How to Cook a Hawaiian Dinner

Most of the foods you find at a Hawaiian luau can be easily replicated in the home. Even though traditional methods of cooking, such as using an underground imu, are not employed, the food does not lose its authentic flavor. Here are some of the more popular Hawaiian dishes utilizing simple island ingredients.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pork butt
• Sea salt
• Banana leaves
• Aluminum foil
• BBQ pit
• Taro root
• Pineapple
• Coconut Shavings
• Macadamia nuts
• Orange Juice
• Various fruits (kiwi, lilikoi, star fruit and grapes)
• Salmon fillet
• Tomato
• Onion (Maui onion or green onion)
• Macaroni pasta
• Grated Carrots
• Mayonnaise
• Milk

A Hawaiian dinner

1. 
    
   Kalua pig is shredded roasted pork butt

   Make kalua pig for the main entree. To have the most flavorful kalua pig, choose a pork butt that is fatty and still has the bone in. Start the cooking process by laying a sheet of aluminum foil down followed by several banana leaves. Place the pork butt on top of the banana leaves and rub it gently with sea salt. Once massaged, wrap the pork butt in banana leaves, followed by the aluminum foil. At this point you should have a pouch. Make sure the bottom of the pouch is secure and will not leak. This is important in order to retain the pork's juices. Using a knife, make a few slits into the top of the pouch so that the smoke from the barbecue pit will flavor the pork. Set the pouch on a low-heat, smoking barbecue pit for at least 6 hours. Once cooked through, shred the pork before serving.

2. 
    
   Poi is a paste made out of boiled and mashed taro root

   Serve the Hawaiian classic, poi. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Place taro root in boiling water for about 40 minutes until tender. Once the taro root is soft, remove the skin and mash into a paste or puree it in a blend with a small amount of water. The finished poi should be smooth and paste-like. Season with salt to taste. Poi is naturally a bland starch and this is the way it is traditionally eaten.

3. 
    
   You can't have a Hawaiian dinner without pineapple

   Fix Hawaiian fruit salad. Cut all fruit into bite-size pieces. Dice macadamia nuts into small pieces. Place fruit and nut pieces in a large bowl and mix together. Pour 8 oz. of juice on top of fruit and mixture for flavoring. Add coconut shavings to top of salad without mixing.

4. 
    
   Lomi Lomi Salmon is a simple dish that requires a massage

   Make lomi lomi salmon. If you did not buy a salted salmon fillet, season the fish with salt first. Shred the salmon fillet into fine pieces. Dice tomatoes and onion and mix with shredded salmon. Lomi lomi means "massage" in Hawaiian, so be sure to mix the fish, tomato and onion by hand thoroughly. Cover mixture and chill for 1 hour.

5. Serve macaroni salad. Cook 2 cups of macaroni pasta as directed on box. Drain pasta and allow to cool. Add 1 cup of grated carrots and mix. Add mayonnaise a little at a time until you reach a creamy consistency. If mixture is too paste-like, add milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tips & Warnings

• If you cannot find some of the ingredients for the recipes, try to use products that are indigenous to your area for the freshest flavors.
• Poi is not a popular food to mainlanders, so don't be offended if your guests do not like it. Make a small amount simply for tasting and not as a primary course.

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