Hawaii Saimin Association Series | Part 7
Walking down the street there would be the view of the sky and on the side there might be a fire station or a comic book store and a fountain shop nearby that would be on route towards the saimin shop. Originally walking from the Plantation camps it would be quite a walk and there would also be entertainment like the local theater in the area, a park, and a general store all on the same side of the street with everything costing around a quarter. Eventually making it to the saimin shop doors and passing the register and over to a seat with a menu and being greeted from the people behind the counter awaiting for your order. For those that were tall enough they could see from counter seating the kitchen where the cook would grab a bowl and a saucer with a saimin spoon with napkins and place it in front of the customer. There would be containers that would be filled in the back with alaea salt (salt seasoning) and hondashi, dried ingredients that were usually opae shrimp and scallop or a secret mixture, kamaboko (fish cake), scallions (green onions), shaved ula charsiu (pork), wontons (dumplings), tamago (rolled eggs), all prepared ahead of time for service to be clean and quick and straight to the noodle slurpin. The set up would make the soup taste exactly to order if there were familiar customers that wanted their saimin soup served in a particular way. On the fire-burner was Hawaii wok to warm up the ingredients that needed to be served warm and it would be on the side of the large stainless steel pot simmering with dashi ingredients. It wouldn’t be strange to find fish bones wrapped in a upena bundle (net) similar to a seafood version of a bouquet garni, a fish head, and vegetables, with Hawaiian-Japanese nicknaming it Waidashi (water soup seasoning). On the other side would be a grill with a noodle cooker which is set to a low-boil with rising steam coming from the noodle strainers with the containers full of noodles visibly nearby for easy access. Another hard working day another bowl of saimin leaves the cooks hands over to another hungry customer. When thinking about sharing recipes it is often considered to either keep with the aloha spirit and share the recipe or to keep a recipe to the grave that is incredibly common in the west. There was always that story of the man with the ancienbt chinese secret or the american sauce secret or the family secret, but hoarding was not Hawaiian in values and that same attitude was imbued in local culture that is based on that sharing, so quietly, many chefs were reluctant, but showed their techniques and ingredient lists along with the processes. While many people said they had kept their recipe in the family or in the store there would be recipe cards here and there that were passed along when people asked for them as a show of aloha. A particular Saimin chef had some knowledge to pass on in a bit of a talk story by explaining that many people are taught from the Saimin head-chef and the chef and cooks may not beable to change the recipe to their own preferences or vision of flavor. It was explained that showing aloha by giving the most popular recipes are okay, because a customer wants to taste a clean, refined, and personal flavor of the place they are eating and that often times has to do with every aspect of making one bowl of saimin different from the other in food appearance and what its served in. Those who can’t veer from the original recipe can’t improve upon it, can’t change it, and can’t make variations of it that feel like they have the same goals as the original saimin chef unless they understood that particular persons saimin philosophy.
