Tag Archives: Hawaii

Where the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a Goes Swimming By

Posted on July 8, 2012 by | Comments Off on Where the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a Goes Swimming By

I indulged my homesickness yesterday, and asked Ted to take me to L & L Hawaiian Barbeque for my birthday dinner.  I'd heard about this place from my pal Anela, who was also raised in Hawaii and travels in some hula and Hawaiiana circles.  She highly recommended it for its totally authentic menu and ambiance.


Sure enough, it looks and feels for all the world like a fast food lunch counter in any little town you might visit in Hawaii.  There's no such thing as haute cuisine in Hawaii - it's all a hodgepodge of lots of ethic foods served up on a styrofoam plate - Hawaiian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, American, Korean, and more.  And I love it.  Some of my favorites are featured at L & L: saimin (like ramen, only a million times better), teriyaki everything, barbeque everything, seafood, and the best snack food ever - musubi.  And not only do they have musubi, but several different kinds: Spam, chicken katsu, and bbq chicken!  Now we're talking.  The food is a touch pricey, but cheaper than a plane ticket. 


And in my mind, the food takes a back seat to the folks who gather there on Friday nights: real ethnic Hawaiians or folks like me who live in Texas, but have a Hawaiian history, and have left a big piece of themselves back in the islands. Anela tells me that it's a regular, run-of-the-mill specialty menu kind of place most of the time, with people coming and going who enjoy the dishes or think the touristy Hawaiian thing is novel.  But on Friday nights, everything changes.

It's family reunion time.

We got there early to beat the crowds, and to get our food and table before the fun broke out.  On Friday nights, the regulars show up with amplified ukuleles, mics, and their hula pals.  The longer I sat there, the further from Plano, Texas I felt.  I texted my sister in Kaneohe.  Yes, she said, there are a bunch of L & L's near her - they're everywhere, "like 7 Elevens," she said.  Next thing I knew, the guys were playing Happy Birthday for me on their ukes (sneaky Ted).  And before long, some spontaneous hula had broken out up by the counter.  It was a blast.


I used to know how to hula a little bit, but I'd completely humiliate myself if I tried today.  So I left it to the professionals.  It's very engaging and fun to watch...


We met a lady there who makes it a point to greet everyone and seems to know everyone.  I just called her Tutu Diane.  What a sweetie.  Everyone has their Hawaiian shirts and jewelry and pidgin accents and tattoos, and anything else that might signal that they're "one of us."  Me, I wore my Matsumoto Shave Ice t-shirt, which proves that I know what's cool on the North Shore.  It's good to belong.


For dessert, Ted picked out a beautiful chilled taro root cake for us from their glass case - bright purple like the root from which it is made.  FYI - taro root cake is much better than poi.  Just sayin.


And just like in Hawaii, the trash cans teach you manners - "Mahalo" doesn't mean garbage, like I assumed for months after arriving there... it means "thank you."  Thank you, L & L for allowing me to return for a brief mental vacation to my island past.  I'll be back.

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Hawaiian Fast Food

Posted on June 1, 2012 by | Comments Off on Hawaiian Fast Food
You know how unusual it is for me to get interested in a cooking project - for me, cooking is just that tedious lag in the day before the eating can start.  But every once in a while, I get the bug to Make Something.

Today's inspiration came when Emma and I finally got to visit 99 Ranch Market, a huge Asian grocery store in Plano.  I think we were both missing all those fun foods we enjoy in Hawaii.  Plus, this place is so big and so exotic, it's a field trip all by itself.  Our visit helped us collect the final ingredients we needed to make one of the most fun grab-and-go foods on the Islands:  Musubi.

Now, I went to high school in Hawaii, but somehow never heard of this stuff.  But my sister and her family, who have lived there forever, taught us all about it on this last trip.  We're hooked now.  It's kind of like sushi, but simpler and heartier.  You make a bunch, when you make it, so it lasts a while in the frig as a filling snack.

Ready?  Here we go:


Like most things in Hawaii, it starts with rice.  When I got home from my sister's last fall, the first thing I did was run out and buy a rice cooker.  Sure, I can cook rice in a pan, and have for years, but these things do all the work, and if you get the water part right, they're almost fool-proof.  Here's my sister's mystical system for getting the right amount of water in your rice without formal measuring:  pour in as much rice as you want (I use long grain white... nothing special), and then add water.  If you touch the top of the rice with your finger, the water should come up to the first knuckle.  No matter how much or how little rice you use, it seems to work every time.  Next, I let the rice soak for about 15 minutes before pushing the GO button on the rice cooker.  Walk away and let the magic happen.

While that's cooking, you can pull out the Hawaiian secret weapon:


That's right.  Spam.  Don't laugh - there were about 20 different varieties available at the Asian market today.  They know a good thing when Hormel cans it.  You can't argue with 75 years of classic canned meat.


Slice it thin and brown it in a pan on both sides.  Set it aside  to cool.  I suppose if you're too good for Spam you could experiment with bacon.  But it just wouldn't be the same.

Assemble the remaining components:


Sushi nori - the thin, black, papery seaweed sheets that they wrap around sushi.  Ten sheets to a package.  Inexpensive and indispensable.


One of my favorite seasonings: Furikake... sesame seeds, seaweed, salt, and some other stuff.  (My nieces and nephew insist on adding it to popcorn.)  Adds some interest to boring stuff like plain rice.

That's it.  You're ready to put it all together.


Lay out a sheet of nori on a cutting board.  Center your handy-dandy sushi press in the center.  I got my press in Hawaii, but I bet the Asian stores here have them, too.


Ack.  Blur.  Emma is a very quick assembler.  Fill the form a bit more than half full with rice.  Press it down with the, uh, presser-thingy.


Add two slices of Spam.  We leave a space between them because we'll be cutting the finished musubi in half.


Sprinkle on the furikake.


Add another layer of rice, and press again.


Carefully remove the form and roll up one edge of the nori.  Wet the other edge of the nori, which makes it sort of self-adhesive.  Kind of like wetting the flap on an old-fashioned envelope.  I use my finger dipped into a cup of water.


Fold this edge over the first, and "glue" it down.  Cut your musubi in half and cover each piece with a piece of plastic wrap.

 
Repeat, to make as many as you like.  These are a favorite picnic food in Hawaii.  Perfect to pack for a day at the beach.  


Okay, we've got our snacks.  Now we just have to get back to Hale'iwa...

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