spam and mac salad

[FoodZealot]

Here's a little more background on huli huli chicken, via an obituary of the inventor. Honolulu Advertiser: Huli-Huli chicken creator Ernest Morgado dies at 85

I don't have a family recipe or anything, but this one looks about right for the simple version.

Here's a slightly more involved version, but looks really good. I would probably use something other than olive oil, and consider omitting or reducing the lime juice and honey. And a nice story to go with it.

For pre-made marinade, the third one down is pretty widely available, but I don't know how it tastes.

When you're grilling, use a moderate heat, because you like da chicken come out small kine koge (charred), but not papa'a (burnt). Good luck!

~Tad

edit: added "or reducing"

Edited September 3, 2003 by FoodZealot (log)

[Kimo]

From a former Hawaii girl (18 years on Molokai, 8 years on Oahu, 2.5 years on Maui)...

10 things you gotta love about Hawaii:

Ribs in Kihei - Azeka Ribs at Azeka Place (I believe they reopened a new locale post-1995)

Hot bread from Kanemitsu Bakery on Molokai

Fried rice at Rainbow Drive Inn (Kapahulu Avenue, Oahu)

Spam musubi (all six islands)

Komoda bakery cream puffs

Gourmet plate lunches from Honokowai Deli & Okazuya (Maui) and Kaka'ako Kitchen (Oahu)

Pork chops from the Manago Hotel (Big Island)

Kua Aina burgers (North Shore, Oahu...still not used to the annex at Ward Centre)

Poke (need I say more)

Opihi (I am starting to cry...)

I could make this list 101 things...

BTW, I ate lunch at Uwajimaya (www.uwajimaya.com) at the International District in Seattle today. I saw spam musubis for sale (grabbed sweet bread and lumpia wrappers instead). Something that caught my eye after lunch: fried musubi with shrimp (five for $5.49--three "chefs" frying these little musubis, a special only for this week).

Aloha, Kimo

(only 21 days until my next visit to Hawaii.... )

[FoodZealot]

Opihi (I am starting to cry...)

[snip]

Aloha, Kimo

(only 21 days until my next visit to Hawaii.... )

Opihi!! Have some for me...

~Tad

[Kimo]

BTW, for all of you Hawaii Regional Cuisine fans, Alan Wong's (high-end spam and mac salad ) is expanding to the Big Island:

Alan Wongs

[alanamoana]

We've sorta mentioned it, but to keep the thread going, Hawaii Regional Cuisine (HRC) is an organization of chefs, and also the term they have chosen to identify and market the work of people like Alan Wong, Sam Choy, Roy Yamaguchi, Mavro, Russell Siu, and many others.  Here's a pretty decent overview.  How do you guys feel about HRC?  Too fussy?  Trying too hard?  More confusion than fusion?

~Tad

to reopen this thread:

i've been in hawaii for the last several weeks. i just went to maui last weekend and ate at a couple of places there and on oahu whose food qualifies as HRC...here's something i noticed across the board:

SWEET!!!!!!!!

what is the deal with making every sauce tooth numbingly sweet (at least to my taste)?

my boyfriend posited that a lot of asian cuisines (which has a heavy influence on HRC) have sweet elements: hoisin, sweet/sour, etc. but i felt this was across the board too much and not balanced. the asian cuisines in question, when cooked properly balance the flavors really well. HRC chefs seem to be unable to offset the sugar. i'm confused. with such fresh produce (and increasingly diverse produce) available, not every sauce has to be mayonnaise or "aioli" (in quotation marks because they rarely make real aioli) based, with a ton of sugar.

okay, i've beaten that point to death. i'm going to have to re-read the article that food zealot linked to in order to argue this better

any ideas, responses, defenses?

[Kimo]

I have never thought of that...but it is so true that everything is so sweet. The irony of this is the number of diabetics in Hawaii and among the population who enjoy HRC-type cuisine who really shouldn't be eating so much sugar.

I guess they make it so sweet so they can have Hawaiian salt, pepper, chili pepper water and shoyu on the tables to "balance" the bite.

