The Hawaii Pantry: Essential, Specialities, Glossary
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By Corinne Domingo

"When people think of Hawaiian cuisine, they think of poi, kalua pig, haupia," says Sam Choy, owner of several award-winning Hawaii restaurants and author of Sam Choy's Island Flavors (Hyperion, 1999), citing classic lu'au food. "But that's only part of what we do now."

Choy is one of 12 chefs who created Hawaiian Regional Cuisine (HRC), a culinary movement that changed eating in the islands. Fifteen years ago, many restaurants in Hawaii cooked with frozen fish and imported produce, and travel writers used to say that if you wanted great food, you had to bring it with you. Working with local farmers, the HRC chefs increased the use of locally grown produce, meats and seafood. This has provided one-of-a-kind items such as Puna goat cheese, Waimanalo salad greens, Kahuku prawns and the freshest catch from the surrounding waters. "Hawaiian cuisine is unique because it comes from the 'aina," or land, Choy says. "We wanted to make sure that when people came here, they had a true taste of Hawaii."

Hawaiian food can be best described as the original fusion cuisine. The islands are a melting pot of many different cultures, from Asian to European to Hawaiian, and their different cuisines have blended over the generations. These homestyle dishes, such as shoyu chicken, teri beef and mahimahi curry, are highlighted in the popular "plate lunch," a sort of Hawaiian blue-plate special served with rice and macaroni salad.

"Up until a few years ago, no one wanted to bring out the local-style food. But now, restaurants are lifting it to the next level," says Choy. Examples include Choy's sesame-macadamia nut crusted mahimahi topped with coconut cream spinach sauce, or HRC chef Alan Wong's ginger-crusted onaga with corn, mushrooms and miso-sesame vinaigrette.

But restaurants aren't the only place to get good food. Locals love to "grind," as they call eating, and there is a lot to enjoy. Manapua, a steamed bun filled with Chinese barbecued pork; saimin, a Japanese noodle soup; malassadas, Portuguese sugared donuts and pipikaula, Hawaiian-style jerked beef, are all popular snacks. If you're feeling adventurous, try Spam musubi, a slice of teriyaki-flavored Spam fried and wrapped sushi-style with rice. It's more than popular--Hawaii consumes five million pounds of Spam every year, the most in the nation.

Another popular "grind" is poke, a traditional Hawaiian dish featuring sliced raw fish or seafood mixed with seaweed, salt, chile peppers and 'inamona, which are roasted, salted and ground kukui nuts. Choy has noticed more mainland chefs using poke in their dishes, which makes him proud. "Sushi and sashimi are household names, but poke is truly Hawaiian," he says.

For more traditional Hawaiian fare, nothing can beat the lu'au. Originally known as an 'aha'aina or pa'ina, this celebratory gathering got its current name from the taro leaves, also called lu'au, that are served at the festivities. Taro leaves are cooked with squid and coconut milk (known as squid lu'au), and are also used to wrap meats and fish, which are then steamed to make laulau. Kalua pig, slow-cooked in an imu--a traditional underground pit oven--and poi, a dish of mashed, cooked taro root, are both classics. Less traditional but standard fare are chicken long rice (ginger-flavored chicken with bean thread noodles) and lomi salmon (diced salted salmon mixed with tomatoes and Maui onions). Classic sides include different types of limu (seaweed), fresh 'opihi (a prized limpet), poke, imu-cooked sweet potatoes and bananas--and for dessert, haupia, a thick coconut pudding.

With such a wide array of culinary influences and fresh ingredients, it's no wonder that locals often declare, "Lucky you live Hawaii!" Choy agrees, declaring, "Once you've tasted the food of Hawaii and eat elsewhere, the food tastes naked. The flavors here are explosive."