skchai

November 25, 2003

Not sure what to say about all this. It's hard enough to make generalizations about the sources of very specific institutional practices, and even harder to link these practices to any notion of national culture and internal attitudes.

That being said, I think that there probably isn't one single cause that predominates in the fact that Korean restaurants have not attained. Culture may have something to do with it, but in my mind not the main reason.

(1) I agree with fresco that the timing and pattern of Korean immigration into the U.S. has something to do with it. The vast majority of those running the type of Korean restaurant described above are first-generation immigrants, something that is untrue for Chinese, Mexican, or Japanese restaurants (at least those that are run Japanese-Americans, not Korean-Americans). These first-generaiton immigrants often lack language skills and awareness of American popular culture, hence the fact that attempts at translation lead to malapropisms that simply create more confusion.

Furthermore, while Korean immigration has been fairly recent, it has been fairly concentrated, hence Korean restaurant owners have been able to depend on other immigrants for their custom, reducing their need to promote their restaurants to other communities, as I believe was mentioned earlier. In those parts of the country where there are few other Korean immigrants, Korean restaurant owners make much more of an effort to make their food accessible - indeed, many of the Korean restaurants in these areas double as Japanese or Chinese restaurants in order to bring in customers.

Even the issue of bigotry that jschyun rightly brought up can at least in part be attributed to the recency of immigration. The fact is that first-generation immigrants, particularly those who arrive from relatively homogenous societies, often have not been trained to censor out their more egregious feelings of ethnic prejudice. I believe this is equally likely to be true for Japanese or Chinese of the same generation and recency of arrival as the Koreans that you are referring to. However, since there are fewer of them, the problem is not as great. I don't see nearly the level of open bigotry among second-generations as among first-generations. Even younger first-generations from Seoul are more tolerant, since awareness of problem of dealing with a multicultural environment is beginning to filter into the urban educational system in Korea.

One may question the validity of my analysis when one looks at other types of ethnic restaurants, notably Indian restaurants. However, these are pretty exceptional cases. For the vast majority of Indian-Americans, the language barrier is hardly a problem at all, since most speak English as fluently or more fluently (depending on the criteria that you use) than most native-born Americans. Moreover, since the population of Indian immigrants has for the most part been less concentrated than those of Koreans, there was a greater need to reach out to a wider customer base.

One will only be able to really the "immigrant story" argument when second and third-generation Korean-Americans start running Korean restaurants. However, based upon the few examples of which I'm aware, they are usually designed to be much more accessible to the larger population than the average Korean restaurant. Moreover, whatever the age or generation, I haven't met a Korean restauranter who wasn't visibly happy when foreign guests that I brought enjoyed the food he or she cooked - perhaps only the degree of suprise differed. Therefore, I think the main difference between generations is less a matter of desire to popularize Korean food and more a matter of perceived ability or need.

(2) Even if the immigration factor is a significant cause of the phenomenon we've been discussing, this does not eliminate the possibility that other cultural factors may be exacerbating the problem.

To investigate this, we probably need to look in part at eating habits of Koreans in their home country. One noticeable fact is that, while South Korea has been a middle to high-income country for about twenty years, there were until about ten years ago very, very few restaurants in Seoul that did not fit into one of four ethnic categories: Korean, Japanese, Chinese and "Western". The last category could be divided into two subcategories: "Continental", the Escoffier-era haute cuisine served in three-star hotels, and "Light Western Food" (kyeongyangshik), a menu of "om-rice", "hash rice", curry rice, croquette, and tonkatsu - interpretations of Western food acquired from the Japanese during the colonial era. Indeed, the relative lack of diversity was noticeable even in comparison with other Asian cities at roughly the same level of economic development, such as Taipei or Bangkok, much less Singapore or Hong Kong.

A number of reasons could plausibly be given for this, including some notion of a "hermit-like" Korean culture that avoided all unnecessary foreign influences. While it's very hard to measure whether such a culture exists, this relative absence of foreign restaurants might be used as a proxy to indicate that Koreans are naturally insular in their own eating habits, hence unlikely to want outsiders to explore their cuisine as well. However, I find it more likely that the relative insularity was more a result of political factors than cultural ones (though admittedly these, too, may often be intertwined). During the period of military dictatorship, conspicuous consumption of all kinds was highly discouraged and even legally suppressed, including such "frivolities" as gourmandism and culinary experimentation. The high-class Western restaurants at hotels were tolerated as a necessary for entertaining foreign dignitaries.