0 Comments
Hawaii Saimin Association Series | Part 6
Saimin doesn’t look like a particularly scary or intimidating presence with its ingredients covering the broth with a wide mix that is all over the place messy and organized to those who know about how to eat it. It looks like something that might be a snack at first as it depends on the size, because as it gets bigger and bigger the dish can feed just about any appetite. The quiet dish that has remained in the hearts of many would have to go from simple to the complex to make people talk about saimin and eat more of it, and it would be either good saimin or bad saimin, a make or break deal for the dish. Several institutions mark as the almost religious locations of the saimin world and those places would be like: Hamuras in Kauai, Sam Satos in Maui, Noris on Big Island, and Shiros on Oahu. With such limited amounts of Saimin shops the opinions of each place that still exists tends to sit on the side, meanwhile it has become the interest of many to spread the saimin word of mouth to the masses about how comforting it is. In 2018, Hidehito Uki (Sun Noodle) and Ed Sugimoto started spreading the celebration of noodles with “Noodle Fest” and has lot’s of Saimin noodles to keep the community engaged and interested in the potential and concepts of the future of Saimin. This would bring awareness to basics like: saimin noodle making machines, dumpling folding techniques, attention to saimin bowls, a nice meat slicer, plantation woks, noodle cutting knives, and just the whole process of making saimin from scratch. It would show people what saimin could do and what to make with it as well as show that there is all sorts of Saimin out there needed to be documented into a resource that could share with saimin hunters in Hawaii. It kind of made saimin detectives who would start looking at grandmas old recipes or granpa’s noodles and see if there was a family saimin somewhere out there, which gave people not only a reverence or obsession with saimin, but a family home connection to the food. This would bring a more modern interest of variety and subtlety to the famous saimin of the islands. Eating on Kauai there would be a really understanding of the heart of saimin and running a shop as a way of training the mind as well as the philosophy of being part of the saimin lovers community. On oahu the toppings and richness of the soup would show if there would be clear soup or a more cloudy soup and what happened when flavoring would be added. Maui with its dipped saimin and more. It would really pique peoples interest in local foods, because saimin is so symbolic of the cooperation of cultures of Hawaii during the time it was created. The more experienced saimin eaters would be amused by the enthusiasm and happiness saimin brough to newcomers that seeked out styles and types to be a sort of local food discussion start point to talk about not only the food, but the rich history involved from stands to shops and beyond. People would make it a point to distinguish between saimin and ramen and have a understanding of a saimin cuisine. Saimin would be seen as a important food that many foreigners would have a hard time making, even though it was simple and ono (delicious), but those who were truly dedicated and small kine obsessed would beable to use some methods to a particular style of cooking and still make it local. What is important is to make the noodles, soups, toppings, and it can be charming in its own way and that is when the history of saimin started to change, because people would pull out recipes that they may have previously been ashamed of, but they really were just as local as saimin recipes in restaurants. They would just be inside the creeky drawer that held all the cook books near the pantry and having those changes of what would be the standard of saimin would change from there, and as long as certain elements were followed it certainly would be Local. After trying many bowls of Saimin what would normally be a strictness of simplicity and comfort wouldn’t have boundaries of being one way or another, because there are new things to try and help hone the dish further. The dish would be improving and evolving and something that still reminded people of when they were younger and try to bring back those memories in flavors that they were fed in their family or made for their own family. Saimin is not a trend and has been established for a long time and that makes it quite traditional to the local community and its hard to introduce a new style, but being embraced by the community is the most important step. Not everyone gets to try all sorts of saimin, so as cooks go on to make their own saimin it will come to a point where each person is challenging flavor and expectations as a balance to make it so everyone can enjoy saimin. Hawaii Saimin Association Series | Part 5
