This article was published in Sanlian Life Weekly, No. 4, 2017, and the original title was "Visiting Hawaii, 10 Must-Try Snacks"
The meal is half full so that there is room for a snack. In multicultural Hawaii, there is also a variety of snacks.
Ono seafood's sashimi cubes are very popular
The natives of Hawaii eat raw fish, which they cut into small pieces and mix with sea salt, roasted stone chestnut fruit chips (inamona) and twigs of seaweed (limu). But today's popular way of eating with spices such as soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, and ginger is clearly influenced by Asian cooking, which appeared in the 1970s. Hawaiian natives used to eat reef fish more, and Japanese immigrants brought the habit of eating deep-sea fish. The Japanese sashimi is thin and thick, but the sashimi is more casual.
ono seafood is a place that specializes in eating mixed raw fish nuggets. Its storefront is only five or six square meters, with two wooden tables at the door, and it looks crowded at any time. Tuna (ahi) and tako are the main ones. Fresh tuna is 40% more expensive than frozen, and it's normal for a slightly higher price here. In addition to the classic soy sauce (the store specifically notes that it is a secret sauce), the mayonnaise with flying caviar sauce is also worth a try, it will give the raw fish nuggets a smooth and delicate texture. The way to eat the sashimi rice bowl is a bit strange for Chinese, so it is better to order the smallest portion of 0.25 pounds separately and pack it up and take it away. Find a scenic spot with a Hawaiian longboard beer or a tropical juice made of local aloha.
There are many kinds of raw fish cubes to mix, and you can add different sauces
The magenta brothers in the kekaulike wet market in Chinatown are less well known, and they are the secrets of poke lovers. To find it, you need to walk through the freezer covered with chicken feet, not get lost in the smell of spices, and have the courage to face the smiling pig's head. The stall is run by a pair of Japanese twin brothers. Every morning at 5 o'clock they go to the fish market for auction and buy the freshest tuna to serve here and another sushi restaurant. This practice is not common in ordinary family shops, which shows how fast their fish are flowing. Yellowtail (hamachi) is a specialty of his family, which is a particularly plump and warm fish. The addition of ume to the mixture is unique and creative, and the fat feeling is gone.
Eating shaved ice at mat-sumoto's home allows you to enjoy the picturesque views of Oahu's north coast at the same time
There is a thing called snow cone in the United States, which is often sold in the playground and is a favorite of children. It's actually a hard ball made of shaved ice, placed in a cylinder and poured with tri-color syrup. Just like the orange soda in a glass bottle, it probably can awaken people's childhood memories when the substance is not rich, so it has been prosperous for a long time. Shaved ice in Hawaii is much more elaborate than that. It originated in the plantation era, and it was a comfort for workers to be able to eat a bowl of ice at the end of the day's work. In the 1930s, Japanese immigrants brought sophisticated shaved ice machines that could make more smooth and soft ice chips that allowed the syrup to penetrate evenly, and this shaved ice became popular. "Hawaiian shaved ice" became a symbol of Hawaii. If you see the "Hawaiian shaved ice" brand in the United States, it must be emphasizing that the quality of its home is different.
Among the many shaved ice shops, waiola can stand out in terms of the delicate texture of shaved ice and the variety of flavors. Watching the ice chips fall like fine snow is a cool feeling. Jerry Lee, a Taiwanese owner who took over the waiola grocery store in 1984, shaved ice was just one of the humble window snacks. He continued to improve the machine process, adding tropical fruits such as star fruit, lychee, papaya, passion fruit, as well as condensed milk, red beans, vanilla ice cream balls and Japanese mochi and other self-selected combinations, and slowly waiola accumulated word of mouth. While eating shaved ice, you can also visit the grocery store section of Waiola, which is a southern Chinese cold fruit shop. Rows of glass jars filled with plums, olives, tangerine peels, preserved apricots and other cold fruits, and with just a few coins the owner will wrap them in a clear plastic paper and hand them to you — an old business that is almost found in the old southern cities, but is very common in Hawaii.
The machines at waiola shaved ice shop have been improved by the owner, and the taste of shaved ice is particularly delicate
If you're hopping around Oahu, make sure to stop in the north shore town of Haleiwa for a visit to Massunmoto's shaved ice shop, where local families living in Honolulu drive during the holidays. It's actually inferior to the texture, but it wins out in the atmosphere: Haleiwa is a picturesque ship harbor with an abundance of beach parks, and is the best place to watch the giant cylindrical waves. When you're looking at the coast and your mouth is dry, matsumoto's is rightly there. Holding a classic hybrid "rainbow" in your hand is the most complete tropical experience.