Since the democratization of South Korean societies beginning in the late 1980s, there have been incredibly rapid changes in various areas of popular culture. Perhaps the most notable areas are music and films, where in about 10 years, Korean pop culture has gone from being seen as among the most conservative and closed in Asia, to perhaps the most "westernized" (take this with a grain of salt) and experimental. This in turn has led to the recent "Korea boom" in pop culture throughout East Asia. The same is true of food - Seoul is now a fairly cosmopolitan city for eating, which a plethora of Vietnamese, Thai, and Indian places to complement the existing big four cuisines. While many are still congregated in the trendy Kangnam (south of the Han River) area, they are also moving into downtown as well as many of the bedroom suburbs cropping further south of the city. Furthermore, the last time I was there (last year), East-West "fusion" seemed to have become a buzzword of the moment, with even the humblest neighborhood eatery boasting of "fusion" meals.

So overall, it's hard for me to agree that Korean culture in some holistic, relatively immutable sense is a major obstacle to the popularization of Korean cuisine in the U.S. or the openness of Korean cuisine to outside influences. Check back in another decade or so, things could be very different!

November 25, 2003

Noticing zero threads in this new forum, I couldn't help taking the opportunity to start the first one.

The chimichanga is sometimes viewed as the prototypical Tucson dish. While the cheese crisp and the topopo salad also contend for this title, they can hardly measure up to the chimi in terms of ubiquity and national prominence. Not surprisingly, a number of restaurants claim to have invented it. The most famous is El Charro, but Micha's and at least one more Tucson restaurant whose name I forget also claim to be the inventors. Somewhat more dubiously, Macayo's of Phoenix also claims to have invented it.

Most suspiciously of all, they all claim to have invented it in the same way: by accidentally dropping a burro (Arizona / Sonoran name for burrito) into a pot of hot oil. This allegedly mode of invention clearly marks off all the stories as apocryphal, since "accidentally" inventing a dish by dropping something into something else is perhaps the most common food origin myth of then all. Furthermore, the idea of frying a burro is obvious enough that presumably the dish had been around in some version or another for a long time before any of these restaurants existed.

So if not the dish, how about the name? Interestingly, it's possible to find chimichangas South of Nogales, but they're usually called "chivichangas". Any ideas of how long the dish has been sold in Arizona, and when did it begin being called the chimichanga? Carlotta Flores of El Charro claims that until a couple of decades ago, they were usually called "fried burros", though elsewhere she credits her grandmother, Monica Flin. with coining the name long before that. What gives?

And perhaps a better question: what's the proper filling for a chimichanga? Anything that can go in a burro? Or only machaca? Carne seca?

November 24, 2003

Thanks, Emily! For those outside of Honolulu - both Fujioka's and Formaggio's are owned by the same person (Lyle Fujioka). The latter is modelled after an Italian enoteca.

Somehow the pictures for my post don't seem to be showing up! I'll have to check. . .

November 24, 2003

Gina's Bar-B-Q

This is the first of a regular (at least it's supposed to become regular) series of restaurant descriptions and photos that I'll post to this forum. The next installment may be a while from now, though. I borrowed this digital camera and now I have to go out and buy one.

Gina's Bar-B-Q

Market City Shopping Center

2919 Kapiolani Blvd.

Honolulu 96826

Telephone: 735-7964

Fax: 739-0887

Web: http://www.ginasbbq.com/

Gina's has the one thing that all popular plate lunch places have - quantity, and a few extra touches as well.

As is by now traditional in local Korean fast food, you pick a meat entree and four 'sides, which are all piled together unceremoniously on a paper plate along with two or three ice cream-sized scoops of rice. But you get it on these big oversize oval plates, and the food is about falling off the edge.

The side dishes (panchan) are almost stereotypically Korean-Hawaiian: bean sprouts, seaweed salad, watercress salad, non-hot Western cabbage kim chi, hot Nappa cabbage kim chi, hot shredded daikon, mac salad, and taegu. However, the taegu (hot and sweet dried shredded codfish) is particularly bountiful - the thicker-than average twigs in a very sticky chili and malt syrup sauce. And, if you show up on Sunday, you get the killer - chicken and tofu stir fry as a side dish. And not a small amount either - a good half-pound. By the time you finish eating, your teeth are tired.