Personally, I think HRC got played up too much and the chefs all probably want their own publicity/marketing for their individual restaurants. I believe all of the HRC chefs are now on their own. So...you hardly hear about HRC except on the "10th" or "15th" anniversary of the start of HRC. There is even a group of 10 new and upcoming chefs in Hawaii who started their own group as well. I haven't heard about them recently, though.

Kimo

[alanamoana]

you're right kimo.

i guess one of the unfortunate things about HRC is the nature of hawaii itself. we don't have a large population from which to produce a lot of chefs (who are interested in local/HRC)...the tourism industry being large and in-charge sort of dictates the presence of hotel restaurants which end up being staffed by swiss, german and french chefs who are usually transients. there are some who stay, like gerard in maui and i'm sure some others, but i think you get my drift. i have yet to eat at alan wongs and i hear he's the best. i certainly respect him more than most. i mean, how many different ways can you eat loco-moco?!

aren't you on your way to hawaii soon? i was hoping to meet you but i think i'm leaving the day you're arriving.

aloha, a

[FoodZealot]

I agree, many things in Hawaii emphasize the sweet. Many times, they're waaaay too sweet, and in things that don't make sense, either, IMHO.

In case you haven't seen it yet, there's are some relevant and thorough reviews, pictures and comments by jeffj in this thread. Both street food and high end.

~Tad

Edited September 17, 2003 by FoodZealot (log)

[fifi]

Odd... I just spent a week in The Hague. I ate Indonesian one time and Thai one time. Both times I had dishes that I had eaten in other places and were well balanced. These were SWEET! Is sugar adulteration of these cuisines universal?

[alanamoana]

seems to me fifi, asians can't understand that foreign palates can take the heat/balancing act that the food would require if produced authentically. i guess they're doing our thinking for us and trying to make the food universally acceptible to "everyone's" palates.

just like your local chinese delivery place makes that disgusting deep fried, artificially flavored, artificially colored, corn syrup based, corn starch thickened sweet and sour pork! ugh!

[Kimo]

My almost-four-year-old son and I will be back in Hawaii for a short week (September 25 - October 2), mainly on Molokai with a few days on Oahu at the end (guess we're missing you, Alanamoana). I will be on the look-out for a few not-too-sweet items (i.e. poke, maybe some teriyaki venison...yikes, sweet again).

Maybe this should be a separate thread...what are some food-related businesses missing from Hawaii? In general, food related businesses at a gourmand/foodie level don't always do well in Hawaii (look at the demise of the upscale market, Strawberry Connection in the industrial part of Honolulu, which moved closer to town and didn't survive). However, my surf-deprived husband, son, new kid-to-be and I would like to return some day (maybe the next 5-10 years) and possibly open or promote/market one of the following, which could do well in Honolulu:

Artisan bakery (i.e. La Brea in LA or Macrena in Seattle)

Restaurant with a great dessert menu, perfect for after the Honolulu symphony/Hawaii Opera Theatre/Blaisdell concerts (there's a fab restaurant in Portland that has a dessert menu of at least 20 desserts with wonderful dessert wines and ports and coffees)

High-end gourmet store like Strawberry Connection in a better location

Wine and cheese shop

Medium-priced Alan Wongs-type restaurant (entrees in the teens, not as fancy with the plating)

Tapas bar

Trader Joes or something like it (maybe Trader Kimos)

Whole Foods or other organic market/deli

A family-friendly restaurant with good food (not just hot dogs and mac-and-cheese)

A medium priced steakhouse (notch down from Ruth Chris)

A great fish/seafood shop with wonderful selections of poke (like Tamashiro Market, but closer to town)

An Atkins-themed restaurant (horror the thought!)

My .02...

