Scooby Doo and the Tiki Scare (in which a large platter of poi being eaten by shaggy is apprehended and summarily consumed by Scooby) I begin the more serious portion of this entry.

This polynesian staple food is made by mashing Taro (the kalo plant) into a hilarious purple pudding which is sweet right after it's made and then sours over the course of the day. It is notoriously revolting - perhaps because of the lag between its concoction by locals and it's consumption by tourists. (wikipedia)

Note: Poi is also a kind of juggling/dancing originating with the Maori people of New Zealand. It often features dances with fire - expecially on youtube.

Kona Brewing Company

2008-07-27T22:43:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I started plowing through the excellent Wizard Publishing's Guide to Oahu - I was reminded of just how mouth-watering reading and writing about Hawai'i is. As I sit here sipping a little leftover "honeymoon" from Grant and Erica's wedding, I find on top 'o the "to blog" item list, the Kona Brewing Company. It's time to talk about beer.

Probably most of us have seen hipsters (you know, people who don't appreciate Hawai'i as much as we do) walking through midwest grocery stores in Kona Brew t-shirts. But, let's look under the hood of these brews and find out what's going on. Ratebeer.com, though populated by beer snots (almost nothing can get a good rating if it has a mild hop character or sees national distribution) it can serve as a good handle on general quality of beers. Their reviews of the Kona Brewery reveals some interesting tasting notes. Their 7 strongest offerings by rating are barley wines, imperial stouts, porters and an IPA - a good sign that real beers are being made here. If you check out their homepage you can get a handle on their business model: bottle the easy-swillers and tap the more serious brews - which seem to be only available in Hawai'i. That won't be hard when you're on Oahu - now there's a Marina pub that's open for business. Someone (remind me) should check in with them later and find out what'll be on tap.

Wanna stalk them? Strangely they're not on the BeerMap of the Pacific Northwest (drag the mouse out to see and get Hawai'i on the map) but you can find them the old fashioned way on google maps.

I'm sorry to report that I can't say that I remember having some of their beers - although I'm pretty sure I did. I do remember having a red that was good - but I think it was someone elses.
But business (as for most small breweries) is good!

The Tasty Island

2008-03-04T20:53:00.002-06:00

While there seem to be no Kauai-centric food blogs out there. I stumbled across a real beaut of a Honolulu-centric food blog by Pomai, hosted by Wordpress.

I invite you, my devoted reader to feast your eyes on The Tasty Island only on the condition that you promise to return to the Hawaiian Food Word of the Week!

I found The Tasty Island while researching Roy Yamaguchi. The entry of Pomai's birthday dinner at Roys (on Waikiki) is an example of the quality of original photography and indepth writing that Pomai puts into his blog.

Hence forth I shall strive to improve the quality of my content and despite my location (Madison, Wisconsin, currently in the UW-Madison Music Hall recording Donezetti's "Don Pasquale") I shall try to focus on food from the Garden Island of Kauai.

Feb#3: Apple Banana (Manzano Banana)

2008-03-04T20:46:00.003-06:00

Having mentioned these in Roy's post, I wanted a quick followup.

These 4" fruits are sweet yet have a slight tartness. The taste has also been compared to a cross between an apple and a very sweet banana. (Manzano is the Spanish name for "Apple".) The plant can reach 12'-14'.

Molly and I had a mind-bendingly delicious fruit smoothie that consisted entirely of frozen manzano bananas run through a juicer. If you're driving north on THE highway on Kauai there is a little fruit stand - STOP THERE! This place makes one style of fruit smoothie per day. They seem to each be composed of one ingredient.

Feb#2: Roy Yamaguchi

2008-03-04T19:58:00.005-06:00

Hey - let's get a proper noun out there. Soon after the original Roy's of Hawaii opened in Honolulu (on Oahu), Food & Wine Magazine dubbed it the "crown jewel of Honolulu's East-West eateries," and it was named one of Conde Nast Traveler's "Top 50." He was honored with the prestigious James Beard award for "Best Pacific Northwest Chef". Gourmet acknowledged Yamaguchi as "the father of modern East-West cooking" while the New York Times described him as "the Wolfgang Puck of the Pacific." Yamaguchi has hosted six seasons of the PBS-TV show, Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi. His cookbook Hawaii Cooks is a companion to the sixth season.

You can look at pictures of his entrees all day on his official website. But you can try his Mahimahi recipe at home. (Good luck coming up with the apple bananas and passion fruit syrup let alone good fresh mahimahi.) Here's a recipe of his for a Macadamia Nut Pie. Low in calories I'm sure...

My wife Molly and I had a wonderful time dining at his place on Kauai on the south end of the island. They were serving a fixed menu as the south end island had just suffered a power outage. I had no idea a caeser dressing so loaded with large fresh black peppercorns could taste so good... I embarrassed Molly by asking for another ramekin of the stuff and spreading it on the bread.

A little known Roy fact: If you feed his name into You Tube you get a massive return of ads for his kitchen gadgets.

Enough of my blabbing about the man - I'll let him speak for himself in this interview.

Feb#1: ube halaya

2008-02-13T12:20:00.002-06:00

Pronounced uhi in Hawai'i and ubi in Filipino, the purple yam is present across Asia (known as a royal food in Tonga and known sometimes as "Moraga Surprise" in India).

