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Five food dishes to try in Hawaii (Infographic)

Five-food-dishes-to-try-in-Hawaii-featuredimage2312

If you are looking for suggestions on where you should spend your vacation, it’s no surprise that you would probably hear or read about Hawaii. Who would not want to go to this paradise? Fun activities, festivals, clean white beaches, happy faces– all of these can be seen in Hawaii. But tell you what, the absolute joy of Hawaii can be found in their food.

No doubt that Hawaii is a place where you can completely destress and escape the busy life. But if you want to experience the authentic taste of Hawaii, then you should never miss the chance to have a taste of their local dishes and delicacies.

Traditionally, Hawaiian cuisine mainly consists of vegetables and fruits. Most of these are freshly grown on volcanic islands. Like pork and chicken, fresh fish is also one of the predominant meats in Hawaii. However, as time passed, locals and immigrants from other nations have settled and brought a mixture of new and different flavors, creating a unique fusion of cuisines.

With all these in mind, here are some of the Hawaiian dishes you need to try once you visit the Aloha State.

Five_food_dishes_to_try_in_Hawaii

Kalua Pig

If you are looking for Hawaiian food that is best recommended, the Kalua pig is one of those. This famous pork Hawaiian cuisine is a staple at any Laua. Kalua pig is also among the oldest and most traditional dishes served on a Hawaiian plate.

Hawaiians existed in isolation and possessed only a few edible land animals and plants back in the day. But as time passed by, settlers have brought a few plants to cultivate and animals to domesticate, such as chicken, pig, dog, and such.

This famous pork cuisine is cooked in an imu or an underground oven. The pork is cooked until tender, which usually takes about 6-7 hours. Kalua pig is typically served shredded with cooked cabbage and rice. The pungent wood smoke flavor is what makes this dish more delicious.

Poi

If you are looking for a dish that is low in fat and protein but a great source of calcium and vitamin B, Poi is what you are looking for. This staple Hawaiian dish is a traditional filler starch, and it is described as a thick paste made out of taro roots. These roots are either steamed or baked before being pounded. As these taro roots get pounded, water is added to the mixture to create a purple and sticky consistency.

Taro is considered one of the oldest cultivated crops throughout the islands, and it is also associated with the god Kane. Kane is known to be the life-giver and the creator of water and the sun. Because of this, Poi is considered sacred. And to respect its sacredness, when this dish is served, people are not allowed to speak in anger or argue.

Spam Musubi

If you visit Hawaii, you will probably see spam musubis everywhere. You can pretty much purchase this hearty hunger-fix snack in convenience stores, malls, gas stations, supermarkets, and even some liquor stores. Despite all the inflation, the price of a spam musubi has also relatively stayed the same.

This snack originated in Hawaii during World War II. During these times, the Americans already have a strong military presence in Hawaii. While the American forces went to war with Japan, rations of food, including spam, were deployed to the islands. And because of the spam’s long shelf life and the abundance of this canned good, the locals of Hawaii have created a new culinary fusion. With the help of the large ethnic Japanese population settling in Hawaii, the locals were able to mix the spam and the Japanese seaweed snack nori.

Like the famous Japanese snack, onigiri, the spam is placed on top of the rice and wrapped in a nori sheet. This snack has grown popular in the islands of Hawaii, and you can even make your own one.

Lau Lau

Here is another traditional Hawaiin dish– Lau Lau. The name Lau Lau directly translates to leaf leaf and a term used to describe the cooking process. But these days, Lau Lau is also used to describe the mixed pork fat, and a fish dish often served in Luau. Other variations of this dish include the use of chicken, turkey, or even vegetarian ingredients.

Taro is a sacred and important plant in Hawaiian culture. And that is quite evident with how much taro leaves they use for their dishes. And Lau Lau uses taro as well. Unlike the Poi dish that is made out of taro roots, Lau Lau uses the leaves. In preparing this food, the meat and fish are wrapped in taro leaves, and the dish will get cooked in an underground rock oven until it reached the desired tenderness and the smoky flavor. Lau Lau is typically served alongside rice and other Hawaiin side dishes such as poi, Kalua pig, lomi lomi salmon, and the likes.

Fruits

Hawaii is a tropical state, which houses a wide variety of fresh and exotic fruits, something each visitor should not miss out on. Hawaii is mostly famous for its impressive production of sweet pineapples, but if you genuinely want to experience the taste of Hawaii, you have to look around more.

Apart from the pineapples, Hawaii is also home to fruits like lilikoi or passion fruit, mango, papaya, guava, and so much more. But that is not all that this Aloha State got. Hawaii also offers varieties of fruits that may come a little scary and intimidating for tourists, but you should never judge a fruit by their look. Because these exotic fruits, such pitaya or dragon fruit, rambutan, and ulu or breadfruit, promise a bounty of fresh flavors and heavenly scents.

There is nothing to be scared of with these delectable fruits. All you got to do is to surrender to the richness of nature’s best candies.

Indeed, Hawaii is a paradise where you will love spending your vacation, and these five food dishes are just some of the proofs. If you want to experience the beauty and taste the flavors of Hawaii, all you need to do is let a reputable Hawaiian travel operator like Go Hawaii Tours show you around when you visit.

Go Hawaii Tours embodies the Aloha philosophy throughout their service, by dedicating their day to giving you an unforgettable Hawaiian trip, and if you want to know more about our tours and services, you can check them out on our website at www.gohawaiitours.com.