In Hawaii, there are local TV shows that feature food and food channels that feature food and with awareness of what makes Hawaii unique grows the shops that still are around get some of that lime light. There are many people who are looking for the really old establishments and the cooks or the customers and try to get the names preserved as well as the stories and get some cloudy idea of the flavors. As Saimin started to go out on posts and magazines there would be more people looking for the dish of Saimin from specialty eateries as well as from fast-food places that served a variety of foods alongside it. Famous saimin makers are sought out from the foodie groups that treat food as a serious thing to them and a adventure to drive to the best places to get their noodle on wherever the best saimin restaurants are. Those already familiar with ramen will be looking for the sort of dumplings used, the consistency of the saimin noodles, the Charsiu (aka. Charshu), the spam, the egg, the vegetables, and the side. It is a Hawaii plantation dish in the late-nineteenth century that draws influence of of Chinese, Japanese, Okinawa, Portuguese, Korean, Hawaiian, Filipino, and others that would be working the fields. The famous story goes that when the plantation workers came together to eat their “kau kau” lunch, each of them had their meals from their homes and would throw it into a pot and saimin was born. It was a working persons food and was made to be originally affordable, simple, thrown together, quick, easy, and comforting. After families left the plantation there would be saimin restaurants and passed on recipes from home to their children and their grandchildren from the old school plantation workers. Overtime each area had its own and every neighborhood had its own and that would make its way to a diner or a fountain that saimin was the specialty. People would go to these locations and grab a huge pot to the eatery and fill it up with soup and have lots of noodles to feed the family that would be taken home for the family to eat. Saimin was part of the neighborhood and was part of the food of the multi ethnic community that was brought to life from the vision of bringing people together to show each other their respect and Aloha that was practiced from the Hawaiian Kingdom. Saimin as a local staple would show these values found in local culture of sharing what they had and the people who shared back then did not have much, but they made do with what they had. As people may mention the good old days with nostalgia of living during a time period of various Saimin stands it is important we also figure out what many of those variations were and where they came from. No one should forget about the light tasting warm soup that is perfect during the day or the night with a air conditioner and many sides. In such a short time there were places where people stood in line, talking story about the places they regard as the top saimin spots and at the end of the meal be all had it or feeling of fullness from tackling the challenge to overcome a bowl of saimin. Satisfying and full are things that keep people from complaining and hardship when scooting from their seat to pay the bill. The growth of Saimin is a trail of houses with kama'aiana secret recipes, stories of closed establishments, and those who would meet a wall that stopped people from eating Saimin and that would be the major competition of Ramen that would be all the rage. Many eateries had closed down as Saimin went out of fashion and was deemed less interesting and less flavorful to Ramen and would be called not special by any means, other than something that brought the older days back to life. Luckily a couple decades past and Saimin had survived the noodle wars and was featured by Hawaiian Airlines segment “Saimin Says” with Roy Yamaguchi and Mark Noguchi, The Eater spotlight on Hawaii with Lucas Peterson, and Diners Drive in and Dives with Guy Fieri, and Tabi Eats (Shinichi’s World) with Shinichi Mine and Satoshi... It really took the whole community of chefs, people, and being featured to make saimin bounce back as a must go to dish to eat. Hawaii Saimin Association Series | Part 4
In Mainland America, there would be the trend of ramen taking on many forms as it would have variations that were from the regional cuisines of the area, but saimin wasn’t anywhere really to be seen. Those that did have it on the menu would likely to be not passable at all or even mislabeled as ramen, which is really unacceptable, but it was what it was and couldn’t be helped that Hawaii dishes would be hard to come by. If you were really lucky a friend or Hawaii transplant to the mainland would have their mothers or aunties uncles cousins recipe and would make it for you for a meal and it would be satisfactory for that moment, but those looking for something to satiate their saimin desires it simply wouldn’t do and they would ask themselves “what have I done” as the saimin they loved would be so far away back home in Hawaii. Taking a family trip back to the islands would be eye opening and really become something more than it was when leaving the Hawaii, because the want to have some really satisfactory saimin in that big bowl and that comforting atmosphere would have changed. It all changed from going somewhere else for a very long time and not seeing the simple things like Saimin as a staple that could be commonly found anywhere to a deserted wasteland where there was practically no saimin at all, but in daydreams about home. It still has its charm of being this large amount of starch and light flavored soup that accompanies so many things, but when eating it after so long away from the headquarters of saimin, Hawaii, it starts to become a symbol of Hawaii. The pioneering bowls of combinations from cooks like Shiro’s Saimin Haven, Dillingham, Like Like, Sekiya, and Shige’s would have