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Cuisine of Hawaii
Cuisine of Hawaii
A plate lunch of lau lau, kalua pork, lomi lomi salmon, poi, haupia, and rice
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The cuisine of Hawaii incorporates five distinct styles of food reflecting the diverse
food history of settlement and immigration in the Hawaiian Islands.[a] In the precontact period of Ancient Hawaii (300 AD1778), Polynesian voyagers brought
plants and animals to the Islands. As Native Hawaiians settled the area, they fished,
raised taro for poi, planted coconuts, sugarcane, sweet potatoes and yams, and
cooked meat and fish in earth ovens. After first contact in 1778, European and
American cuisine arrived along with missionaries and whalers, who introduced their
own foods and built large sugarcane plantations. Christian missionaries brought
New England cuisine[1] while whalers introduced salted fish which eventually
transformed into the side dish lomilomi salmon.
As pineapple and sugarcane plantations grew, so did the demand for labor, bringing
many immigrant groups to the Islands between 1850 and 1930. Immigrant workers
from China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and Portugal arrived in Hawaii, introducing
their new foods and influencing the region. The introduction of new ethnic foods,
such as Chinese char siu bao (manapua), Portuguese sweet bread and malasadas,
and the Japanese bento, combined with the existing indigenous, European, and
Contents [hide]
1
History
1.1
Pre-contact period
1.2
Post-contact period
Contemporary times
Ingredients
3.1
3.2
Spam
3.3
Beef
3.4
3.5
Spices
Dishes
Drinks
5.1
Alcoholic beverages
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
10
External links
History[edit]
Pre-contact period[edit]
See also: Ancient Hawaii
Kukui foliage, flowers, and nut (candlenut) was brought to Hawaii by Polynesians.
Sea salt was a common condiment in ancient Hawaii,[9] and Inamona, a relish made
of roasted, mashed kukui nutmeats, sea salt and sometimes mixed with seaweeds,
often accompanied the meals.[9] At important occasions, a traditional feast,
ahaaina, was held. When a woman was to have her first child, her husband started
raising a pig for the Ahaaina Mawaewae feast that was celebrated for the birth of a
child. Besides the pig, mullet, shrimp, crab, seaweeds and taro leaves were required
for the feast.[10] The modern name for such feasts, lau, was not used until 1856,
replacing the Hawaiian words ahaaina and pina.[11] The name lau came from
the name of a food always served at a ahaaina young taro tops baked with
coconut milk and chicken or octopus.
Prior to cooking, pigs and dogs were killed by strangulation or by holding their
nostrils shut, in order to conserve the animal's blood.[12] Meat was prepared by
flattening out the whole eviscerated animal and broiling it over hot coals, or it was
spitted on sticks.[12] Large pieces of meat, such as fowl, pigs and dogs, would be
typically cooked in earth ovens, or spitted over a fire during ceremonial feasts.[6]
[12] Hawaiian earth ovens, known as an imu, combine roasting and steaming in a
method called klua. A pit is dug into earth and lined with volcanic rocks and other
rocks that do not split when heated to a high temperature, such as granite.[13] A
fire is built with embers, and when the rocks are glowing hot, the embers are
removed and the foods wrapped in ti, ginger or banana leaves are put into the pit,
covered with wet leaves, mats and a layer of earth. Water may be added through a
bamboo tube to create steam. The intense heat from the hot rocks cooked food
thoroughly the quantity of food for several days could be cooked at once, taken
out and eaten as needed, and the cover replaced to keep the remainder warm.[9]
Sweet potatoes, taro, breadfruit and other vegetables were cooked in the imu, as
well as fish. Saltwater eel was salted and dried before being put into the imu.[14]
Chickens, pigs and dogs were put into the imu with hot rocks inserted in the
abdominal cavities.[9] Men did all of the cooking, and food for women was cooked in
a separate imu; afterwards men and women ate meals separately.[c] The ancient
practice of cooking with the imu continues to this day, for special occasions.[15]
Post-contact period[edit]
A Hawaiian man pounding taro to make poi. Taro plants can be seen growing behind
him
In 1778, Captain James Cook visited the island of Niihau, leaving a ram goat, ewes,
a boar, an English sow, and seeds for melons, pumpkins, and onions.[16] In 1793,
Captain George Vancouver brought the first cattle to the islands; longhorns from
California were presented to King Kamehameha I.[17][18] With no natural predators,
the new cattle multiplied out of control; the king hired an American man named
John Parker to capture and domesticate cattle.[18] Many of the cattle were
butchered and beef was introduced to Hawaiian cuisine.
In 1813, pineapple was first cultivated in Honolulu by Don Francisco de Paula Marin,
[19] a Spanish botanist and advisor to King Kamehameha I. Although grape vines
were introduced by Captain Vancouver around 1792, Marin is credited with the first
Hawaiian vineyard in 1815 and planting the now rare Mission grape variety.[20]
Marin also brewed the first beer in 1812,[21] and planted the first coffee crop in
1817, but his plantings failed.[22] Marin, called "Manini" by the Hawaiians,
experimented with planting oranges, limes, beans, cabbages, potatoes, peaches,
melons, maize and lettuce.
By the late 19th century, pineapple and sugarcane plantations owned and run by
American settlers took over much of Hawaii's land, and these two crops became the
most important sources of revenues for the Hawaiian economy.[23]
Ethnic foods[edit]
As the plantations of the Big Five expanded, the demand for labor grew, so the
plantation owners hired immigrant workers, which included Chinese, Koreans,
Japanese, Filipinos, and Portuguese. Each ethnic group wanted its own food in
workplaces, and farms and grocery markets were established. The Chinese
immigrants brought Cantonese cuisine, cooking the first stir fry, sweet and sour,
and dim sum dishes in the islands,[24] and replaced poi with rice, adding their own
herbs and spices.[23] Chinese rice growers imported familiar fish varieties from Asia
to stock local streams and irrigation ditches.[25]
Korean immigration to Hawaii brought kimchi and built barbecue pits to cook
marinated meats. Korean style bulgogi or boneless meat with moderately-sweet
garlic sauce and galbi or meat with bones and moderately-sweet garlic sauce as
well, and another Korean favorite bibimbab or mixed rice with seasoned vegetables,
namul, sweet and spicy gochujang and bulgogi topping also became an integral part
of Hawaiian cuisine.[26]
Hawaiian shave ice, believed to have been introduced to Hawaii from Japan by
Japanese immigrants who ate kakigri
The Portuguese immigrants came to Hawaii from the Azores in the late 19th
century,[27] introducing their foods with an emphasis on pork, tomatoes and chili
peppers, and built forno, their traditional beehive oven, to make Po Doce, the
Portuguese sweet bread and malasada.[3] Whalers brought in salted fish, which
ultimately became lomi-lomi salmon.[13] The Japanese brought bento and sashimi,
and, although many of their vegetable seeds would not grow in the climate of the
islands, they succeeded in making tofu and soy sauce.[3] The homes of Japanese
immigrants lacked ovens, so their cooking relied on frying, steaming, broiling, and
simmering, leading to the popularization of tempura and noodle soups in Hawaii.
[24] By the early 20th century, the Japanese were the largest ethnic group and rice
became the third largest crop in the islands.[28]
Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii began in 1900, contributing spicy, Spanishseasoned thick soups, casseroles, pasteles, and meat turnovers.[24] Filipinos
reached Hawaii in 1909, bringing peas and beans, the adobo style of vinegar and
garlic dishes, choosing to boil, stew, broil, and fry food instead of baking, and eating
sweet potatoes as a staple instead of rice.[24] Samoans arrived in 1919, building
their earth ovens above ground instead of below like the imu, and made poi from
fruit instead of taro.[24] After the Vietnam War ended in 1975 immigrants from
Southeast Asia arrived,[29] bringing lemongrass, fish sauce and galangal popular in
Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.[24]
Royal Hawaiian Hotel was one of the first hotels built along the shores of Waikk
The first restaurant in Honolulu was opened in 1849 by a Portuguese man named
Peter Fernandez. Situated behind the Bishop & Co. bank, the establishment was
known as the "eating house" and was followed by other restaurants, such as Leon
Dejean's "Parisian Restaurant" at the corner of Hotel and Fort Streets.[30] In 1872,
the Royal Hawaiian Hotel opened on Hotel Street, and as one of the most refined
hotels in the Pacific, it catered to wealthy clients. The Royal Hawaiian dining room
served dishes on par with the best restaurants in Europe, with an 1874 menu
offering dishes such as mullet, spring lamb, chicken with tomatoes, and Cabinet
Pudding.[31]
The massive pineapple industry of Hawaii was born when the "Pineapple King",
James Dole, planted pineapples on the island of Oahu in 1901.[3] In 1922, Dole
purchased the island of Lanai for a large-scale pineapple production. By 1950, his
Hawaiian Pineapple Company was the largest pineapple company in the world.[3]
Japanese-American baker Robert Taira, came up with a recipe for the Hawaiian
version of sweet Portuguese bread in the 1950s. Taira began to commercially
produce the bread in Hawaii, and it became successful in Honolulu bakeries and
coffee shops, with plant production expanding to California and South Carolina. By
the 1980s, Taira's company, King's Hawaiian Bakery, was grossing US$20 million
annually.[27]
Contemporary times[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding
citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
(May 2014)
The continued popularity of Hawaii in the 21st century as a tourist destination has
helped spawn Hawaiian themed and Hawaiian cuisine restaurants in the contiguous
United States such as Ono Hawaiian BBQ and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. Its popularity
is also reaching Europe, with the restaurant POND Dalston opening in 2014 as first
New Hawaiian Cuisine in the United Kingdom.[35] There are also branded items
such as Mauna Loa macadamia nuts. sugarcane producer Alexander & Baldwin
continues to operate and has diversified into other businesses. Dole Food Company
is based in Hawaii and still has a pineapple operation on Oahu. Maui Land &
Pineapple Company ceased production in 2009. Some of its assets and employees
are involved in the Haliimaile Pineapple Company startup and Kapalua Farms
organic pineapple operation was taken over by Ulupono Sustainable Agriculture
Development with backing from Pierre Omidyar. Beer producer Kona Brewing
Company and the Volcano Winery are active. Local eateries include the Zippy's
chain. Foodland Hawaii is a grocery chain. There are also distinctive and historic
business operations such as Kanemitsu Bakery, Helena's Hawaiian Food, Common
Ground Kauai, Anna Miller's, Nisshodo Candy Store, Maui Tacos and Waioli Tea Room
& Bakery at Salvation Army Waioli Tea Room. Roy Yamaguchi's Roy's and various
cookbooks promoting Hawaiian regional cuisine have also helped popularize
Hawaiian cuisine and Hawaiian fusion cuisine.
Ingredients[edit]
Vegetables, fruits and nuts[edit]
Spam musubi, a fusion of Japanese sushi that uses fried Spam instead of raw fish.
Spam was brought to Hawaii with American GIs and popularized on the islands.
Spam musubi was developed in the 1980s
The Hormel company's canned meat product Spam has been highly popular in
Hawaii for decades. Hawaiians are the second largest consumers of Spam in the
world, right behind Guam.[37] Originally brought to Hawaii by American servicemen
in their rations,[38] Spam became an important source of protein for locals after
fishing around the islands was prohibited during World War II.[5] In 2005, Hawaiians
consumed more than five million cans of Spam.[37]
Spam is used in local dishes in a variety of ways, most commonly fried and served
with rice. For breakfast, fried eggs are often served with spam.[37] Spam can also
be wrapped in ti and roasted, skewered and deep fried,[5] or stir-fried with cabbage.
[37] It is added to saimin and fried rice, mashed with tofu, or served with cold
smen or baked macaroni and cheese. It is also used in chutney for pupus, in
sandwiches with mayonnaise, or baked with guava jelly.[37] Spam musubi, a slice of
fried Spam upon a bed of rice wrapped with a strip of nori, is a popular snack in
Hawaii which found its way onto island sushi menus in the 1980s.[37]
Beef[edit]
In the 19th century, John Parker brought over Mexican cowboys to train the
Hawaiians in cattle ranching.[18] The Hawaiian cowboys of Kamuela and Kula came
to be called paniolos. Cattle ranching grew rapidly for the next one hundred years.
In 1960, half of the land in Hawaii was devoted to ranching for beef export, but by
1990 the number had shrunk to 25 percent.[39] The paniolos chewed pipikaula
("beef rope"), a salted and dried beef that resembles beef jerky.[40] Pipikaula would
usually be broiled before serving.[41] With the influence of Asian cooking, beef
strips are commonly marinated in soy sauce.[40] When beef is dried in the sun, a
screened box is traditionally used to keep the meat from dust and flies. Dried meat
could often be found as a relish or appetizer at a lau.[40]
The Pacific blue marlin (kajiki) is barbecued or grilled, but should not be overcooked
due to its very low fat content.[42] The broadbill swordfish (shutome), popular and
shipped all over the mainland United States, is high in fat and its steaks may be
grilled, broiled, or used in stir-fries. The groupers (hapuu) are most often steamed.
The red snapper (onaga) is steamed, poached, or baked. The pink snapper
(opakapaka) has a higher fat, and is steamed or baked, served with a light sauce.
The Wahoo (ono) is grilled or sauted, and the dolphin fish (mahimahi) is usually cut
into steaks and fried or grilled. The moonfish (opah) is used for broiling, smoking, or
making sashimi.
Tako (octopus) poke with tomatoes, green onion, maui onion, soy sauce, sesame oil,
sea salt, chili pepper
Poke is a local cuisine that originally involved preserving raw fish or other seafood
such as octopus with sea salt and rubbing it (lomi) with seasonings or cutting it into
small pieces. Seasonings made of seaweed, kukui nut, and sea salt were
traditionally used for the Hawaiian poke. Since first contact with Western and Asian
cultures, scallions, chili peppers, and soy sauce have become common additions to
it.[44] Poke is different from sashimi, since the former is usually rough-cut and piled
onto a plate, and can be made with less expensive pieces of fish.[45]
During the early 1970s, poke became an appetizer to have with beer or to bring to a
party.[46]
Spices[edit]
Showing the island's Asian influence, teriyaki has become the most popular way of
treating meats, including Spam.[28] Other common Asian spices include five-spice
powder from China, wasabi and Shoyu (soy sauce) from Japan, and bagoong from
the Philippines. Types of spices local for Hawaii cuisine include aloha shoyu, huli-huli
sauce, and chili pepper water.
Dishes[edit]
Main article: List of Hawaiian dishes
A loco moco plate lunch, with fried saimin and macaroni salad
Chicken long rice - Chicken cooked with chicken broth, ginger, green onions, and
long rice
Kalua Pig - Pulled pork with marinated, steamed cabbage
Crack seed
Lau lau - Steamed fish and pork wrapped in taro leaves and a ti leaf, also can
include chicken, chicken-only, or pork-only
Loco moco - Hamburger patties served with gravy and topped with two eggs
Lomi salmon - Sushi-grade salmon cubed combined with tomatoes, Maui onions,
and chili pepper
Malasada - Portuguese donut deep fried and coated with sugar
Manapua - Pidgin for cha siu bao, bao usually filled with char siu
Mochi, a Japanese glutinous rice dessert
Musubi
Opihi, edible limpets Cellana sandwicensis and Cellana exarata
Pasteles
Poi - Mashed taro root
Portuguese sweet bread
Saimin - Noodle soup dish with various meats or dumplings introduced from
Portugal.[47]
Squid lu'au
Spam musubi
Wonton saimin
Drinks[edit]
Kava (Piper methysticum) (awa) is a traditional soporific beverage of Oceania
thought to have originated in Vanuatu.[48] In modern times, kava bars have
experienced some popularity in Hawaii, with commercial kava plantations on Maui,
Molokai, Kauai, and Oahu.
Alcoholic beverages[edit]
Hawaiian beer is represented by the largest brewpub in the state, Kona Brewing
Company. From 1901-1998, "Primo" was one of the most popular Hawaiian beers,
and as of 2008, has returned to production, though it is now brewed in California.
Historically, craft beers (microbrews) have been slow to take off in Hawaii due to a
restrictive state law on brewpub sales. However, the law changed in 2003, and
growlers are now available. The Maui Brewing Co. is the largest Hawaiian packaged
beer brewer.[21] (see also List of breweries in Hawaii).
See also[edit]
Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on
Cuisine of Hawaii
Oceanic cuisine
List of American regional and fusion cuisines
Flag of Hawaii.svgHawaii portal Foodlogo2.svgFood portal Glass of wine.pngWine
portal Projet bire logo v2.pngBeer portal Goblet Glass (Banquet).svgDrink portal
Notes[edit]
a. ^ Food historian Rachel Laudan (1996) on four distinct types of food plus a new,
fifth type known as "Hawaiian Regional Cuisine" (HRC) that began in 1992. Because
HRC was so new at the time of Laudan's book, she only briefly touches upon it: "I
came to understand that what people in Hawaii eat is a mixture of four distinct
kinds of food, introduced at distinct periods, but now all coexisting. The first three
reflect the three diasporas that have terminated in Hawaii: the great marine
diaspora of the Pacific Islanders that probably reached the Hawaiian Islands
sometime in the third century A.D..; the European voyages of discovery that finally
came upon the Islands in the late eighteenth century; and the long migration of the
Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Koreans, Filipinos, and lately, Southeast Asians,
most of whom came to work on the plantations. From these diverse traditions, a
fourth, an East-West-Pacific food, is now being created, known in the Islands as
Local Food.[50] [...] But there is another cuisine in the Islands that attracts
attention, Hawaii Regional Cuisine...[it] was created by forces quite different from
those that drive Local Food...although the forces creating Hawaii Regional Cuisine
and Local Food were different, their current cross-fertilization can be nothing but
mutually beneficial, creating a firm regional base for the cuisine of the restaurants
and increasing sophistication for the cuisine of the home and the street."[51]
b. ^ The early settlement history of Hawaii is not completely resolved. One theory
is that the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaii in the third century from the
Marquesas and were followed by Tahitian settlers in 1300 AD who conquered the
original inhabitants. Another is that there was an extended period of contact but not
necessarily for a Tahitian invasion.[52]
c. ^ Men and women ate their meals separately to preserve the distinction between
male and female mana, which was thought to be blurred by both sexes handling the
same food. In addition, some foods were forbidden to women, such as pork, certain
kinds of fish and most types of bananas.[9]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Laudan 1996, pp. 173-175,
^ Jump up to: a b c Laudan 1996, p. 216.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Nenes 2007, p. 478.
Jump up ^ "Gardening at the Edge: Documenting the Limits of Tropical Polynesian
Kumara Horticulture in Southern New Zealand", University of Canterbury
^ Jump up to: a b c d Nenes 2008, p. 479.
^ Jump up to: a b c Brennan 2000, pp. 135138. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name
"Brennan135" defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
Jump up ^ Adams 2006, pp. 9092.
Jump up ^ Brennan 2000, p. 139.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Kane 1998, p. 53.
Jump up ^ Choy & Cook 2003, pp. 1213.
Jump up ^ Pukui & Elbert 1986, pp. 214.
^ Jump up to: a b c Schwabe 1979, p. 171.
^ Jump up to: a b Choy & Cook 2003, p. 16.
Jump up ^ Brennan 2000, pp. 271273.
Jump up ^ Corum 2000, p. 3.
Jump up ^ HRHAS 1850, pp. 4546.
Jump up ^ Loomis 2006, p. 8.
^ Jump up to: a b c Barnes 1999, pp. 2728.
Jump up ^ Paul 2003, p. 253.
Jump up ^ Miller, Bazore & Robbins 2002, p. 30.
^ Jump up to: a b Adams 2007, The Honolulu Advertiser
Kamakau, Samuel M. (1992), The Works of the People of Old, Honolulu, HI: Bishop
Museum Press, ISBN 0-910240-18-3.
Kane, Herb Kawainui (1998), Ancient Hawaii, Kawainui Press, ISBN 0-943357-03-9.
Kirch, Patrick Vinton (2001), On the Road of the Winds: an Archaeological History of
the Pacific Islands Before European Contact, University of California Press, ISBN 0520-23461-8.
Kulick, Don; Meneley, Anne (2005), "Spam in History", Fat: the Anthropology of an
Obsession, Tarcher, ISBN 1-58542-386-6.
Laudan, Rachel (1996), The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii's Culinary Heritage,
Seattle: University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 0-8248-1778-8.
Long, Lucy M. (2003), Culinary Tourism, University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0-81312292-9.
Loomis, Ilima (2006), Rough Riders: Hawaii's Paniolo and Their Stories, Island
Heritage Publishing, ISBN 1-59700-017-5.
MacCaughey, Vaughan (1918), Shreve, Forrest, ed., "The Native Bananas of the
Hawaiian Islands", The Plant World (Baltimore, MD: Plant World Association, Wild
Flower Preservation Society) 21: 112.
Malo, David (2005), Hawaiian Antiquities, Honolulu, HI: Bishop Museum Press, ISBN
0-910240-15-9.
Miller, Cary D.; Bazore, Katherine; Robbins, Ruth C. (2002), Some Fruits of Hawaii:
Their Composition, Nutritive Value and Use in Tested Recipes, University Press of the
Pacific, ISBN 1-4102-0347-6.
Miller, Sally M.; Latham, A.J.H; Flynn, Dennis Owen (1998), Studies in the Economic
History of the Pacific Rim, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-14819-7.
Nenes, Michael F. (2007), "Cuisine of Hawaii", American Regional Cuisine, Wiley,
ISBN 0-471-68294-2.
Philpotts, Kaui (2004), Great Chefs of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii: Mutual Publishing,
ISBN 1-56647-595-3.
Piianaia, Nancy (September 2007), "Poke: Hawaii's "Numbah One" Choice", Waimea
Gazette, retrieved 2007-11-13.
Pollock, Nancy J. (Apr 1986), "Food Classification in Three Pacific Societies: Fiji,
Hawaii, and Tahiti", Ethnology (University of Pittsburgh) 25 (2): 107117,
doi:10.2307/3773663, JSTOR 3773663.
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