You may be wondering about char siu buns in Hawaii. With no filling at a glance, how could this huge "steamed bun" share the same name as The Char Siu Bun in Guangdong? Cantonese-style char siu buns will be pinched tightly like buns when closed, harvested into a "bird cage shape", and the mouth of the bun is not sealed, made into a "harvest tuk", which is convenient for diners to tear open and eat, and the color and aroma of meat are also unobstructed. Hawaiian ones are much more reserved, the char siu meat is wrapped deep in the fermented dough, the first bite down thought it was a bun, and then another bite will surprise, it turned out to be a bun!
However, this may be a kind of "return to basics". Cantonese-style char siu buns originated from the flowering steamed buns in the north, Cantonese people do not like to eat white noodles dry and stuttering, so they put char siu into it, and over time, the proportion of the filling prevails. In the wave of immigration in the 19th century, more than 50,000 Chinese came to Hawaii's plantations, and the heavy labor made them need a food that was endemic. As a result, the amount of meat in the char siu bun in the hometown has not changed, but the noodles have become more and more, and the size has also become larger. At that time, hawkers carried baskets containing char siu buns on their shoulders with ropes and walked the streets and alleys, selling this inexpensive food. In this way, the char siu bun took root and won the favor of the locals.
Today, char siu buns still have a steady stream of customers, but the peddlers are no longer sleeping in the wind. It doesn't have to be just a food that "remembers bittersweetly". After modification, the dough of the char siu bun is sweet and has a wheat flavor, and the meat is more juicy. Of the many shops in Chinatown that sell char hung buns, the most famous is the char hung sut that opened in 1945. Char siu buns and a pork filling in full amount are the daily sales champions. The shop also maintains the simple workshop appearance of the former shop and the back factory, and the third generation of shopkeepers and their families are busy together. Another sing cheong yuan bakery's baked golden char siu bun is also recommended.
Leonard's Bakery has some of Hawaii's best Portuguese donuts
Just as Portuguese missionaries brought fried tempura to Japan in the 16th century, the Portuguese, who worked as plantation workers in the 19th century, brought fried bread to Hawaii. Most of the Portuguese who worked on sugar cane plantations at that time were Catholics, and before Lent, which lasted for 40 days and could only eat light food, they had to eliminate eggs, milk, sugar, flour and other ingredients. The sum of these sweet ingredients is a Portuguese donut with no hole in the middle. Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, is a time to enjoy them. The Portuguese distributed them to their plantation companions, and Confession Tuesday effortlessly transcended religion to become what is now the Portuguese donut festival (malasada day).
The freshly fried donuts are unusually soft and filled with a thick filling
After waiting in line for half a day in Leonard's bakery, he took the pink carton handed by the clerk who was slightly exuding heat, and he couldn't hold back his excitement. Bagels must be eaten out of the pan. It is extremely soft to knead, and when it is torn open, it finds that the dough is very elastic, and each hole formed by fermentation emits heat and aroma. The original bagels are the best way to feel the softness of the dough, and then you can try the two flavors wrapped in cinnamon sugar and "travel plum" powder (li hing). The stuffing is to be left at the end, and the hot and thick coconut milk (haupia) flows out of it and hurriedly puts it in the mouth, feeling as if the baby has kissed the cheek and the heart is about to melt.
In Hawaii, there are a thousand ways to eat luncheon meat, and the most common is a lunch meat sushi wrapped in seaweed. Of course, you can choose to buy a random piece at the convenience store, and the pre-fried lunch meat is served with cold rice balls. But for foodies, even simple food should be pursued to the extreme. It's time to find Hawaii's best luncheon meat sushi and test the spirit of a foodie.
Musubi café iyasume is such a "fussy" place. The entire wall introduces the types of lunch meat sushi in 15 shops, including various combinations of Kimchi, Perilla leaves, bacon, cheese, and avocado. For the basic lunch meat sushi, the store will explain in detail that it uses a California-made tamaki rice, which is known for its fullness and elasticity; lunch meat is made of a healthier, low-salt type (no more than 25% sodium). What's special is that the lunch meat here is fried golden on both sides, and then marinated in a seasoning with sugar, soy sauce and sweet rice wine, reheated and then placed on a rice ball made of freshly steamed rice. Despite the high calories, the sourness of sushi vinegar and the sweetness of lunch meat are a good creation. And looking around, you will also lament that this is a pilgrimage place for lunch meat sushi maniacs: canvas bags printed with its pattern, lunch meat sushi refrigerator stickers, etc., and even a "lazy" tool for cutting lunch meat - put the whole piece of lunch meat inside, it will be divided into 9 pieces equally.