their simple crafted bowls of next generation Saimin with quality ingredients and noodles that were so tasty. People started looking at Saimin as a lost craft and searched for recipes of their families where it would be a soup that added saimin noodles or had noodles and soup and discover the ingredients were a saimin dish. A particular place that paved the true path of what a saimin shop would be is Hamura saimin stand where it was featured on television and by influencers as well as from coconut wireless (word of mouth) to ohana’s all over Hawaii to go to the shop for a must have bowl of saimin. It really had the heart of the saimin bowl covered to complete the local vibe that money can’t buy. When heading back to the Mainland one can’t help but think of all the saimin that isn’t presented in data basis and the old time recipes of the areas on each island. Soup recipes can be as simple as buying frozen saimin noodles and boiling them, throwing them in a bowl, and adding the dried shrimp-dashi seasoning that makes the usual lighter-soup with a mostly clear look and a bit of cloudiness when stirred. Then there would be the chefs who would up the preparation time for a dashi rich broth to make use of the dried-ingredients with closely following the drying of shellfish, artisanal salt blend, and make all the noodles from scratch in the day that would make flavors that were older, but there would be varieties that would make it taste a tad stronger with braising liquid (seasoning-base, vegetable-base, meat-base, seafood-base). The braising liquid, broth, and dashi would be a recent creation where the chef has three layers of saimin based on the depth of flavor the ramen is envisioned to have upon serving it. The result would be a more complex varieties with deeper flavors of saimin that could really stand alone by giving a bit of a wow factor to the local soup and noodles. There was no longer just the light-soup but also a saltier-soup that is not as simple. This would bring culinary notoriety back to the local dish that would start being shown to the rest of the noodle and soup world to show that saimin could adapt to the times and make a come back. Going back to Hawaii for those who had to move or chose to move away from home would never be the same and their interest in saimin would keep on growing with time. Everyone who grew up with saimin, it would never leave their hearts. Hawaii Saimin Association Series | Part 3
Growing up in Hawaii one of the most iconic dishes with a rich heritage in every bowl is a noodle soup dish that is unique to Hawaii. Its a very humble dish that is appreciated with the basics of the needs with large amounts with a few ingredients taking the dish a long way with standards of greens, eggs, meat, and some special element to make it different. It can be eaten at any time of day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but it really hits the spot in the cooler weather seasons when it rains. Saimin is connected to sports from the food stands and is served at fast-food joints like Drive Ins and places like McDonalds for a quick bowl to eat and part of the quintessential local living experience. However, sometimes people can confuse saimin as an overall term for noodle soup back in the day and when awareness of other noodle soups like pho and ramen came out people would beable to tell the difference more easily. People taste all sorts of noodle soups with restaurants serving all the authentic and regional variations and thats when people know that saimin is a Hawaii thing from the plantations. In comparison with extract-flavors, fatty-oil flavors, dashi-stock, and flavoring sauce, it seems like saimin has a lot to compete with as well as catch up with to stay competitive in the noodle soup category. The reason Saimin is humble is because the traditional Saimin is a light dashi that is very simple, but these days there are modern versions to compete with Saimin being a stand alone meal instead of a group of dishes to accompany one another, so saimin has had its fair share of stronger variations coming out of the woodworks, some old, some new. Traditionally the sticks are usually very-sweet with a thick and rich sauce that tastes candied and salty and is loud instead of humble, so it makes lots of noise with how strong the taste is. Burgers are are dipped in a thick rich sauce as well, because it is meant to pair up with the noodles and soup, with some people dipping burger real quick to make the eating experience need less chewing and adds another layer of flavor to it. While the traditional style is to be humble and served with a group of dishes with the nice warm bowl of soup and noodles, some people are looking for a single meal that doesn’t need a group of dishes to accompany it like ramen. Because of this improved strength in broth and dashi placed certain old school establishments in the limelight for their unique recipes of saimin. What was once a speciality would become a solid variation, which would be necessary to keep saimin shops afloat. This would be due to competition and of single-broth soup, heavy dried ingredient dashi, and no fats or oils, and no flavoring sauce the deepen the flavor to be more loud. So to be a stand alone dish independent of the dishes that assist it usually would be a more modern style that adds fats and oils with flavoring sauce to be a competitor in the noodle soup field. Local chefs have made a saimin slogan of “Ramen is trendy, Saimin is Life” on people who want to fight by cooking and improving saimin and choosing to eat saimin over ramen with pride in its legacy of being a local food. Saimin is the experience of growing up and living in Hawaii and it can be tasted. People in Hawaii will take saimin to the grave as a part of local culture and it will always be Hawaii’s food and the peoples food and no foreign food trend can take that away. Hawaii Saimin Association Series | Part 2
