THE TASTE OF

ALOHA
THE CUISINE OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
ALLAN MARK POLENDEY

HAWAIIAN-ASIAN FOOD
Hawaiian-Asian food was brought up into
the culture during the plantation era of
Hawaii. Plantation workers from Asian
brought their local cuisine and it was
reinvented to match the resources that
existed in Hawaii. This food follows the
basis of Asian cooking, the five flavor
senses with a twist of Hawaiian culture.
On the right you can see some of the
Hawaiian-Asian food(top left:
Spammusubi, top right: Manapua,
bottomright: Saimen, bottomleft:
Chicken Katsu

HAWAIIAN-AMERICAN FOOD
Hawaiian-American food was
brought up some time during the
post-contact period. Westerners
would introduce the Hawaiian
people a variety of new livestock
and vegetables that were
combined with the ways of
Hawaiian cooking. On the right
you will see two example of
Hawaiian-American food.(left: beef
stew, right: locomoco).

TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN FOOD

Traditional Hawaiian food existed
during the pre-contact period,
before the arrival of captain cook.
This cuisine was made from
ingredients from the islands and
from the travels of ancient
Polynesians. On the right there is
a picture of a primary Polynesian
dish called poi. Its a dish made
from pounding taro stem till it
becomes a paste of varied
consistencies.

HELENAS HAWAIIAN
FOOD RESTAURANT
This is my favorite place
to go to get Hawaiian
food. My favorite dishes
are :
Kalua pig & cabbage
Laulau
Pipikaula Shortribs

KALUA PIG & CABBAGE

Price: $4.75
For $4.75 you get a pretty substantial bowl
of kalua pig, a pork dish, similar to pulled
pork, traditionally cooked in an underground
oven called an imu, mixed in with tender
cabbage. This dish is delious, the Smokey
and salty kalua pig complements the slight
peppery sweet flavor of the cabbage,
creating a balance in the dish and hitting all
the flavors of the palette.

LAULAU
Price: $4.50
This dish I believe is the pinnacle
of Hawaiian food. For $4.50 you
get a pouch filled with cubes of
salted butterfish and pork shoulder
wrapped in taro leaves, protected
in a wrapping of ti leaves. This
dish is rich, salty and succulent
and the taro leaves are herby and
cut through the richness of
everything lightening the dish a
little.

PIPIKAULA SHORTRIBS
Price: Small: $7.75 - Large: $15.50
Pipikaula is similar to beef jerky, its
marinated meat thats dried then fried. At
Helenas its marinated in a soy sauce base
then hung up to dry and fried. The
pipikaula at Helenas is sweet and salty,
the outside it crispy and the insides are
nice and tender.

THE HAWAIIAN PLATE REPRESENTS THE

MIXED CULTURE SOCIETY THAT EXISTED IN
HAWAII
The components of a Hawaiian plate lunch consist of food staples from
Asia and Hawaii. One of the main components, rice, is a food staple of
Asian cultures and can be served with a bountiful of international recipes,
laulau from Hawaii, adobo from the filipines, or chicken katsu from japan.
A plate lunch is a fast way of experiencing modern Hawaiian culture on
one plate.

HAWAIIAN PLATE LUNCHES CONSIST OF RICE

AND A TYPE OF PROTEIN
The main components of a plate lunch is rice and a dish consisting of a
type of protein. Rice is a main ingredient of plate lunches because it was
a inexpensive ways of filling up and the protein would help you work
throughout the day. Now there is another food that is added to the
original equation of rice and protein; macaroni salad, a sort of mayodrenched pasta dish was added to the plate lunch.

HAWAIIAN PLATE LUNCHES WERE BROUGHT

AROUND DURING THE PLANTATION DAYS
The popular Hawaiian plate lunch was created during the plantation day
sand was a popular lunch for the plantation worker. During the
plantation days workers needed something that was filling and on the
cheap, thus the plate lunch was a perfect option. Rice was inexpensive
and filling, then the meat provided some protein to work throughout the
day. The word plate lunch comes from them eating their lunches on
paper plates.