[alanamoana]

possibly open or promote/market one of the following, which could do well in Honolulu:

Artisan bakery (i.e. La Brea in LA or Macrena in Seattle)

Restaurant with a great dessert menu, perfect for after the Honolulu symphony/Hawaii Opera Theatre/Blaisdell concerts (there's a fab restaurant in Portland that has a dessert menu of at least 20 desserts with wonderful dessert wines and ports and coffees)

High-end gourmet store like Strawberry Connection in a better location

Wine and cheese shop

Medium-priced Alan Wongs-type restaurant (entrees in the teens, not as fancy with the plating)

Tapas bar

Trader Joes or something like it (maybe Trader Kimos)

Whole Foods or other organic market/deli

A family-friendly restaurant with good food (not just hot dogs and mac-and-cheese)

A medium priced steakhouse (notch down from Ruth Chris)

A great fish/seafood shop with wonderful selections of poke (like Tamashiro Market, but closer to town)

An Atkins-themed restaurant (horror the thought!)

My .02...

hey kimo:

i'm on the same page as you are...i'm sort of looking to start my own business and i'm wondering what would fit here. i guess that is one reason why i followed fifi's advice in starting this thread. one thing i've noticed is that no one in hawaii is really on-line...notice the geographic section of the discussion forum...if anyone talks about hawaii it is as a tourist ...

of your ideas...there are several that have a fighting chance (imho of course):

bakery

wine and cheese shop

trader kimo's but seriously!

family friendly restaurant that isn't "diner" style (not rainbows, not L&L, not grace's etc etc)

maybe not so good:

there are already hundreds of steak houses (yeah, i tend to exaggerate)

the "farmers' market" behind ward center/warehouse has the poke market...but you could do it better, i'm sure

NO ATKINS! (that's just me talking)

anyway, i'm leaving the 25th so...have a great trip.

aloha

p.s. my mom's store is in dole cannery where strawberry connection was. i think the location sucks, but my mom doesn't really pay too much rent, so that's okay. if you like chinese tea, etc. stop by "tradewind east" at dole cannery. my mom works on saturdays and tuesdays.

[FoodZealot]

Maybe this should be a separate thread...what are some food-related businesses missing from Hawaii?

Kimo,

I've been thinking about your situation. I'm removed from the market, but FWIW, I'd guess the most viable ideas you have are a dessert emphasis restaurant, a medium-priced Alan Wong's type restaurant, a family-friendly restaurant (depends on a lot of factors), and a Trader Joe's type market. I think the customer's concept of value is a governing factor. Word of mouth is pretty powerful there, so you'd want to factor that in.

Tapas/small plates could be really cool, but the pricing issue is tricky, due to aforementioned ...err... thriftyness.

I also would add that I think Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are well run businesses, and would be formidable competitors, should they ever try to establish themselves there. See Wal-Mart.

Back to the food: rainbow jello.

~Tad

edit: added FWIW

Edited September 24, 2003 by FoodZealot (log)

[alanamoana]

has everyone seen the start of the new pinned digest under "food, media and news"?! a genuine honolulu digest! lots of info that i need to digest (pun intended).

ahhh, rainbow jello, mmmmmmmpmmghgmm, drool.

a staple at all elementary school functions.

[skchai]

this brings me to another point...with hawaii home to at least three james beard award winners for best chef...and with such an ethnic diversity which includes culinary diversity, why is there such a lack of really good moderate restaurants on the islands?  i think that most of us would like to be able to go out and NOT eat at tony roma's or some other corporate chain...also, to not bust the wallet and go to a hotel/resort restaurant.  there's so little in the middle!

maybe one day when i move back, that will be my niche and i'll have to open a place.

Thanks, Alanamoana, for pointing me to this thread - I don't know why I didn't catch it earlier. . .

There are actually a lot of successful middle-range dining places in Honolulu. The only problem is that they aren't really a successful bridge between local grinds and HRC. Most of these places would normally be classified as Asian ethnic food places, usually staffed by relatively recent immigrants, rather than local or Hawaiian. Some of the "stars" of the mid-range in my own limited experience:

Korean: Yuchun Kudzu Cold Noodles (our favorite), on Keeaumoku across from McDonalds; Migawon (self-cook charcoal Korean grill - next favorite) on the corner of Atkinson and Kapiolani; Seoul Jung in the Waikiki Resort Hotel; Shillawon (specialty is seafood noodle hotpot) on Amana St. running between Keeaumoku and Kaheka; and Sorabol (esp. for breakfast) on Keeaumoku and Rycroft.

