Hawaii |
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Men working in Chinatown |
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Historic District, Honolulu |
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Right, from top: Hawaiian-style |
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barbecue beef ribs; poi, which |
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is made by pounding taro |
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consumed by groups discussing important matters, at ceremonies and for pleasure. It has a calming, grounding effect and is thought to be a remedy for various ailments.
HAWAIIAN VS. HAWAII LOCAL
To understand how Hawaiian food evolved, visit Helena’ s Hawaiian Food in the working-class neighborhood of Kalihi. Opened by Helen‘ Helena’ Chock in 1946, this award-winning restaurant was originally located amid farmland a halfmile from its current location. The area has changed since then: the old Helena’ s is now a Ford dealership and the farmland has been replaced by a freeway. The current iteration, which opened in 2000, shares a street with two Mexican restaurants, an auto body shop and a mini mart.
The menu hasn’ t changed much since it opened. In addition to Native Hawaiian
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foods like poi, kalua pig, lau lau and squid lu’ au, you can also order Hawaii local cuisine— the Hawaiian food that evolved after the arrival of Captain James Cook. He introduced onions; following him, the British and U. S. whalers, merchants and captains introduced salt fish, cattle and tomatoes, and the immigrant laborers who came to work the sugar and pineapple plantations in 1852( Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and Portuguese) all brought new ingredients, too, including rice and shoyu. This is how you get dishes like lomi salmon and chicken long rice— dishes invented during the plantation era.
Helen’ s grandson Craig Katsuyoshi took over after she died. He recommends firsttime visitors order Menu D, which includes kalua pig, lomi salmon, lu’ au squid and Helena’ s signature pipikaula short ribs, advising them to“ split the rice and order
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a taster of poi.” The meal that arrives at your table takes you on a journey through thousands of years in Hawaii.
The story of pipikaula—‘ pipi’, means cow;‘ kaula’ means string— dates back to the introduction of cattle in Hawaii. Paniolos( Hawaiian cowboys trained by their Mexican counterparts) preserved beef by hanging the raw meat to dry. Helena’ s marinates choice beef short ribs in a shoyubased marinade before hanging them to dry, so they can get a nice char when grilled. The result is juicy, salty, smoky meat that pulls away from the bone with just enough bite. Raw slivered onion is served alongside with a dish of Hawaiian alaea salt. Craig suggests pressing a slice of onion into the salt and eating it in between bites of pipikaula and rice. It’ s also common for local customers to season dishes with housemade chili pepper water— a Hawaii condiment
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images: alamy; stockfood; Heather Goodman |
50 • pos t c a rds |