Regional highlights
Loco moco
Two scoops of rice, a hamburger patty, brown gravy poured over, and a fried egg on top — invented in 1949 at the Lincoln Grill in Hilo on the Big Island, where a group of teenage surfers asked for something cheap and filling, and the cook combined the day's leftovers. Adopted across the state. Eaten for breakfast or lunch, never daintily. The Big Island version often uses local Big Island Beef Co. ground beef from Waimea ranches.
Kalua pork
Whole pig slow-cooked in an imu (underground oven) — the Native Hawaiian luau centrepiece. The pig is rubbed with Hawaiian sea salt, wrapped in banana and ti leaves, lowered into a pit lined with hot lava stones, and steamed for 6-8 hours until the meat falls apart and absorbs a deep smoky character. The Big Island has some of the most authentic luaus thanks to the active cultural-revival movement; community luaus on the Kona side are particularly worth seeking out.
Ulu (breadfruit)
Breadfruit — a starchy tropical fruit (technically a relative of figs and mulberries) that was a Native Hawaiian staple before Western contact, and that has had a major revival on the Big Island in the past decade thanks to the Breadfruit Institute at Kahanu Garden and the Hawaii ulu cooperative. Roasted whole over coals (the result tastes like a cross between potato and chestnut), pounded into ulu poi, fried into ulu chips, or mashed into ulu hummus. Many Big Island restaurants now serve a breadfruit dish as a local-revival staple.
Poi
The traditional Native Hawaiian carbohydrate — taro corm (kalo) is steamed, peeled, and pounded with a stone (or modern food processor) and water until smooth, then left to ferment briefly until it develops a slight sour edge. Eaten with the fingers — "one finger", "two finger" or "three finger" poi describes the consistency (thicker = older, more sour). Served at every luau. Hilo on the Big Island has some of the best fresh poi in Hawaii thanks to the wetter side's stronger taro-growing tradition.
Lomi-lomi salmon
Salt-cured salmon (technically a Native Hawaiian dish made with imported salt salmon — the fish was traded from Pacific Northwest fur traders in the early 19th century) tossed with diced tomato, sweet onion (Maui onion is the gold standard), green onion and a touch of chilli, eaten cold as a salad. "Lomi-lomi" means "to massage" — the ingredients are massaged together by hand. Served at every luau as a side; the Big Island version often uses local tomatoes from the Hamakua coast.
Haupia
Coconut-milk pudding — coconut milk thickened with arrowroot or cornstarch, sweetened, set in a shallow pan, then cut into squares. Served at every luau as a finishing dessert. Light, slightly chewy, very fragrant of fresh coconut. The Big Island version is sometimes layered with chocolate (chocolate haupia) or with fresh tropical fruit.
Macadamia nuts
Hawaii's most important commercial nut crop — macadamia trees (originally from Australia) thrive in the Big Island's volcanic soils, and the major orchards (Mauna Loa, Hamakua Macadamia, the Big Island Candies operation) supply most of the macadamias sold worldwide as Hawaiian. Eaten plain, salted, dipped in chocolate, used in cookies, ice cream, and on top of fish dishes. The Big Island's Mauna Loa Orchards are open for visits.
Hamakua mushrooms
The Hamakua Coast (the windward side north of Hilo) hosts Hawaii's only commercial mushroom farm — Hamakua Mushrooms produces alii (king trumpet), pioppini, hon-shimeji and a range of other Asian-style mushrooms for the islands' restaurants. Used across Big Island restaurants in pasta, in poke (Hamakua mushroom poke is a vegan alternative), grilled with butter, and as part of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine tasting menus.
Poke
Cubed raw ahi tuna seasoned with shoyu (soy sauce), sesame oil, sweet onion, green onion, ogo seaweed and chilli flakes — Hawaii's signature raw-fish preparation. Sold by the pound at Big Island poke counters in Kona and Hilo. The Big Island also has the strongest local-fish tradition (the Honokohau small-boat harbour at Kona lands fresh ahi daily), and the older Hilo-side counters use simpler, less-modern preparations than the Honolulu trend versions.
Plate lunch
Hawaii's signature plantation-era working lunch — two scoops of white rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a protein (kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, mahi-mahi, mochiko chicken or beef stew) on a paper plate. Plate-lunch counters dot the Big Island, especially in Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Captain Cook and Waimea. Casual, cheap, the everyday Big Island working lunch.
Malasadas
Portuguese-style deep-fried sugar donuts — yeasted dough fried golden, rolled in sugar (or filled with cream, custard, haupia or chocolate), served hot and sticky. Brought to the islands by Portuguese plantation workers from Madeira and the Azores in the late 19th century. Punaluu Bake Shop on the Big Island's south side is a famous heritage stop for malasadas; the Tex Drive Inn at Honokaa on the Hamakua coast is the other long-running heritage malasada institution.
Shave ice
Finely shaved (not crushed) ice over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and azuki (sweet red) beans, drenched in flavoured syrups (lilikoi/passion fruit, mango, guava, strawberry, lychee), topped with sweetened condensed milk and mochi balls. The Hilo and Kailua-Kona shave-ice scene is strong; Mauna Loa-grown macadamia ice cream is a popular layer in the Big Island version.