Many visitors will take trips to the islands to see what was shown in marketing, but what they leave with can be at the local level as in the local cultural level of food experience. Not too far from the beachs inland there can be towns that have many homes that have their own saimin and a dedicated shop or stand that they go to eat the regional style or commercialized styles that compete for peoples taste buds. There are all sorts of people who like noodles and it starts at a young age with the affordable dish being easily likeable by younger children to adulthood and the nostalgia food of elders. After eating at a place enough times it becomes more about the Saimin culture and the community that surrounds it, while some customers may not want it to be like that a saimin chef can look the customer in the eye and already know their order. Sitting at the counter in Hawaii you can spend a long time chatting the day away while slowly slurping up the noodles and gradually finish the bowl. A first timer may be likely to try the standard bowl of saimin and usually be recomended a burger or sticks from the grill at the saimin shop with a dash of ginger and shoyu or even hot mustard if they like that sort of thing. The soup is very light and flavorful and a bit salty. And for some people its not salty enough, so they pour the aloha shoyu inside and put black pepper and hot sauce to make the dish of their ideal vision of saimin. Saimin can really be comforting as it doesn’t really need to be eaten in a rush and enjoying the food at your own pace is part of the experience, while its bad for business its wonderful for life long friendships that often times become more than that. Everyone has a story about saimin of when they use to eat it with their family on nights out or coming back from the beach they needed something to fill them up or going home a mother or father would be making a snack for their children. While life moves on the times eating saimin capture those loving memories of the ohana and the beloved places that serve peoples favorite bowl of noodles and soup. Saimin at times can be a firm reminder that friends and family in a place of comfort will make things slow down and bring the mind at ease. Lean over, slurp some noodles, and everything will be okay. After being a bit more adventurous in eating things on the menu there are going to be combination favorites that lean towards a set or a combo meal or select items that are always ordered. Not worrying about the combinations make things wonderful in a way, because things can be flavored by the cooks or the flavoring can be done in your own hands with the condiments. Even when things hit rock bottom for the local people they can always rely on their saimin to be there and when its not it feels like a spiritual loss of oodles of noodle proportions. Affordability of noodles makes it not a question of if people are going to get their saimin fix, because they already know the saimin is going to take care of their appetite and mind as it can be as cheap or expensive as you make it. Unlike many tourist centered attractions in Hawaii, Saimin is targeted towards the locals and never aspired to become the strongest there ever was in the noodle game. It was such a casual dish that people who grew up with instant-ramen would call it saimin, but that eventually caused some confusion, but to select folks they don’t want to be uptight with rules on words and call it saimin anyways. The true convenience is when saimin is frozen in bags and taken back to peoples ice boxes that makes saimin time any time. Boil the water and throw in the noodles, set em in a bowl, make some saimin soup and its time to eat, just like that. It can be eaten at home or at a place, but it will always be there. Hawaii Saimin Association Series | Part 1
Standing outside the street of what had once many Saimin shops in Kalihi as well as noodle factories that would be in the middle of the neighborhood. The crumbling interiors of old places that were vacant still have powder from flour on the walls outside. At one place there is a menu that steps into the past that shows the menu options of a cheeseburger royal and green river as the pair to accompany a combo with some soup and noodles. It really hits something that can be felt in the past of hardship, survival, comfort, and good ol days even if someone wasn’t born then. The street looks like it has aged for years and it probably has, but it does still look as if people walk down these roads to get something to eat from walking by or dropping off a friend to pick up some take out near the door. But Nostalgia won’t be what brings people back into these empty areas and fill stomachs once again, so there needs to be notable things about a place to survive in this day and age and with Ramen that can be the competitor to end