Here's the Gina's Special ($7.25). Hiding underneath the big piece of kalbi (beef rib) held up by my daughter's fingers are one more piece of kalbi, two pieces of broiled chicken, and a pile of bulgogi (boneless beef). There's another two scoopfuls of rice behind there somewhere, too. Side dishes here are (clockwise from the rice) are: taegu, the famous chicken and tofu stirfry, seaweed salad, and bean sprout salad. The hobak jeon (pan-fried zucchini / aubergine slice) and deep fried mandu (potsticker) are I guess considered part of the entree.

The owner threw in a bowl of kim chi (hot pickled vegetable) as a fifth side dish, though this was after I took the picture. She insisted after my wife started talking to her in Korean - I guess she thought we would go into spasms if we ate Korean meal without being served kim chi.

The lady behind the panchan bar kindly let me take this picture and even tried to make it appear "candid". Notice they sell their own kochujang (hot bean paste) to go.

The marinade for the kalbi and chicken is teriyakized - there's a good amount of sugar in it. Why do they do this to Korean food? said my wife - who has yet to understand the logic of syncretic cuisine. And, as if to compensate for the sugar, they don't stint on the garlic - you'll taste it for a while after it's gone. Other local favorites include meat jeon (pan-fried beef dipped in egg - something not nearly as common in Korea), fish jeon, chicken katsu (for the garlic haters), and spicy pork bulgogi. One unusual dish is spicy squid, a square slice that is cross-hatched, brushed with kochujang and broiled ($6.00). They have mini (13.99) and regular (27.99) family packs, as well as a full catering menu. They will even make you a meat or fish jun sandwich ($3.25) if you want.

The Market City Shopping Center is a small strip mall stuck in an island in the surrounded by the termini of three major streets (Kapiolani, King, and Kapahulu). It's hard not to pass by it, but difficult to notice it. If you're going there the first time you may think it's a Potemkim village - it looks like it has no entrance. Keep on looking - there's little driveway on the King street side, or you can sneak in through the back next to Kaimuki High School.

November 22, 2003

The thread on pineapple and "Hawaiian" food got me thinking: what exactly does qualify as Hawaiian food? Clearly much of the stuff that gets served at tourist luaus - teriyaki beef, grilled ribs, tossed salad, coconut cake, etc. - doesn't qualify, and is a often ridiculed by proponents of more authentic Hawaiian food.

But how do we define authentic? As Rachel Lauden has pointed out, the exercise in defining a fixed authenticity is often quite an arbitrary one, since cuisines are living, evolving entities that are constantly embracing new dishes. Already, the "traditional" luau menu contains a number of dishes (lomi lomi salmon, chicken longrice) have have clearly been adapted from other cultures in the post-contact era. Also, the boundary between authentic and fake Hawaiian food is constantly changing. Very recently, shoyu-based poke and pulehu shortribs seem to have been admitted into the fold. On the other hand, there are other popular local foods, such as teriyaki, chicken katsu, etc. that clearly remain outside the boundaries of what can be called Hawaiian food.

That being the case, perhaps we can look at authentic cuisine as a social construction that is part and parcel of a larger "nation-building" exercise. What determines that one dish qualifies and another doesn't? I hope this doesn't sound too academic!

November 22, 2003

Naengmyun is usually one of those things that are rarely made at home - the broth is fairly complicated and needs to be made in pretty huge quantities to be worth the effort.

The cold soup you're referring to is probably "oi naengguk" (cold cucumber soup). Were the noodles the same kind that you have in naengmyon or were they white noodles?

November 22, 2003

I used to eat it out of the can too. . . also used to spray canned whipped cream into my mouth, but that's another story. . .

Amul sells condensed milk as "mithai mate". I guess condensed milk could be seen as a form of rabarhi / rabdi. . .

November 22, 2003

mongo,

mool naeng myun is indeed a soup. "mool" means "water" or "liquid". This is in contrast to bibim naeng myun, which is dry and "mixed" with chili sauce

oxtail soup is great as well. . . especially when the weather starts to get cold. . .

November 20, 2003

Anil,

Looking forward to having you and the rest of the APA here - I assume you're talking about the American Psychological Association (not the Psychiatric Association)? The ASA (American Sociological Association - professional bodies have such imaginative names) usually rotates its meetings between Washington DC, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. So does the APSA. Though at one point in the early 1990s the ASA decided to support rust belt cities by holding its annual meeting in Cincinatti and Pittsburgh in consecutive years. Politically progressive as they tended to be, the membership nonetheless rebelled. Oh well.

