by Joan Namkoong

Certain places immediately conjure up food associations: New Orleans and gumbo; Chicago and steak; Kansas City and barbecue; San Francisco and sourdough bread; Korea and kimchee; Japan and sushi; France and butter sauces; Italy and pasta.

So what do you think of when you say Hawai‘i? Is it kālua pig and poi, poke, two scoops rice and mac salad, pūlehu beef, manapua, saimin, Spam musubi, li hing mui, malassadas or all of the above? Is there a “Hawai‘i Cuisine?” That’s the question I posed to chefs, foodies, food writers and friends. Surely there is a Hawai‘i Cuisine, I thought, but what are the signature ingredients, flavors and textures that identify it? Knowing that there was no single food or dish that could represent everything we eat, I asked for five that could be served to someone from Mars that would represent Hawai‘i Cuisine. The answers I got were deliciously diverse.

Yes, there is a Hawai‘i Cuisine. But defining it in a few words is difficult, because it is a reflection of who we are as a society, a hodgepodge of ethnic peoples and cultures with different food cultures. On this there is agreement: Hawai‘i Cuisine represents all the ethnic groups that populate our Island state, reaching back to the early Polynesians, whalers, missionaries and plantation-worker immigrants to more recent immigrants from throughout the world.

There is also consensus that Hawai‘i Cuisine is not Hawaiian cuisine— poi, kālua pig, laulau, lomi salmon. Rather, this Hawaiian menu is an important part of Hawai‘i Cuisine, reflecting our Polynesian origins. Dozens of ethnic groups have come here, bringing ingredients of their own, utilizing ingredients found here, adapting them to their own preparations and evolving them to popular taste. “Ingredients define the cuisine,” says foodie Marianne Schultz. It is this fusion of ingredients and cooking styles that defines Hawai‘i Cuisine today.

Perhaps the most prominent ingredient in Hawai‘i Cuisine is fish, specifically ‘ahi. Eaten raw as sashimi or poke or seared on the edges, “cooked” in lime juice as a ceviche or grilled, ‘ahi and its myriad preparations combine Japanese, Hawaiian, South Pacific and Western food styles. Other fish, such as snappers, figure prominently in Hawai‘i Cuisine, too, especially prepared Chinese style, steamed and garnished with soy sauce, ginger, green onions, hot oil and perhaps black beans. If you had to define Hawai‘i Cuisine in one word, fish would be it.

Fruit might be the second word. We’re not talking about just pineapple; in fact, pineapple as an ingredient does not define Hawai‘i Cuisine. Rather, fruits such as mango, papaya, lychee, star fruit, pohā and more are recognized for their bright, intense flavors, which punctuate savory and sweet preparations. Tropical fruit is not used for its uniqueness and novelty but rather for the flavor quality it brings to a dish that comes with local production.

The same can be said for vegetables and herbs in Hawai‘i, a flavorful reminder of our plantation past and the evolving agricultural scene, which has widened the scope of edibles in our midst. Niche products like hearts of palm, avocados, heirloom tomatoes, goat cheese, chocolate, coffee and vanilla define our cuisine, too.

When it comes to the seasonings and flavors that define Hawai‘i Cuisine, it is the flavors of East Asia—Chinese, Japanese, Korean—that dominate our pantry. Think soy sauce, garlic, ginger, green onions, sesame oil and seeds. Southeast Asian flavors, especially Thai and Vietnamese—lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal, fish sauce—take on a prominent role, too. But overriding these seasonings is our love for three S’s: salt, sugar and spice.

In the salt department, shoyu (soy sauce) dominates the flavor profile of Hawai‘i Cuisine. This soybean product, originally from China but refined in Japan, is the key to dishes such as teriyaki, poke, kalbi, steamed fish and just about anything that begs a little salt for a savory taste.

Saltiness, though, is always tempered by sweetness in Hawai‘i Cuisine. In fact, the Hawai‘i palate prefers sweetness, played out in the many marinades and sauces that are used with beef, pork, chicken and fish. “Hawai‘i is heavy on the sugar. People gravitate to a higher sugar-to-shoyu ratio, and the palate is getting sweeter,” says chef Kelvin Ro.