Chinese: Asia Manoa on E. Manoa Road next to the Union 76 station (where old Toyo Suprette used to be), Legend Seafood in the Chinese Cultural Center Downtown + more expensive location in the Waikiki Trade Center; Hee Hing on mauka end of Kapahulu, below Sam Choy's; Kirin (Northern Chinese?) on Beretania nr University, across from Star Market.

Thai: Singha Thai near Ena Rd. in Waikiki; the Mekong / Keo's empire various places around town; Champa Thai on Waialae Ave; Phuket Thai in the McCully Shopping Plaza at Kapioloni Blvd.; Chiang Mai near old Honolulu Stadium.

Japanese: Kariyushi (Okinawan) on Young Street near end of Kaheka; Mr. Ojisan (izakaya) and Wasabi Bistro, both on Kapahulu Ave., mauka end; Tokkuri-tei (sushi) in the middle section of Kapahulu Ave.; Menchanko-tei (fancy ramen and izakaya) in the Waikiki Trade Center;

Vietnamese: Viet Cafe in the McCully Shopping Plaza; Pho Saigon on Keeaumoku in Samsung (sic) Plaza; Hale Vietnam on Waialaie Ave. (nr 11th) in Kaimuki, Taste of Saigon downtown.

There's even some top non-Asian middle-range stuff, too, such as Donato's in the Manoa Marketplace and Cafe Sistina on S. King nr. Keeaumoku (next to former Kensei's), both non-red sauce Italian places, though I guess both verge on the high-concept casual / fine dining end.

I assume zero responsibility for these recommendations, by the way, though they're not particularly idiosyncratic. I'm sure you can clue me in on places that I should add to this list.

The missing category, however, consists of the mid-range "local" restaurants, i.e. restaurants that in some way reflect the particular integration of cultures that has taken place on these islands, rather than discrete elements of one or another of those cultures. The main cause, IMHO, is that syncretic local food has a tradition dating from the plantation days, hence the emphasis has been on quantity, thrift, and speed rather than dining experience. Later waves of Asian immigrants, usually from a high SES background, basically created an ethnically-subsegmented middle dining layer, which then could appeal to upwardly mobile sansei, yonsei, etc. without necessarily being "their" food. High-end, however, has always been dominanted by tourist-oriented restaurants and a few special occasion "continental" places frequented by locals, e.g. Michel's, Canlis, et al. in the old days and John Dominis even now.

HRC has not really eliminated this type of stratification, since it basically takes elements of the local food concept, as well as the various ethnic dining concepts, and finally the ideology of fusion, then packages them as haute cuisine for the newer generation of tourists, who no longer want to eat the same foods that they could find back home.

There is not as much financial incentive market this back down to the mid-level. Furthermore, from an intellectual point of view it is actually a much more difficult task than building up HRC. HRC, as haute cuisine, can be "artifical" in the sense of being self-consciously creative; indeed this is considered a virtue as long as it does not do too much violence to the taste buds. "Fusion" has always been a misnomer because the provenance of each individual ingredient or component of a dish is usually obvious. Local plate-lunch type grinds, on the other hand, have evolved slowly over several decades and reflect that evolution in that they comfort the tastebuds of those who have been raised our particular blend of cultures.

So how do we approach the middle range of dining while retaining a local flavor? A "top-down" option, as reflected by Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch, and Crab (on Nimitz Hwy nr Hilo Hatties), as well as Alan Wong's Pineapple Room (in Ala Moana Macy's), is to spawn a "casual" version of a celeb HRC chef's fine dining establishment. That's a good idea, and both places turn out good food, but the results "betray" (to use a too-strong word) their origins by offering for the most part slightly cheaper versions of HRC, not a bridge to local food in any meaningful sense. And for dinner, at least, the prices are not even much cheaper than in the fine-dining places.