Edited to remove my shameless repost

My own picks? My tendency when I visit a city is not to look for the 5 or 10 "best" restaurants overall, but rather to try and eat as many different genres of food as possible, focusing on those that are unavailable (at least not in comparable quality) outside that city.

In light of that, I won't add much to the list of East-West Fusion / HRC restaurants already listed here and in guides linked to above (though one place that I think sometimes doesn't get enough credit is L'Uraku).

Emily, I guess I'd differ with your contention that Honolulu is not a great restaurant town. Of course, it undoubtably pales in comparison to Chicago or other great metropolises. However, let's think per capita! In that respect, at least, Honolulu does extremely well by a lot of plausible measures, e.g. Beard / IACP awards per unit population.

But on one thing I agree with you. At the high end, things get pretty monotonous with the nearly exclusive dominance of the East-West Fusion / HRC restaurants. These restaurants have put the city on the culinary map, but they have also tended to push out other possible genres of food. Though I guess that's inevitable for a mid-sized tourist-oriented city, e.g. comparing with Santa Fe or even New Orleans.

An while plate lunch might not be all there is beyond HRC, there is certainly a lot of it. So if you're not adverse to plumbing the low end of the local diet, here they are my favorites in some of the uniquely local genres of food:

Hawaiian Plate Lunch: Helena's

Korean Plate Lunch: Gina's

Traditional Plate Lunch: Grace's

Upscale Plate Lunch: Kaka`ako Kitchen

Saimin (local-style soup noodles): Hamura's (Kauai)

Okazuya (local-style Japanese takeout): Fukuya's

Manapua (local-style fast food Dim Sum): Island Manapua Factory

That's all I can think of for now. . .

November 19, 2003

I've been out of town, so media stuff has piled up. Therefore you get a double-sized post this week. For those of you in Honolulu, note that some of the events mentioned in the articles below have already passed!

While we're at it, I had a couple of questions I wanted to throw out to our reader(s?).

(1) The Star-Bulletin and Advertiser often run non-local flavor articles on such things as how to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. Really not a lot different than what you would get in the Sacramento Bee, Akron Beacon-Journal, etc., I expect. Would you like me to just ignore these articles? Or should I include them anyway to give a "representative" view of local cuisine which after all includes plenty of stuff that is not unique to the islands.

(2) On a related point: Unlike much of the stuff appearing in the big-market national papers, I assume that the articles in the Honolulu papers is interesting primarily to those who have an interest in Hawai`i cuisine, and not really to anyone else. Given that, does it make sense to move this digest to the newly-formed Hawai`i Forum under Restaurants, Cuisine and Travel, or just to keep it here?

Opinions, votes would much appreciated. Mahalo.

WEEKLY EATER: Hilo's Kaikodo lovely to look at, but offers little else. By Nadine Kam.

I knew I'd catch up with Mike Fennelly sooner or later. I became intrigued by the chef after descending on Santa Fe's Santacafé about 12 years . . .

Aiiiya! One of the true pioneers of East-West Fusion (Santacafe opened in 1983, about the same time as Chinois and before pretty much every other fusion restaurant in the country) has fallen to Earth. You would think that Hilo would be an great location for his style of cooking (though away from the Kona tourist crowds), but according to Nadine Kam it just isn't working out. In his case, you'd like to give him every opportunity to succedd.

HAWAI`I AT WORK: Love to cook, love to eat: Jack Mead makes money doing what he loves best

Executive Chef at the branch of Morton's Steakhouse, Ala Moana Branch, interviews himself.

Diamond Bakery is holding contest to mark 82nd year

Only remaining maker of the local standby, the popular saloon pilot cracker, looks for stories and recipes.

Taro Traditions. By Betty Shimabukuro

the main feature (along with "star" chefs) at a benefit dining event for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp

Students offer a taste of tilapia. By Betty Shimabukuro

The ugly buggah actually tastes good . . .

HAWAII'S KITCHEN: Ginger works with ahi and steak, with Flory Visoria and Robbie Acoba of Eastside Grill

THE ELECTRIC KITCHEN: Crisp strips top chicken salad, by Joan Foley and Susan Spegar in an episode called "Healthy Cooking in Paradise"

BY REQUEST: Pickled onions easy to make and fun to give. By Betty Shimabukuro.

