My Favorite Local Foods in Hawaii! 英会話・英語　アミック

Living in Japan is great.  I really enjoy the food and nature.  I do sometimes get homesick though.  I sometimes really miss some of the local Hawaiian food I ate growing up.  Hawaii is great, because there is such a mix of cultures.  This mix of cultures means great food from all over the world.  Eating is a popular pastime in Hawaii, because of the great food.  Here are some of my favorite foods.

Hulihuli Chicken is one of my favorite local dishes.  “Huli” means to turn in Hawaiian, so hulihuli chicken is a rotisserie chicken, marinated in teriyaki sauce and grilled over an open fire.  The chicken is really tender and juicy.  You can usually only get fresh hulihuli chicken at a special event or through fund raisers.  Though food trucks are becoming more popular and may have hulihuli chicken on the menu.

Portuguese sausage is another one of my favorite foods.  It is very similar to kielbasa sausage, but very spicy.  It’s most commonly served sliced and fried as a breakfast side dish.  If you like spicy food, I really recommend it.  You can even get it at McDonald’s in Hawaii.

Chinese style rice cake is a dessert I love.  You can sometimes buy it at food trucks or in the deli section at supermarkets.  It is a bit different from Japanese rice cake- a bit lighter in texture and very sweet.  It’s even a bit sticky.  In university, it was a great treat after a day of classes.  I crave it even now.

One of the final foods I’ll write about is spam musubi.  This dish is a rice ball with fried marinated spam and seaweed.  It is extremely popular in Hawaii and can be found in convenience stores and supermarkets.  It tastes great and is a great energy booster.  I occasionally make it here in Japan.  It tastes just as great as the ones in Hawaii and eating it always cheers me up. 

If you go to Hawaii and you have the chance, I hope you’ll try some of these great dishes.  I’ve always thought that food is one of the best parts of culture… one of the most delicious parts anyway.  And if you do try these dishes and you like them, try saying the Hawaiian English word for delicious- “Ono”.  If you can’t make it to Hawaii, try making some of the recipes on your own.  Good luck and aloha.

Shane