The alternative, a "bottom-up" one, is to sell glorified versions of plate lunch. Choy's BLC does some of that on its lunch menu, with its fried poke and mixed "bento" plates, and manages to pull in a big local crowd. Russell (3660) Siu's Kaka`ako Kitchen (abutting Ward Center) is even a plate lunch place in ambience, adding things like grilled mahi with capers to the usual katsu n' teri.

Finally, there are those that try eclectic approachs. Onjin's Cafe (near Ward Center, across from Office Depot) takes a simultaneous top-and-bottom approach, selling styro-clam lid containers for dinner (to go only) filled with HRC-type mains. Finally, Big City Diner (on Waialae Ave. in Kaimuki) takes a middle-middle approach, juxtaposing American diner classics like meatloaf with a wide range of typical mid-range Asian ethnic dishes such as braised kalbi, etc.

Back to the main issue, if there is one. Which of these will actually work in bridging local food with HRC in a middle-range, popular dining concept? I dunno. I guess the missing ingredient is time - you can't rush these things. As HRC innovations and, more importantly, sensitivity to ingredients are assimilated (digested?) by the local population, it will become easier and easier to come up with dining concepts that reflect these influences and yet fit in with the resources and aesthetics of mainstream local culture. . .

Edited September 25, 2003 by skchai (log)

[KarenS]

Good choices, how could you forget Maple Garden (on Isenberg). My favorite Chinese restaurant in the state! I love Ducs Bistro in chinatown for Vietnamese/French. Yanagi Sushi too is very good. Big City Diner- not very good. Korean- Ginas, in the Market City Mall (they even plate my order with no rice and a smile now). Hale Vietnam good, also the Bale in Manoa- I have taken their comforing food (and lots of pho) home many nights with me.

Mekong. Chaing Mai, yum...

Gotta go!

[KarenS]

Maple Garden and Ginas are on the level of "needing a fix of".

[KarenS]

At Ginas you get your choice of taigu, daikon kimchee, kimchee, bean sprouts, cabbage, watercress, mac salad, plus a few "specials". Four choices (plus your main item- kalbi, bbq chicken etc...) and 3 scoops rice for 5-6 dollars. Your plate weighs over 2#. All the salads are made fresh everyday (and everything is grilled fresh too). I run into lots of people I know-plus I love the daikon kimchee! Now I really gotta go... Oh yah, you would get three marinated and grilled boneless chicken thighs.

[skchai]

Good choices, how could you forget Maple Garden (on Isenberg). My favorite Chinese restaurant in the state! I love Ducs Bistro in chinatown for Vietnamese/French. Yanagi Sushi too is very good. Big City Diner- not very good. Korean- Ginas, in the Market City Mall (they even plate my order with no rice and a smile now). Hale Vietnam good, also the Bale in Manoa- I have taken their comforing food (and lots of pho) home many nights with me.

Mekong. Chaing Mai, yum...

Gotta go!

You make good choices, too, Karen!

Amazing that I could forget Maple Garden and Yanagi Sushi. Maple Garden was my father's very favorite restaurant - the owner used to always recognize me when I went to pick up a takeout order. Yanagi Sushi is my mom's favorite - I think it's actually Korean-owned. Both are longtime island favorites.

I didn't include Gina's because it's more a plate lunch place - that subject deserves a thread of its own. The food is truly huge - it's the Masu's Massive of the Korean-style plate lunch world. I think it also won a reader's choice as best Korean in the Advertiser's latest poll.

Never been to Duc's Bistro - I know it's French-Vietnamese and has live music, though. Bale's in Manoa is kind of unusual with all its Thai dishes and Banh Mi juxtaposed. What was your bad experience with Big City Diner?

Anyway gotta go too. . .

[KarenS]

I am sick of "HRC". It became his or her "royal checking account". Let's see, nachos, wontons, sirachi encrusted, mac nut encrusted, "blackened" everything, throw foie gras or buerre blanc on it kind of cuisine. I don't see it as ever evolving. Oh yah, and also at any cost- never give anyone else any credit. Some of those famous chefs never pay overtime, don't pay for vacations (and yes, they have lots of money). There are famous chefs who expect their cooks to work 14-16 hours everyday (all mis en place, all plating, and all kitchen clean up, meaning the floors too). Shame on chefs who pay their cooks for eight hours, while the cooks work 14-16 that is illegal. I hope you get caught.