Hawaii is probably the most popular place in the world for lunch meat, and lunch meat sushi can be found everywhere
There are "fans" of lunch meat all over the world, and perhaps people are grateful for this food that saves people from danger. It was first a product of the Great Depression in the United States. In 1932, homel, Wisconsin's meat products, suffered heavy losses, and Jay, the son of the owner, invented a type of artificial meat to reverse the loss and allow poor people to buy meat to eat. He mixed a small amount of pork shoulder meat with a lot of potato starch, added oil and salt, and made a lumpy minced meat, which is lunch meat. During World War II, lunch meat followed the U.S. military out of the country and became an important military supplies. In Hawaii, after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the fishing industry on which Japanese immigrants depended was strictly prohibited in order to prevent the Japanese from being sent to the Japanese army. Guarding the sea but not eating fish, the burden of replenishing protein falls on the shoulders of lunch meat. Canned foods with a similar fate to Hormel luncheon meat include vienna sausage, coral tuna, and libby's corned beef, all of which are still common on Hawaiian tables.
Although it is called "macadamia nut", its hometown is not Hawaii. In the mid-19th century, botanist Müller and Hill, the owner of the Botanical Gardens in Brisbane, Australia, discovered a tall fruit tree bearing nuts in the lowland rainforest of Queensland, Australia, and named it macadamia integrifolia. Hill is preparing to breed the plant inside the Botanical Garden. Out of curiosity, the assistant ate the nuts that were thought to be highly toxic, but they were unharmed, claiming that they were delicious. Hill tried it too, and sure enough, he gave the fruit tree to friends around the world. At the end of the 19th century, it was introduced to Hawaii as a sugar cane windbreak. As a result, it was found that the root system of the tree was not deep, it was not resistant to wind, and only the nut oil was moist and fragrant. Hawaii's abundant sunshine and abundant rain make it a good fit for this fruit tree. As a result, it became popular in the United States and was given the name hawaii nut.
Macadamia nut shells are difficult to open and need to be cut with special tools
The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory on the Big Island is a famous macadamia nut factory hidden behind the macadamia nut road. In the factory, you can visit the whole process of nuts from young plants to factory, and you can also taste more than a dozen flavors of nut samples for free. The "Island Classics" series is a local flavor that is not easy to buy in imported supermarkets in The country, including Maui onions and garlic, Hawaiian sea salt, Kona coffee and several kinds.
If you eat nuts without feeling, it is difficult to resist for macadamia nut products. Because of its natural oil aroma, it is very suitable for desserts. The nut factory's dessert shop includes delicious macadamia fruit vanilla ice cream and crispy chocolate popsicles stained with macadamia nut crumbles. Hawaii's homegrown coffee brand, honolulu coffee, can drink macadamia nut-flavored lattes. On the north coast of Oahu, after tasting the garlic shrimp, you can also bring a piece of ted's bakery pineapple macadamia cheesecake.
If you're heading to the north shore of Oahu in search of the famous giovanni's shrimp cart, keep an eye out — since shrimp carts became popular in 1993, similar imitators have appeared nearby. Driving along the ring road from Honolulu to the outskirts of the small town of Kahuku, white food trucks are dormant in the grass on the side of the road. Giovanni's is marked by its doodles all over its body, which are left by people from all over the world with their shrimp-eating experiences. And, of course, there's a team that winds through a few bends. Like the nearby massuma's shaved ice shop, garlic shrimp's fame can't be explained purely in terms of taste, even though its quality isn't bad. People come to Hawaii expecting sun, sand, ice drinks and seafood, and giovanni's satisfies the psyche. It's just that the shrimp don't come from the sea, but from a nearby pond. In 1975, Hawaii began to develop aquaculture, and the north shore of Oahu is an important base.
Garlic shrimp have two kinds of heads, led and not led, each with its own flavor
Marinate the prawns with minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and butter and put in a pan of oil. As the garlic turns golden, the enticing aroma spreads. A classic prawn set consists of 12 shrimp, two spoonfuls of rice, and a lemon horn. Be sure to tell each other to add more garlic! The crispy, shrimp-soaked garlic is a good accompaniment to rice. The second-ranked spicy shrimp sauce is particularly marked with "no refund, no change", because local peppers can really make people's brains excited. Sitting on a lunch chair and eating shrimp, nearby seabirds will come and share, you need to be vigilant.
The only thing that can compete with Giovanni's is another shrimp shop nearby called Romy's. The difference is that the garlic will be fried a little charred and a little bitter. But its shrimp have a head and come with two secret sauces. Dipping it in crispy shrimp head is another flavor.
Pineapple doesn't represent the full character of Hawaiian cuisine, but it does tell the story of history. It is a traditional crop in Hawaii, and pineapple plantations once spread across the islands, the largest of which is the dole plantation north of Oahu's wahiawa, part of the dole food company. From 1851 to the present, Dole is now one of the world's largest multinational groups for the production and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables. It covers almost everything related to fruit, producing canned pineapple juice, juice concentrates, healthy snacks and frozen fruits in addition to fresh fruit. And the most "mysterious" product is hidden in the Dolly Plantation.
Most of the plantations have moved out of Hawaii, and the plantation, first reclaimed by James Dole 150 years ago, is still alive and well. People who have never seen a pineapple grow will still express some curiosity about the way it looks like on top of the plant. There is also the world's largest pineapple field maze. After taking a train tour of the plantation, you can enter a maze of crops such as pineapple trees, banana trees, and mango trees. The labyrinth is intricate, with a total of 2.5 kilometers of sermons. Before entering the maze, get a small card with the maze map on the front and 8 stamped grids on the reverse. After entering the maze, follow the map to find 8 places with stamps, and collect the seals to be successful.
Pineapple ice cream is something to look forward to after the tour. It has no creamy ingredients, the texture is silky, sweet and sour and cool. You can also opt for a "pineapple float" of ice cream in pineapple juice. This ice cream is only served at plantation food stores, some designated stores in Hawaii, and Disneyland in the United States. The recipe for ice cream is the same in several places, but the pineapple chunks that accompany it are the freshest and juicier here.
Abalone is too extravagant to eat as a snack, but in Hawaii, which is rich in products, it can be so willful. The Big Island Abalone Corporation, located on Hawaii's Big Island, is the world's largest abalone farm and the only one in the world that produces abalone from abalone breeding to finished abalone. Their abalone is farmed in the 900-meter deep sea off the coast of Kona, Hawaii's big island. Abalone grown in the cold and pure deep sea, the fleshy elastic teeth do not have any miscellaneous taste, and is the top farmed abalone that is closest to the natural abalone flavor. They offer the freshest abalone to local high-end star restaurants in Hawaii, and there are also direct-to-consumer stores to sell them fresh.
The company's previous kona abalone is a well-known store in Oahu's largest kcc farmers market. Diners are required to wake up early every Saturday between 7.30am and 11am to "catch the market". After the opening of the ala moana center store, it was much more convenient. Steamed abalone, grilled abalone with ginger shallots, buttered garlic abalone and a bowl of ironed seafood abalone porridge are all in line with Chinese appetite.
The Hilton Resort offers purpleberry shakes and energy bars for breakfast
Ever since I had a Brazilian Purple Berry Xib for breakfast at the Hilton Hawaiian village on Oahu, I've been fascinated by it. When I inquired, I learned that this wildberry drink, which originated in Brazil, has become popular in Hawaii and has become a new representative of Hawaiian cuisine.
A cup of PurpleBerry Past is a microcosm of Hawaii's stunning tropical landscape. The purple base is covered with fruits, nuts and grains, and the colors are in front of you. It's not just about color that acai purpleberries are said to be one of the world's highest sources of antioxidants, both anti-aging and immune-boosting, with dairy, fruit and nuts, rich in vitamins and proteins, and a balanced combination of fats and carbohydrates. A full meal without much calorie intake is the new favorite of light food people, and has also entered the training recipes of athletes.
The Acai Purple Berry Smoothie can be combined as you want, and each family has its own characteristics and there is no distinction between high and low. Best known is haleyiwa Bowls, another food shop that has brought the former sugar town of Haleiwa to life after Matsumoto's shaved ice shop. It's just that it doesn't rely on a long history, but on the popularity of the social network Instagram. Blend bowls and smoothies are available here. The smoothie is made by crushing fresh purpleberries, strawberries, bananas and blueberries to make you feel full, while smoothies are made with a paste-like semi-finished product of purpleberries for a sweeter taste. Both are topped with cereal, banana flakes, organic honey and minced coconut meat. The other 10 fruits, including chia seeds, cacao nibs, bee pollen and other rare ingredients can be freely added. Several girls with great looks and figures are busy with daily operations, which is another highlight of the haleyiwa bowls.
(Thanks to food tour tour guide Ryan, international student Sun Di, china daily reporter Xing Yi for their help with this article)