Ube Halaya is a sweet "jam" made from boiling this purple yam with sugar. In the Philippenes it provides a usual player in the kitchen sink desert Halo Halo (thogh less prevelant in Hawai'i).

This short entry comes out of researching Halo Halo - and should balance the surplus of words found in the last entry.

Jan5: Halo Halo

2008-02-13T11:40:00.003-06:00

Another personal favorite (read unusual).

Halo is a tagalong (Philipino) word meaning "mix"and indeed there is no set recipe for Halo Halo. The loose formula invovles filling a tall glass with:
1. fillings (any number of sweet beans, fruits and gelatins)
2. shaved ice (with one or several flavored syrups and/or sugar)
3. leche flan, ube halaya, or ice cream(possibly macademia nut).
4. some kind of milk (often condensed milk or evaporated milk which lasts longer in tropical climes)

A partial list of possible fillings (step 1) include: boiled red mung beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), plantains caramelized in sugar, jackfruit (langka), star apple, tapioca, sago, nata de coco, purple yam (ube), sweet potato (kamote), sweetened corn kernels or pounded crushed young rice (pinipig), gelatin, papayas, avocados, kiwifruit, bananas and cherries.

I can't even find good entries for all of those on wikipedia...

You might guess that this rough recipe can yield mixed results. There's a different picture on "Senor Enrique's" award winning blog.

Note: the first image comes from a Philipino website which includes Halo Halo in a list of foods traditionally found at a Noche Buena - a luxurious late Christmas eve meal after mass.

I didn't find too many places in Kauai that offered this concoction - though I believe Halo Halo shave ice in Lihue is our best bet - although they're not always open. Possibly because they're too busy serving Saimin in the restaurant that shares a roof: Hamura's Saimin stand.

Jan #4: Shave Ice [Click for pic]

2008-02-06T13:40:00.002-06:00

The coolest thing ever created!

Shave ice is reminescent of the American snow cone but the ice is shaved finer resulting in great syrup retention, visual presentation and taste! If your Hawai'ian shave ice is very gritty the razor has probably gotten dull - this is one thing that seperates the good shave ice from the best. It is common in Hawaii to get a scoop of icecream in the bottom of your shave ice mound - try macademia nut!

Toppings besides syrups can be a special treat - try li hing mui powder, condensed milk (as in the Cepillados of Venezuela) or this writers favorite: Halo Halo...

Jan #3: Macademia Nut Icecream [click for pic]

2008-02-03T19:18:00.001-06:00

This may seem like a cheap follow up to the last word - but if you've had macademia nut icecream you know it to be a logical follow up.

Of course you don't have to go to Hawai'i to get this one it's available from Dreyers, Lapperts, Haagen-Daz, and Cold Stone Creamery. That last link has plenty of nutritional info... The mystery of the great taste revealed!

Or you could make it yourself!

A big scoop of this stuff is a welcome addition to any shave ice...

Jan #2: Macademia Nuts

2008-02-03T18:58:00.001-06:00

Note: these first two (outdated posts) are culled from their original home in another blog...]

Howdy folks - taking a minute to enjoy a stomach full of conch fritters on the Grand Cayman Isle I came up with about 40 Hawaiian food words - I can do this weekly... On to that great nut made so familiar in Subway cookies...

This native of eastern Australia, the macademia nut is named after John Macadam, who was a colleague of the botanist, Ferdinand von Mueller, who first described the genus. Besides the development of a small boutique industry in Australia during the late 19th and early 20th century, macadamia was extensively planted as a commercial crop in Hawaii from the 1900s. The Hawaiian-produced macadamia established the nut internationally. Macadamia oil is prized for containing approximately 22% of the Omega-7 palmitoleic acid, which makes it a botanical alternative to mink oil, which contains approximately 17%. This relatively high content of "cushiony" palmitoleic acid plus macadamia's high oxidative stability make it a desirable ingredient in cosmetics, especially skincare. (Note: they're quite toxic to dogs!)

In Hawaii one will find in packaged raw, salted, in cookies, tons of candies, and most decadently in ice cream. For a killer treat get a scoop of it with your strawberry or mango shave ice...

Probably the most interesting function of this column will be to expose the diverse cultural influences on Hawaiian culture... and to distract me from my dissertation...

Jan #1: Li Hing Mui

2008-02-03T18:44:00.001-06:00

Let's start with a flavor that really sets my tongue on fire.

This Vietnamese flavor came to Hawaii in the 1900s by the Yick Lung Company. (Now you're appetized...) Turns out this pickled plume is a great way to flavor your shave ice (NOT shave ice). Some might say to stick to the macademia nut icecream... but not this guy...

Having only been to Kauai - I can only think of Jo Jo's shave ice shop in Waimea that has both li hing mui syrup and powder.

(Props to the Grub Club of LA for reminding me of the name...)

Can't someone help wiki and expand this stub ?

It's debatable if this flavor is best enjoyed fresh (head to your nearest Asain "candy" store and find out), in shave ice, or in margaritas. But what about children's books?

Order some online today!

First post... all downhill from here...

2008-02-03T18:37:00.000-06:00

A big howdy to the web from my first blog! This intent is to share information, knowledge, and stories about the fantastic melting pot cuisine of modern Hawai'i. It was threatening to overgrow the private family blog so here it is making a go on its own... Threatening to steal a few minutes a week from my dissertation...