There are also the chefs who have really not cooked in their kitchen for 10 years. The HRC is a farce, retire it already.

[skchai]

I've started a new thread in the Pacific NW / Alaska / Hawaii Forum to cover the dining out, as opposed to cooking, aspects of this thread.

The Future of Hawai`i Restaurants: New Concepts, "Theories of the Mid-Range"

And, in the interest of stirring up some more posts about Hawai`i, I've also started a few new threads in that forum. Any kind of feedback at all appreciated!

Saimin in Hawai`i: Favorites, Origin, Definition, more. . .

Hawai`i Plate Lunch: Past, Present, Future. . .

[skchai]

Continuing with this thread . . . many of the great dishes of local cuisine were probably invented at home to put simple and palatable meals on the table, rather than by restauranters / entrepreneurs. Just take a look at some of the recipe collections put out by local volunteer organizations or the "best local" series written by Jean Watanabe Hee. There are all kinds of dishes that seem to start from Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Filipino, Korean, Portuguese cuisine, then veer off in another direction.

Not so much self-conscious "fusion" as practical adaptation. Some frequent types of adaptation that come to mind:

(1) more meat, more grease :) - primitive smilie.

(2) use of convenience foods like canned tuna and spam (e.g. spam musubi, canned tuna futomaki)

(3) substitution of ethnicity-specific ingredients with easier-to-stock "generic" or "local" ingredients (e.g. replacing mirin in teriyaki with white sugar and sometimes pineapple juice; replacing katsuo dashi with chicken broth in saimin; replacing the two "s"'s in "malassada" with one "s" in "malasada" :) - another primitive smilie.

(4) conversely, broadening the use of an ethnicity-specific ingredient, thus making it more worthwhile to stock it in the pantry (e.g. furikake going on everything from breading for deep-frying to stir-fried noodles; kim chi going into sandwiches, sushi rolls, etc.)

Any other categories of adaptation you wish to add?

More importantly, how often do you find yourself preparing an ethnic recipe in your own kitchen, and substituting ingredients or techniques to fit your own equipment and pantry. When you do so, do you ever have in mind the creation of a new dish, or are you just trying to get by? Some examples and anecdotes would be nice!

[FoodZealot]

Sorry, SK - I'm a bit intimidated by your last post. I can't come up with any ethno-botanical-anthropological analysis today - but here are some random foods I have been thinking about or craving this week and tonight - hoping that it will get us going again.

• Chili served with steamed rice. Not crackers or spaghetti noodles.
  Fresh Kole. (just S&P and flour, then panfried)
  Boiled peanuts.
  Manapua. (lurid red char siu filling)
  Meat jun.
  Fried mandoo.
  Lau lau made with FF butt. (not better than traditional, but it's what I'm craving)
  2nd or 3rd day poi.
  Lup cheong.
  Ogo salad, made with the fine red sargassum seaweed.
  Chicken Luau.
  Dried Opelu.
  Homemade pipi kaula.
  Kajiki poke.
  Opakapaka, steamed, with ginger, green onion, chun choy (sp?) and sizzled with hot oil, sesame oil and shoyu.
  Chicken Hekka.
  Cake noodles.
  David Eyre's pancakes
  

~Tad

[fifi]

Uuuummm... Translations please? I go to Hawaii a lot and I still don't have a clue as to what most of these things are.

[FoodZealot]

Please feel free to correct or elaborate on my descriptions or spelling-

Chili served with steamed rice. Not crackers or spaghetti noodles.

Everything in Hawaii is served with rice, even standard American style chili con carne, with beans. Was reminded of this in page 148 of the Dinner thread when Priscilla mentioned Claiborne's suggestion of adding rice to chili.

Fresh Kole. (just S&P and flour, then panfried)

Kole (ko-leh) is a small reef fish, with little hooks near its tail used for self-defense. Dark brown/black with some orange markings. It gives off orange fat. More than tuna or the large fish, which are pretty readily available in LA, I miss eating small fish.

Boiled peanuts.

My grandfather sometimes grew peanuts, and we'd just boil them with salt and star anise.

Manapua. (lurid red char siu filling)

I believe a Hawaiian word for char siu bao, although bigger - about 3" in diameter. We didn't have good manapua in Hilo, so it was a big treat to get manapua and pork hash (siu mai) from Honolulu when relatives came over.

Meat jun.

Thin sliced beef in a Korean-type marinade, then dipped into an eggy batter and pan-fried.

Fried mandoo.

Korean "gyoza" with kimchee in the filling.

Lau lau made with FF butt. (not better than traditional, but it's what I'm craving)

Franks' Foods pork butt is a corned beef type of meat, made on the Big Island. Bake/steam it with taro leaf in the lau lau style. Not traditional, but goooood.

2nd or 3rd day poi.

Poi on the first day is pretty one dimensional - just starchy and bland - on the 2nd or 3rd day it sours a bit, and I like it that way. I've heard stories that some people let it crust over for several days like a cheese, then eat the still soft inside.

Lup cheong.

Sweet, fatty Chinese sausage. Steamed and sliced, sometimes browned a bit.

Ogo salad, made with the fine red sargassum seaweed.

I believe ogo is a Japanese word for seaweed in general, and I think the red sargassum floats in clumps in the ocean, and is getting pretty rare. Really nice texture, and pretty to look at. To make the salad, my mom poured boiling water over it, then transferred to a jar with sliced Maui onions and shoyu. Maybe some vinegar - I'll ask.

Chicken Luau.

A stew of chicken (thighs), taro leaf and coconut milk. Squid luau is a variation - usually calimari. Side note: sometimes in Hawaii the word squid is used as a misnomer for the local octopus (in Hawaiian, he'e). Tako (Japanese for octupus) is commonly used to specify octopus, e.g. tako poke.

Dried Opelu.

Opelu is the Hawaiian name for Pacific mackerel scad. Just split, salted and sundried.

Homemade pipi kaula.

A smoked meat made from either beef or pork, marinated in soy, sea salt, a little sugar, beer and chili pepper flakes, then smoked, usually with kiawe (related to mesquite). Then it's usually fried with some onions for a snack with beer, but a great ingredient that could be used like bacon. Does anyone know more about the origins?

Kajiki poke.

Kajiki is the Japanese word for marlin, a lean, white-flesh, marinated with seaweed, kukui nut, sea salt, onions, etc. Nice change of pace from ahi tuna.

Opakapaka, steamed, with ginger, green onion, chun choy (sp?) and sizzled with hot oil, sesame oil and shoyu.

We always called this Chinese style. Opakapaka is the pink snapper. I think chun choy is Chinese pickled turnip.

Chicken Hekka.

Similar to sukiyaki, my Grandma made this at the table in a electric griddle (like a Westbend) with lots of green onion, long rice (glass noodles), chicken, tofu, bamboo shoots and a sweet soy based sauce. We ate it over rice, and with the raw egg, cooked by the heat of the rice and the hekka.

Cake noodles.

I guess this has Hakka/Cantonese roots - smallish noodles (like ramen), boiled, fried into a cake, then served under a mixed veggies/shrimp/pork/chicken stirfry with a cornstarch thickened gravy. Some places made it with very fine noodles, thinner than capellini, and fried the cake really crisp. Either way, the sauce softens up the noodles a little. Great texture when just made.

David Eyre's pancakes

Essentially a bismarck (eggy pancake batter, cooked in a preheated pan like a popover, with lemon juice and powdered sugar). We ate this for family breakfast on Sunday mornings. Then my parents met Mr. Eyre just a couple of years ago, I believe he lives or lived near Diamond Head. At one time, one of the most requested recipes from the NY Times. More details at OregonLive. The website asks for some generic data, then takes you to the story and recipe.

~Tad