Pickled onions can be done up with all manner of spices, from cumin to cloves. Make them sweet or salty, or heat them up with chile peppers. Pair them . . .

WEEKLY EATER: Cafeteria food for UH dorm kids ain't what it used to be. By Nadine Kam.

AS if there isn't enough to envy about today's youth, including more choices in music, better-looking clothes (no? can you say '80s?), abundant technology, . . .

From the days of Sodexho to Saga Foods. From the days of Turkey ala King to Cajun Portobello and Assorted Nigiri. As a frequent customer of the Campus Center Cafeteria, I can tell you that there has been a real improvement since the early days, and the food is much more "localized" despite being managed by a national chain. Interesting innovation is the "spotlight entree" of the day, which is often something straight out of the HRC cookbook. It's usually priced from $6-8, but usually nobody buys it, so I don't know how long it's going to last.

A chef to call your own. By Betty Shimabukuro

On hiring a personal chef. . . at least for a day.

HAWAII'S KITCHEN: Whole fish makes sizzling presentation. With Ronnie Nasuti of Roy's Restaurant.

ELECTRIC KITCHEN: Dish depends on

ahi’s quality, prepared by Brenda Tanaka and Jason Kiyota of the Food Co.

BY REQUEST: Desired recipe arrives in time for the holiday. By Betty Shimabukuro.

The turkey may be the star of the Thanksgiving dinner, but don't forget to give some careful consideration to starch, the foundation on which the bird . . .

The Advertiser:

' target='_blank'>Lu'au may be chapel's salvation, by Eloise Aguiar.

Hau`ula's historic Kamalamalama O Ke`ao Church raises funds by preparing 1000 pounds of kalua pig (along with squid lu'au, poke, crab, lomi 'o'io, 'opihi, long rice, lomi salmon, poi, rice and haupia, all one one plate lunch for 7 bucks).

PRESCRIPTIONS: Use kava-kava only if it's prepared correctly, by Laurie Steelsmith

I don't know if this qualifies as a food article but local people tend to treat kava like food, not a drug. Use plain water extracts made from only the root of the plant. Check OTC preparations for additives.

Liquid liftoff. By Wanda A. Adams

Energy Drinks. Yawn.

Moi will star at Native Hawaiian fund-raiser dinner. By Wanda A. Adams

Same benefit for Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. mentioned in Betty Shimabukuro's article.

7 OR LESS: Taquitos on tap at Taste of Waipahu. By Wanda A. Adams

Jose and Blanca Aguila and their La Familia Restaurant staff served flautas.

Saloon Pilot lovers get a recipe contest; La Mer holiday treat is for a good cause. By Wanda A. Adams

"Search for the Ultimate Diamond," in which they ask for Islanders' favorite recipes using those old-fashioned Saloon Pilot crackers and for heartwarming stories about the crackers.

Same as the Star-bulletin story above - nothing wrong with that; these are objectively newsworthy I guess! Also, Halekulani's La Mer holds a $150 benefit "Remy Martin Ultimate Dinner" for the James Beard Foundation.

Techniques for turkey. By Wanda A. Adams

QUICK BITES: Creative with moi. By Wanda A. Adams.

"Ali`i Kaiseki" at Kacho in Waikiki Parc Hotel,

And a couple recent restaurant reviews:

CUISINE ON A SHOESTRING: Coffee shop mixes Puerto Rican, local cuisine. By Matthew Gray

Haole-Chinese couple serves pastele plate with gandule rice, bacalao salad.

EATING OUT: Happy's food tasty, but dim sum disappoints. By Matthew Gray

Aiiiya again! One of the stars of Kaimuki's restaurant row and great family favorites of all time is alleged to have "insipid and greasy" dim sum.

November 19, 2003

Irwin, thanks for correcting me on the origin of "Hawaiian Food". I had heard about the role of the Hawaiian Room at the Lexington in developing "Hawaiian Music" (Ray Kinney, Alfred Apaka, etc.), but not "Hawaiian Food" as well! There's undoubtedly a book or two that could be written about the reception and transformation of Hawaiian culture on the mainland during its height of popularity in the 1920s and 30s.

Thanks also to all those who've written about the origins of "Canadian" Bacon / Ham and Pineapple Pizza. I suspect that it probably dates all the way back to the time during the 1950s or so when pizza took off as an American fast food.