all things or Pho. Many places close down and it never makes the news, so all that's left are family recipes that are passed to friends or written down cards of recipes with a seemingly old plantation dream. Growing up people would eat Saimin and think nothing of it as a profession, a chef, or a master, but as something eaten to remind oneself of where they came from in Hawaii and the local culture that surrounds it. Celebrity chefs like Mark Noguchi and Sheldon Simeon have popularized the phrase “Ramen is trendy, Saimin is life” and that really hits home to some degree of aloha spirit, culture learning, and a sense of place through food. There is nothing like that warm bowl to warm the heart and warm the soul, transporting people back to when times were simpler and food was about spending time with loved ones. Chefs on the older end can be a bit more humble, strict, and respectful when passing on their knowledge of saimin no matter how average it may seem the point would be to improvise of leftovers and make the mundane into something delicious. Each saimin has its own story to tell of the people who made it from their kitchen window or served it to a customer the appeal is a personal one and born from family. This can have variables to the obsessive, the traditionalist, the experimenter, and those seeking out the delicious can all be reasons to lead a person down the path of noodles and soup. Seeking out information about Saimin can be an entire life's journey and much of that is looking into the lost past from the times of after the war. People have to open up and share their stories while being humble and trust the other person who also would have to be willing to learn and learn quite a bit as the seemingly simple soup and noodles has more than just a few versions out there. With peoples stories and guidance of the old families and old ways with the old ingredients are the stones that work as the must haves and have a wonder of what else could come from Saimin. Saimin must be malama pono ia (well cared for), promoted on, improved with a cooks touch, and kept in families for the future generations for tradition to pass on through food. Moiliili Tama Bowl is a dashi egg with onions that is on top of medium grain rice with green onions and garnishes. Tama Bowls were common in Honolulu area where rice was regularly available. Cook books and other cooking resources site that other islands had their own variations as well, but a particular variation stood out. This tama bowl that many would try was a Unatama Bowl from a small restaurant kitchen in Moiliili on King Street named Yamagen. The Tama bowl was one of the first dishes to make use of Umeke Bowls.
In Moiliili, King street has had a long time resident named Satoshi Hiraga who has introduced Unatama bowl of Oahu to many local residents. He would work from humble beginnings as the go to neighborhood local-style Japanese restaurant of Hawaii cuisine with a dedication to delicious food. He carried on the legacy of the original establishment owners Yukio and Kunio Kawamata "1983" with Alice, Patty, and Mitsuko as a true Hawaii Family run food shop. The specific menu that would carve out a place in Hawaii bowl history would have bowls with the "Unatama Bowl", "Yakitori Bowl", "Tendon Bowl" and the "Katsu Curry Bowl". These bowls were characterized by being low cost and large volume of food for a working person. The establishment of Yamagen Restaurant may not have made the first Tama Bowl they have made sure to make it a symbol of affordability and comfort food. Bringing the popular Donburi (rice bowls) from the origins of Japan into the local food scene was not a new idea. For many years of the plantations there have been dishes that have come from their original areas and have slowly changed with the population and ingredients. Local Restaurants that were simply called "Japanese Restaurants" often had an option of Oyako Donburi, however it tasted different from the dry spices and the difference in dashi amounts from its Japan ancestor. According to some local residents, the tama bowl was a easily thrown together dish from left over marinated meats. It is said that families had added specific onions or grilled meats mixed with the egg and dashi before cooking along with dry seasonings on top. Some of these meats would be marinated: Dashi Chicken, Ginger Dashi Pork, Yakitori Chicken, Teriyaki Pork, Charsiu Chicken, Katsu Sauce Chicken, Dashi Shrimp and Fishcake, and/or Unagi Sauce with Unagi Chicken. The idea of making Tama Bowls came to popularity from using the left overs or smaller pieces of meats to make a comfort food Oyako Donburi. This would develop the idea that those with low income could eat without worrying about costs as much as other food dishes by using left overs in the refrigerator. Tourists from Japan would call it a "Hawaii Oyako Donburi" as it had distinct differences in both presentation and flavor. is a variety of Saimin in Hawaii Oahu and originated in Waipahu. It is apart of Waipahu regional cuisine as a specialty dish of the area of Waipahu with shoyu, dashi, oyster sauce, and other ingredients, which are typically cooked into the noodles themselves on a flat top. Traditionally the dish is topped with sliced barbeque beef or pork chop and served with fried saimin noodles. In Waipahu, Oahu, Waipahu Fried saimin is referred to as Sato's Fried Saimin.
