Food + Drink
Hawaii is famous for many things – its surfing, its volcanoes, its laid-back island culture, its wildlife. But there's something else that's special about Hawaii that often goes unrecognized: its cuisine. A blend of the many different cultures which have settled in the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian cuisine represents an interesting fusion of the best flavors of Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
What is “Native” Hawaiian Food and Drink?
Early Polynesian settlers introduced many of the foods that you'll find today at a Hawaiian luau: they introduced coconut, taro (a starchy root), sweet potatoes, and breadfruit. Tahitian settlers brought Hawaii's first bananas. The Polynesians also brought Hawaii's first pigs and chickens, which remain staple meats of the Hawaiian diet today. Of course, seafood was also an important part of the diet of early Hawaiian settlers.
When Captain James Cook came to Hawaii in the late eighteenth century, he brought with him sheep, goats, melons, and pumpkins. A few years later, another European seafarer introduced cattle to Hawaii.
Cuisines from Around the World Immigrate to Hawaii
Thanks to pineapple and sugarcane plantations, Asian migrant workers flocked to Hawaii in the nineteenth century. Chinese immigrants brought stir fry cooking, rice, and a host of Chinese herbs and spices. Koreans brought barbecue pits and kimchi. Japanese immigrants introduced sashimi, sushi, and tempura.
The Portuguese immigrants who came to Hawaii near the end of the nineteenth century built their traditional beehive ovens to make Portuguese sweet bread and malasada, an egg-sized, deep-fried dessert still popular in Hawaii today. They also introduced cooking with tomatoes and chili peppers.
By the early twentieth century, the Hawaiian melting pot included Filipino and Puerto Rican immigrants, bringing with them their own cooking heritages. Today, recent influxes of Thai and Vietnamese immigrants have added even more options to Hawaiian food and drink.
What to Try in Hawaii
With all these delicious cooking influences, Hawaiian food has become an unusual blend that cannot be found outside the islands. From barbecued pork to cubed salmon mixed with tomatoes and chili peppers, there are so many unique Hawaiian dishes that it can be hard for a visiting food connoisseur to know where to start.
A typical day in Hawaii might begin with your morning Kona coffee – that is, the local arabica coffee grown on the slopes of the world's largest volcano, Mauna Loa. Maybe you'll choose the Hawaiian French Toast for breakfast, topped with fresh tropical fruits. For lunch, try a traditional Hawaiian plate lunch, which will include a scoop of white rice, a macaroni salad, and a main entree. Some of the most popular entrees are Asian-style noodles or the “hamburger steak”. The hamburger steak is a hamburger patty on rice, covered with brown gravy. To make that “steak” a Loco Moco, add a fried egg, sunny side up.
At dinner, it will be time to go to a luau. After you put on your lei and have your first Mai Tai, dig in to the pulled pork, salmon, sweet potatoes, and all the tropical fruit you can eat.
Don't worry – with all the hiking, swimming, surfing, and snorkeling you do on your holiday, you won't gain a pound!
Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Joe Solem
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