Perhaps it’s a well-planned technique among cooks. “Sweet makes you go for a second bite,” says chef Sam Choy. “Then you get the salt and you want to go back to sweet.” But when it comes to baked goods, subtle sweetness is preferred to sugary sweetness, as found in a custard or banana pie, a chocolate dobash or dream cake, or Portuguese sweetbread.

Add spiciness to Hawai‘i’s flavor profile. Tabasco is ubiquitous on the tables and counters of diners and takeout restaurants; chili pepper water is de rigeur on fine-dining tables. Wasabi often shows up in mashed potatoes and butter sauces. Korean kimchee is well loved and no doubt the fiery heat of Thai food is one of its finer points. We’re not shy about our flavors; we like zing and piquancy but we want it well handled and balanced.

To absorb the bold flavors, we turn to yet another S: starch. Sticky white rice is the defining starch of Hawai‘i; poi and taro, the traditional starch of the Hawaiian table, are still important. But noodles fried or in broth, sweet potatoes, sushi, pastas and breads all play roles in ameal and two or three on a plate is not unusual.

Texturally, Hawai‘i Cuisine is a contrast of crunchy and soft. We like crunchy morsels that are fried to perfection and we can’t refuse crispy Chinese wonton or gau gee, Japanese panko-encrusted katsu, Vietnamese spring rolls, Filipino lumpia, contemporary nutcrusted sautéed fish preparations and Chinese-style roast pork with its layer of crackling skin.We like to stir fry vegetables and keep them crunchy; we like to sear things over high heat to relish the crispy edges.

But we like soft, creamy textures, too, like silky custard pies, rich haupia, smooth goat cheese, unctuous mac salad, velvety squid lū‘au, tender beef and soft potatoes in a beef stew.When it comes to bread, crusty European-style loaves are secondary to soft, squishy ones. “Hawai‘i loves soft bread, so soft you can squeeze it in your hand to make a ball,” says chef AlanWong.

Crunchy and creamy are usually indicators of fat and we don’t shy away from fatty foods (though we’re trying to). “When you eat a malassada (a sugar-coated, egg-rich, fried, Portuguese hole-less doughnut), it’s not about the sugar coating; you’re going for the fat,” says chef Peter Merriman.

A good laulau has to have its share of fatty pork; tempura, fried akule, deep-fried garlicky chicken wings and pork chops, and other golden fried foods are ever present on our plates. We like the creamy richness of mayonnaise—the key ingredient of a good mac salad—and the more bountiful the better. And we like to dip our fried foods in mayonnaise-based sauces, spiked perhaps with chili or wasabi.

Cooking techniques run the gamut in Hawai‘i Cuisine, borrowing again from our cultural past. Chinese steaming and stir frying, raw and seared fish preparations borrowed from Japan, deep frying from Portugal, and roasting, braising, baking and saucery techniques from European and American culinary traditions all play roles in this multicultural food heaven. But every cook—at home, at a café or at a five-star restaurant—has his or her own style and individual stamp on a dish.

Another trait of Hawai‘i Cuisine is oversized portions. Sometimes looked upon with disdain, others see it as two meals for the price of one. Witness the local-style manapua, an oversized version of the Chinese char siu bao, or cone sushi, three times larger than the diminutive Japanese inari sushi. But perhaps it is more than just quantity. “The Hawai‘i thing is oversized, reflecting our spirit of generosity and abundance,” suggests Melanie Kosaka.

So, in a nutshell, how does one define Hawai‘i Cuisine?

It’s a contemporary cuisine based on nostalgic cultural roots, focused on fish and products of the land prepared with salty, sweet and spicy enhancements of Asia. It utilizes techniques from around the world and it’s served in generous portions. The essence of Hawai‘i Cuisine can be found in a meal of fresh Island fish (poke, seared ‘ahi or Chinesestyle steamed fish), a Hawaiian plate (kālua pork, poi, lomi salmon, laulau, chicken long rice), grilled beef (pūlehu, kalbi or teriyaki style), a stir fry or salad of fresh Island greens and other edibles, and a variety of tropical fruit in savory or sweet preparations.

Hawai‘i Cuisine is truly a world cuisine, one that reflects history, culture and an array of good eats.

JOAN NAMKOONG is a freelance writer and an organizer of farmers’ markets and food events. She is the author of Food
Lover’s Guide to Honolulu; Go Home, Cook Rice and Family Traditions in Hawai‘i.