Hawaiian Recipes

When visiting Hawaii, you will encounter many foods names and terms that may seem quite foreign to you. This is due to the fact that Hawaii is such a melting pot of cultures from around the world, with influences from the Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Samoan, Thai, Vietnamese and others.

Hawaiians don't eat until they're full; they eat until they're tired. Loco Moco is a recipe unique to Hawaii. It is a comfort food, or "local grind," of the Hawaiian Islands. Local food is not the cuisine that is served in upscale hotels and restaurants of Hawaii. Its basic structure was established soon after World War II - the best fast food or mixture of cuisines from many Pacific rim countries, with a special Hawaiian twist.

Loco Moco is a mountainous meal consisting of a heap of white rice topped with a hamburger patty and a Sunnyside-up egg, then smothered in gravy. This dish is popular for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and is a candidate for the Cholesterol Hall of Fame. Loco Mocos are served at almost every drive-in, fast food, and mom-and-pop restaurant in the Islands.

There are many people who claim to have invented Loco Moco, but it is generally agreed that around 1949, either the Cafe 100 or the Lincoln Grill (both in Hilo, Hawaii) originated the first dish of Loco Moco. According to the story, the dish was created for teenagers who wanted something different from typical American sandwiches and less time-consuming than Asian food to eat for breakfast. The nickname of the first boy to eat this concoction was Loco ("crazy" in Portuguese and Hawaiian pidgin). Moco rhymed with loco and sounded great, so Loco Moco became the name of the dish.

If you're looking for a cookbook, this is not the book for you. If, however, you are looking for an excellent historical perspective on the foods of Hawaii and their ethnic origins, buy this book.

More than just a cookbook, "The Food of Paradise" is a well-researched historical account of how the various foods found in Hawaii derived from the foods of the various ethnic groups that have settled in the islands and then often developed into something uniquely Hawaiian. For Hawaiians-by-birth and Hawaiians-at-heart, this book provides an excellent insight into such unique island favorites such as crack seed, mochi, the plate lunch, shave ice and Spam. If there is any downside to the book, it is that the actual recipes presented are often not as good as found elsewhere. Recipes, however, are not the main focus of this book. Recipes can be found elsewhere, but not so the excellent background information provided by Ms. Laudan.