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Maui Dining Guide
Island Foods
Island style eating incorporates delicacies from many different
cultures. The following guide will give you a brief introduction to
some of the more popular items in a wide variety of culinary
delights available on Maui.
Hawaiian
- poi
- a starchy paste made from mashing cooked taro with a little
bit of water; sometimes slightly fermented, poi is categorized
as one, two or three finger poi by the thickness of its
consistency.
- kalua pig
- a whole pig cooked in an imu, or underground oven.
- laulau
- pork, salted fish and taro leaves wrapped in a ti or banana
leaves and baked in an imu, steamed or broiled.
- lomi salmon
- lomi means massage, rub, press or squeeze in Hawaiian; the
salmon, usually raw, is worked with the fingers into a mixture
of vinegar, onion and spices and eaten cold as a salad or side
dish.
- haupia
- a pudding made of coconut creme.
- 'opihi
- a limpet collected from shoreline rocks and considered a
delicacy eaten raw or cooked.
- 'ulu
- breadfruit, when cooked it tastes something like sweet
potatoes.
- hulihuli chicken
- whole chickens roasted over a barbecue by turning (huli)
rotisserie style.
- poke
- sliced raw fish or octopus mixed with salt, seaweed and
chili peppers.
Korean
- kim chee
- hot, spicy pickled cabbage and other vegetables.
- kalbi
- marinated and barbecued short ribs.
Chinese
- char siu
- pork marinated in sugar, salt, soy sauce and red food
coloring.
Japanese
- teriyaki
- beef marinated in soy sauce.
- tempura
- vegetables or seafood deep fried in batter.
- shoyu
- soy sauce
- sashimi
- raw fish, usually ahi tuna, thinly sliced and served with
green wasabe and soy sauce.
- sushi
- rice and bits of fish and vegetables wrapped in seaweed.
- wasabi
- Spicy hot, green horseradish usually served with sushi and
sashimi.
- saimin
- a popular noodle soup flavored with vegetables and beef.
- bento
- a take-out box lunch.
Portuguese
- malasadas
- donuts without holes
- bean soup
- a rich spicy kidney bean soup with vegetables and Portuguese
sausage.
Game Fish
- mahimahi
- one of the least expensive and most common eating fish,
often referred to as dolphin but technically it is not; dolphins
are mammals and mahimahi is a fish. Weighing 10 to 65 pounds, it
has a broad head and body that tapers down to its tail; also
known as dorado.
- a'u
- the broadbilled swordfish or marlin, weighing up to 250
pounds each; not easy to catch, which is often reflected in its
price, but excellent firm, moist, meaty steak like white flesh.
- ono
- also called wahoo or king mackerel, the name also means
delicious in Hawaiian and certainly applies
- ulua
- a prized, hard-fighting game fish belonging to the "Jack
Crevalle" family that ranges up to 125 pounds; also known as
pompano; spearfishermen.
- uku
- the gray snapper
- ahi
- yellowfin tuna, excellent cooked or raw and often found in
sushi bars.
- ahu
- skipjack tune, heavier than ahi.
- aku
- bonito or skipjack tuna, a deep red-fleshed fish excellent
cooked or raw as sashimi.
- opakapaka
- the pink snapper
- onaga
- red snapper, a local favorite, caught in deep waters, with
juicy, white tender meat.
- kumu
- goatfish; firm, white meat. Steamed kumu is an island
specialty.
- mano
- shark; firm, white meat.
- moonfish/opah
- Mild, firm, pink flesh.
Other Island Foods
- apple bananas
- a smaller, denser, smoother texture than regular (Williams)
bananas.
- barbecue sticks
- teriyaki marinated pork, chicken or beef pieces barbecued
and served on bamboo sticks.
- breadfruit
- melon-sized starchy fruit; served baked, deep fried, steamed
or boiled.
- crackseed
- Chinese-style spicy preserved fruits and seeds.
- giri giri
- home-made sherbert
- guava
- about the size of an apricot or plum. The inside is full of
seeds, to it is rarely eaten raw. Used primarily for juice,
jelly or jam.
- Hawaiian supersweet corn
- the finest corn you ever had, even raw. Grown in Kula.
- huli huli chicken
- Hawaiian barbecue style
- ka'u oranges
- big island oranges. Usually, the uglier the orange, the
better it tastes.
- Kona coffee
- grown on the Lona coast of the Big Island. Smooth, mild
flavor; available everywhere.
- kulolo
- steamed taro pudding
- liliko'i
- passion fruit
- loco moco
- rice, meat patty, egg and gravy.
- lychee
- a reddish, woody peel that is discarded for the sweet, white
fruit inside. Be careful of the pit.
- macadamia nut
- a large, round nut
- manapua
- steamed or baked bun filled with meat.
- mango
- bright orange fruit with yellow pink skin. Distinct, tasty
flavor.
- manju
- cookie filled with a sweet center.
- Maui onions
- grown in Kula, some people eat them like apples.
- musubi
- cold steamed rice, sliced spam rolled in black seaweed
wrappers.
- papaya
- melon-like, pear-shaped fruit with yellow skin best eaten
chilled.
- pipi kaula
- Hawaiian-style beef jerky. Excellent when dipped in poi.
- plate lunch
- an island favorite as an inexpensive, filling lunch.
Consists of "two-scoop rice", a scoop of macaroni salad and some
type of meat, either beef, chicken, or fish. Sometimes called a
box lunch.
- Portuguese sausage
- pork sausage, highly seasoned with red pepper.
- pupu
- appetizer, finger foods or snacks.
- saimin
- noodles cooked in either chicken, pork or fish broth.
- shave ice
- a block of ice is "shaved" into a ball with flavored syrup
poured over the top. Best served with ice cream on the bottom.
- smoothie
- usually papaya, mango, frozen passion fruit and frozen
banana, but almost any fruit can be used to make this
milkshake-like drink. Add milk for creaminess.
- taro chips
- sliced and deep-fried taro; resembles potato chips.
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