Overview The noodles for the Waipahu Fried Saimin is from Okahara Saimin Factory which have a bit of a chewiness to them. The noodles are prepared by having an oil coating on them and fried up for a little while until golden in appearance. Additional thrown in ingredients are diced char siu pork, spam, cabbage, green onions, carrots, salt, and garlic or garlic salt. For service at the table are additional ingredients of salt, black peper, shoyu, and sriracha. Gravy Fried Saimin Variation Fried Saimin is popular for its fried taste. Many saimin noodles with this type of sauce are nick named "Gravy Fried Saimin" thanks to the experimentation and failures of the development of the old-fashioned Sato's Okazuya Saimin. This type of fried saimin was to compete with other establishments that specialized in country fried saimin that is more crisp and has a lighter sauce. Waipahu Saimin Variations A distinctive feature is the thicker sauce quality and chewiness of the noodles. Depending on the person making it or family the recipe can be different. There is the: (1) Long-established Sato's Fried Saimin with visible fat, (2) Spicy Gravy Saimin which uses Sriracha sesame seeds and garlic, (3) Barbeque Gravy Saimin that uses a darker soy sauce, brown sugar, and chicken fat. History Fried Saimin was relatively common on the island with shoyu, dashi, and vegetables, and many tasted like Hawaii Fried Saimin with slight changes. So, Fried Saimin served at Sato's Okazuya which slightly changed the texture of the sauce made it different from the usual recipe. The Sato Family is given recognition of popularizing the dish. In the background, Saimin noodle makers were prosperous back in the day and there were many Saimin shops that served Saimin and Fried Saimin. The history of food for survival would create the need for the typical mixture thrown inside most fried saimins. Waipahu, is located near the west central area of Oahu Hawaii and was nearby the Sugar plantation. The sources point that the influence of Waipahu's plantation culture of local mixed people would lead up to the strong taste of the hearty fried saimin. It is said the strong oily flavor was influenced from the Waipahu residence themselves. Nothing is more comforting to the home cooked meal than a little bit of white rice. Eaten at both restaurants and homes, rice is a staple that just about every resident has a must go to food. Many people who live in Hawaii spend special attention to the flavor of their rice and have certain brands that they buy at the store. Different grains are used for different types ranging from the ordinary medium grain rice (calrose rice), glutinous rice (aka. sticky rice, mochi rice), or short grain rice (jasmin rice).
Each person also likes to cook their white rice in different levels ranging from: dry-rice, standard-rice, slightly-wet, even soft-and-wet. Some even enjoy eating burnt-bottom rice (aka. koge rice) for its crispness. The process is simple...the rice is washed and thrown in a rice cooker with water and it finishes when the rice cooker beeps to show that the rice is done. White Rice in Hawaii Rice, a staple of Hawaii is important in modern day eating. But it wasn’t the first starch to arrive in the fields. The planted starch of choice would be the beloved Taro, but after the years went by islanders started to get a taste for rice. The draw of rice started with the chinese who planted rice fields and used it in their cuisine and served it at their eateries across the island. As plantation life was a shared life style among the ethnic and multi-ethnic people who worked the fields there would be a large variety of dishes that used boy Taro and Rice. Food Characteristics Hawaii White Rice has an appearance of being fluffy and soft. Medium Grain rice is known for absorbing flavors on the outside of the rice grain for sauces and gravy, so naturally it makes for a great companion for soups and stews. The dish is flexible in becoming a variety of Musubis that uses rice as a platform and a ingredient on top wrapped in dried seaweed, Plate Lunches in its traditional two scoop rice, two sides, and entree, and in a particular variety of local fried rice. Hawaii Rice Cooker Just about every family in Hawaii is likely to have a rice cooker because the residence love rice so much. The process is simple...the rice is washed and thrown in a rice cooker with water and it finishes when the rice cooker beeps to show that the rice is done. It is also a convenient food, because there are many busy people it is convenient and quick to make a pot of rice ahead of time and store it in the fridge as side. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |