Hawaii Cuisine & Recipe Blog

A popular Polynesian staple food that is made from the corm or stem of taro, Poi, is among the traditional dishes in the native Hawaiian cuisine. Traditionally, Poi is made by having the cooked corm, either steamed or baked, and then mashed until it turns into a viscous fluid. While mashing, water is added slowly to get the right thick consistency. The consistency of this dish may range from a liquid form to a dough-like consistency.

For some, Poi is called “three-finger”, “two-finger” or “one-finger”, because of how many fingers you will be using whenever you scoop it when eating. Aside from enjoying the dish right after it is prepared to get that natural sweet flavor, some people like leave it out to ferment a little to get a sour flavor. It all depends on how the dish is going to be used and eaten.

Though it has the same texture and preparation method as other dishes Polynesian dishes, it is different from the Samoan poi that is made from mashed ripe bananas and mixed with coconut cream. Also, it must not be confused with the Tahitian po’e that is made from mangoes, bananas, and papaya and is cooked with coconut cream and manioc. “Poi” is made from the pounding of cooked taro.

For slowing down the fermentation process to prevent poi from getting too sour, it should be stored in a dark and cool location or it should be refrigerated. When preparing frozen or chilled poi, it can be drizzled with a little bit of water to prevent the formation of crust.

Stay tuned for a quick and simple Poi recipe.

A popular raw fish salad that is served as a Hawaiian appetizer is called Poke. This term is a Hawaiian verb used for the word “section” or “slicing or cutting.” When making this dish in a traditional way, ahi, aku or any kind of oily tuna is used. The most popular variation of this ahi poke is made using yellowfin tuna. There are various adaptations of this dish using raw salmon and different shellfish as the main ingredient and is also served raw and mixed with the common seasonings used for traditional poke recipe.

This dish was first made by fishermen who seasoned some of the cut-offs of their catch and would serve it as their snack. The traditional seasoning used with the dish is heavily influenced by other Asian cuisines like Japanese cuisine. Its seasoning usually includes a mixture of green onions, sesame oil and soy sauce. Other seasonings include furikake or a combination of dried seaweed, dried fish and sesame seeds, chopped fresh or dried chili pepper, sea salt, limu or seaweed, fish eggs and a lot more.

The traditional way of preparing this dish consists of the fish being gutted skinned and carefully deboned. This is then sliced across its backbone to get the fillet and is served with some traditional condiments like candlenut, limu, sea salt and seaweed.

According to a food historian, poke started to gain popularity in the 1970s and was then served with soy sauce and wasabi. Though this was noted as the early method of preparing the dish and variations are served in different restaurants, there are still places within the Hawaiian islands serving poke this way.

Kalua Pig or slow cooked pig is a popular tourist attraction in many Hawaiian restaurants mainly because of its unique cooking process and also its distinct taste. Traditionally, this dish recipe is prepared with the use of a whole pig being roasted underground. Most of the places where this kind of dish is usually prepared have an underground pit or the imu where the pig or pork is cooked slowly under low to medium heat.

This is usually the most important Continue reading “What is Kalua Pig?” →

Hawaiian cuisine is famous for various dishes that people from different parts of the world love to eat. Laulau is another native dish from Hawaiian cuisine that is traditionally prepared with pork that is wrapped with taro leaf. The old method of preparing this dish is by assembling several luau leaves and putting several pieces of pork and fish in the middle. Today, taro leaves are being used instead of the luau leaves, with salted butterfish and chicken, beef or pork. These are usually cooked through steaming over a stove. This dish is typically lunch dish that is served with macaroni salad and rice on the side. Continue reading “What is a Lau Lau?” →

What is the Loco Moco Dish?

A contemporary Hawaiian cuisine, Loco Moco is traditionally made with white rice and topped with hamburger patty, fried egg and delicious brown gravy. There are already many variations of the dish that includes different ingredients like spam, ham, bacon, chili, teriyaki beef, and other meats just to name a few. Aside from being known as a popular Hawaiian dish, it is also the name of a restaurant chain in Hawaii serving various rice bowl dishes. Continue reading “What is a Loco Moco?” →