November 19, 2003

Thanks for the kind comments, Anil and Suvir. Sorry for the delay in responding, I was out of town!

Please do come an visit Honolulu by all means - look forward to showing you around. By the way, Anil, what's APA?

Thanks,

Sun-Ki

November 7, 2003

Did I spy with my little eye such at "Thai" thing at CPK (look about a third of the way down the page)? Also, about two thirds of the way down the page, guess what? CPK, they should call themselves Tiki Pizza Kitchen!

So it seems "Thai" is already taken by the peanut (there seems to be an unspoken rule that only one ingredient can be associated with any cuisine). Any other examples anyone can think of?

By the way, many people, including myself, have confirmed that you can eat very well at Trader Vic's restaurant. I went with some trepidation to try the flaming pupu platter, but it was pretty good. Not really all that different from what local people here would put out at a buffet. Minus the war god statuette and sterno, of course.

November 7, 2003

O.K., if I understand correctly -

Bhaang = Hashish

Gaanja = Cannabis Plant (Marijuana)

Correct or incorrect? I'm confused because it seems that Bhaang seems sometimes to be used to refer to the entire plant as well as the resinous extract.

November 7, 2003

A hearty welcome as well, Pumuckel67.

As Tad mentioned, this topic really deserves a thread of it's own, so I've started one in the Pacific NW, Alaska, and Hawaii forum. Here it is:

Pineapple and "Hawaii" food

Thanks for your very interesting question!

November 7, 2003

Received this interesting post in theHonolulu Dining forum, and thought it really ought to get a thread of its own.

Aloha und Guten Tag:
I hope my comments fit within the purpose of this thread. It is interesting to me that many German recipes are titled “Hawaii” Salad, Baguette “Hawaii”, or “Hawaii” Cake, for, it seems, as long as there is a piece of pineapple in the recipe (Ananas=Pineapple) it will be called "Hawaii 'something.'" As one can see in the following recipes the amount of pineapple can vary between 3 slices , 4 tablespoons, 1 can etc. I find this very fascinating and was wondering if this is the case in other countries as well. I do know that one of the main US pizza places offers Hawaii pizza, which includes pineapple as a topping. These are the examples I found:
Hawaii-Salat
• Zitronensaft: 2 Esslöffel, Sellerieknolle: 1, Kopfsalat: 1, Äpfel: 2
• Mandelstifte: 50 Gramm, Orange: 1, Mayonnaise: 3 Esslöffel
• Bd. Radieschen: 1, Scheibe Ananas: 3 , Wasser Salz Pfeffer Zucker: 0.5 Liter Prise Calvados: 1
Baguette Hawaii
1 Baguette, aufbackbar ,
2 Stück Sahne-Schmelzkäse
1 Pck. Schinken, gewürfelt
1 Käse (Edamer)
4 EL Ananas
4 TL Mandeln, gehobelt
2 Prise Pfeffer
Hawaii Torte
2 Eier , 50 g Zucker, Vanillin Zucker, 30 g Mehl, 25 g Speisestärke, 1 Msp. Backpulver
Für den Belag: 1 Dose Ananas in Ringen, 850 ml, 1 Dose Frucht Cocktail, 850 ml, 1 Päck. gemahlene Gelatine, 500 g Quark, 400 g Sahne, 100 g Zucker, 1-2 Päck. klarer Tortenguß
Aloha, und Tschuess

Tad responded:

Pumuckel67, welcome to eGullet. You've asked a valid question, although it might be best addressed in a new thread. But to try and answer you, it is quite common to see steaks, pizza, salads and just about anything containing pineapple named Hawaiian or Hawai'i. Usually, it's presence in the recipe is the only criteria.
While I understand why Hawai'i and pineapple are associated, it is a pet peeve of mine, because IMHO, most of these uses of pineapple rarely have resemblance to the way pineapple is eaten or cooked with in Hawai'i. Nor do most of these dishes originate in Hawai'i. The only exception that I can think of is using pineapple juice in teriyaki sauce/marinade. I suppose my problem with it is semantic. I think it's something analogous to chop suey (invented in America) and China. I doubt if I'm the first to say this (please excuse the grammar), but I do say it often:
Just because you put barbeque sauce on it doesn't make it barbeque;
and just because you put pineapple on it doesn't make it Hawaiian.
While we're talking about pineapple, I've heard that pineapple is a common addition to modern sauerkraut preparations in Germany. Have you heard of this?
~Tad

Since Hawai`i was for a long time the world's dominant producer of pineapples (though it seems like ancient history now), it's not that surprising that pineapples and Hawai`i are so closely connected in the public mind. And given that genuine Hawaiian food was nearly unknown outside of Hawai`i, it's perhaps a little bit understandable that people started to assume that Hawaiian cuisine was all about pineapples. What is somewhat most puzzling is how pineapple got placed on so many savory dishes, from pizza to salad to sandwiches. No other fruit seems to get that kind of treatment!

Much of the credit, or blame, must go to Irwin (wesza)'s old friend, "Trader" Vic Bergeron. As Jane and Michael Stern relate in their book American Gourment, he started was cooking "Ham and Eggs Hawaiian" with pineapples at his original restaurant, Hinky Dink's in Oakland, in the early 1930s (there's even a recipe on page 89). When he started Trader Vic's, he decided to design the food and decor around a surreal vision of "Hawai`i" and "Polynesia", thereby inadvertedly setting off the worldwide Tiki Craze that lasted nearly a decade.

Part of what made tiki food so accessible was that it didn't force people to consume ingredients that they might not be used to - it usually meant putting tropical fruits on top of familiar Chinese-American dishes, then often setting the whole thing on fire. So a lot of pineapple got put on meat dishes, and inevitably the epithet "Hawaiian" got attached to these dishes.

I have a copy of Trader Vic's Pacific Island Cookbook, with close to a hundred dishes with "Hawaii" attached to them in some way. And sure enough, among these is "Pork Chops Hawaiian" with "6 slices canned pineapple" and "Chicken Hawaiian" with "one cup diced pineapple". However, those who are familiar with Trader Vic's via his Tiki reign may not be aware that he was actually very knowledgable about Hawaiian and Polynesian cuisine. The very same book with the pork chops and chicken Hawaiian also contains recipes for opihi, roasted kukui nuts, laulau, and imu-baked kalua pig! In fact, the meat n' pineapple dishes, and many of the other dishes associated with his restaurant, are segregated into chapter called "Haole Entertainment". :smile:

Anyway. . . Hawai`i's Queen Pineapple has gone the way of King Sugar, and all that's left of the Dole Cannery in Honolulu is a shopping mall complex next to a Costco and Home Depot. In time, perhaps people will begin to associate the fruit with Southeast Asia and other places where it's still produced on a large scale, though I doubt there'll ever be a time when they call pizza with pineapple on top "Pizza Filipino" or "Pizza Thai".

November 6, 2003

Star-Bulletin:

Those OTHER fish earn upscale attention, by Eleanor Nakama-Mitsunaga.

Elmer Guzman shows how to make use of reef fish that never show up in your average supermarket - moana, manini, uhu, akule, kumu, and more.

Hawaii's Kitchen: Fruit juice sweetens crispy fish, with Chai Chaowasaree of Chai's Island Bistro

Electric Kitchen: A trio of dishes a la Swiss Haus, with Freddy Halmes of Swiss Haus

Advertiser:

Cook it low and slow, by Wanda A. Adams

Using a slow cooker to make Kalua Pig, Okinawan Shoyu Pork, etc.

QUICK BITES: Hawai'i gets No. 1, by Wanda A. Adams

Franchise of Jackie (Chan)'s Kitchen, that is.

November 2, 2003

To add a bit of detail to the Bombay Palace story: they are owned by Sant Singh Chatwal, perhaps the most visible Sikh businessman in the United States, as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton's favorite restauranteur.

Owns the Hampshire Hotel chain and Bombay Palace. Got into trouble a few years ago for various dicey contributions to the Clintons' campaigns and for assorted other financial matters too murky to mention in both India and U.S.

November 2, 2003

Madhur Jaffrey has just come out with something called the "Ultimate Curry Bible", which is, despite the somewhat misleading title, about Indian diasporic cooking. Here is the Telegraph review (about half way down the page). The book doesn't seem to be available in the U.S. yet, only in Britain. Have any of the posters in the U.K. taken a look at it yet?

October 29, 2003

I'm asking again for suggestions on content that could make this thread more useful to readers. There's haven't really been a lot of pageviews or responses, so perhaps you guys are not finding it very interesting? :sad: If so, please let me know if there is something that's missing . . . feedback of any kind will be appreciated!

Anyway, here are this week's articles -

Star-Bulletin:

Untricky Treats Homemade goodies can be a simple proposition, by Betty Shimabukuro

BY REQUEST: Veggie lasagna rivals flavor of meaty versions, by Betty Shimabukuro

THE ELECTRIC KITCHEN: Fill quesadilla with fresh fruit, prepared by Julia Zee and Kapuanani Rothfus

HAWAII'S KITCHEN: Flaming dessert is impressive, prepared by Ben Wong and Rodney Uyehara of the Bistro at Century Center

Advertiser:

Chocolate is hot, by Wanda A. Adams

Waste not the seeds, flesh of your jack-o'-lanterns, by Wanda A. Adams

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Try cooking your gifts for the holidays, by Wanda A. Adams

QUICK BITES, by Wanda A. Adams

Swirl, sweet store founded by Aaron Kwon, opens in Ward Village. Big Island Festival features Food & Wine Mag's 2003 Best New Chefs. Kona Coffee Cultural Festival on the Big Island Nov. 7-16. Jill's Country Kitchen of Ocean View wins Chile Pepper Magazine's best hot sauce prize.

Cheesecake Factory to open in Waikiki, by Andrew Gomes

Will it draw in kama`ainas for its super-size entrees?

October 29, 2003

I have to admit I have yet to shell out and purchase the book, but from the website and glowing reviews, it sounds wonderful. At the very least, you are getting a lot of recipes (400+) to make it worthwhile. Also, the recipes are accompanied by generous amounts of cultural history, folklore, and photos. Moreover, the cookbook spans a historical period from Mesopotamian times to the present. It seems to be a lifetime's work by the author, a former university professor at Baghdad and Mosul Universities who left around the time of the first Gulf War. Her cookbook has been written up in the NY Times, Boston Globe, and Newsweek, among other places.

Which makes it all the more shocking, and depressing, that she apparently was unable to find a publisher to accept the manuscript and thus is self-publishing with 1stBooks. I can't believe that a trade publisher or at least a university press wouldn't be interested after all the publicity the book has received (apparently she maintains the copyright). 1stBooks on the other hand seems as reputable as any other self-publishing outfit, and carries titles by some established authors. So perhaps there are advantages to doing this?

Let me know how you like the book, Suvir. Meanwhile, I'll try to convince the wife that it's a worthwhile purchase (I'm on perhaps my 10th imposed moratorium on buying any more cookbooks)!

I have read some reviews of In Memory's Kitchen but have not yet purchased it (see above). It seems like a truly extraordinary document, a testament to the power of everyday culture as a force that can utterly defeat any attempt to conquer the spirit of a people. It seems crude to talk about the recipes themselves, but from what I've heard, they are form an extraordinary documention of a lost cuisine.

Thank you so much for your thought-provoking post, Suvir.

October 27, 2003

Thanks so much, Kristen and Smallworld! I really appreciate your expertise and help.

It does seem paradoxical to me that while there seem to be Japanese cookbooks on even the most microscopic of topics (e.g. 100 recipes for gyoza, , etc.), as well as cookbooks on the regions of France and Italy in Japanese, it's so hard to find any books on the regions of Japan.

It's interesting that Okinawa is the exception - I guess this might be a side-effect of the Okinawa "boom" of the last few years!

October 27, 2003

Just wanted to let you know that I had a chance to sample the LittleBlueHouse's Natural Levain Bread the other day. . .

Natural levain has always been somewhat mysterious or even magical to me, and it was quite an experience to see how beautifully the loaf turned out. I mean that literally - my wife and I were both commenting on how aesthetically pleasing the appearance of the loaf itself was with its handsome markings, roundness, etc. The taste was wonderful too - just the right level of springiness without the stodginess one often gets in otherwise good "rustic" loaves. Amazing how much control they achieved using yeasts picked out of the air!

Emily and Chris are now looking around for retail distributers for their breads while continuing their private dining service. Best of luck to them. . .

October 26, 2003

While we're on this topic, can anyone recommend a good prefecture-by-prefecture or region-by-region cookbook or cookbook series (in Japanese)? I looked around Kinokuniya last time I was there and couldn't find anything.

Thanks!

October 26, 2003

Sorry!

Worldfood is owned by Hormel, and Patak's is a part of the Worldfood group of brands.

Here's more direct connection on the Hormel site- look under "ethnic brands".

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