Hawaiian Food: Loco Moco, Spam Musubi and Shave Ice

Hawaiian food is not one cuisine but several that met on the islands. Sugar and pineapple plantations brought workers from Japan, China, the Philippines, Portugal and Korea, and their lunches blended with what Native Hawaiians cooked. The result in Hawaii is loco moco, Spam musubi, plate lunch and a mound of sweet ice.

Traditional Hawaiian dishes are Polynesian in origin, while the plate lunch and the musubi came from the mix of immigrant cultures. Taste both traditions, and ask the person at the counter what locals order.

What is loco moco?

Loco moco is rice topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg and brown gravy. It is usually credited to Hilo on the Big Island, around 1949, when teenagers from a local athletic club asked a restaurant for something cheap and filling. Accounts tie it to the Lincoln Grill, which has since closed. Cafe 100 in Hilo did more than any other restaurant to popularize the dish, and its owner trademarked the name.

Order it with the gravy over everything, and break the egg into the rice. Variations now add spam, chili, mushrooms or fish, but the plain version is the one to judge a kitchen by.

What is Spam musubi?

Spam musubi is a slice of grilled, glazed Spam on a block of rice, wrapped in a strip of nori. Canned meat became common in Hawaii during and after World War II, and the snack grew out of that supply. The origin story is not settled. Several sources credit a Hawaii resident named Barbara Funamura, and another account says people held in mainland internment camps made an early version with slices of Spam on rice.

You will find musubi in convenience stores, gas stations and lunch counters, wrapped and ready to carry. A good one has a firm block of rice, a thin sweet and salty glaze and a nori strip that stays crisp rather than soggy. Buy it fresh, and eat it the same day.

What is a Hawaii plate lunch?

A Hawaii plate lunch is a meal of a hot main dish, rice and macaroni salad, served on a compartment plate or in a clamshell box. It is usually traced to the plantation era, when workers carried bento-style lunches of rice and leftovers in metal tins. Macaroni salad joined later, and when plantation jobs ended some former workers sold plates from lunch wagons parked by beaches and worksites. Sources disagree on the exact dates.

The main dish can be chicken katsu, teriyaki beef, kalua pork, fried fish or a hamburger steak. Most plates come with two scoops of rice, though counters vary. Share one if you are unsure, because portions are large.

Where does shave ice come from?

The treat is a mound of finely shaved ice soaked in flavored syrup, and it is different from a snow cone. The ice is shaved so fine that the syrup soaks through instead of pooling at the bottom. Japanese immigrants brought the idea, and it grew into a local habit with toppings such as azuki beans, mochi, condensed milk and ice cream underneath.

A sweets shop in Haleiwa on Oahu's North Shore is said to be still run by the same family, according to a local news report, and its azuki bean and condensed milk topping is a favorite. A long-running shop in Honolulu's Kapahulu area is another place to try the ice with azuki and mochi. Neither was confirmed on an official page, so neither is named: check the current address and hours. Expect a wait at both on warm days.

How do you order Hawaiian food as a visitor?

Start with a plate lunch at a counter, because it covers a lot in one meal. Add a musubi as a snack and save the ice for the afternoon. The rice-and-gravy plate is a breakfast or late lunch, heavy enough to carry you through a hike.

Ask for the local version of everything. Counter staff often know which dish the kitchen is proud of, and a short menu on the wall is a good sign. Bring a few small bills, since some stands and small counters prefer cash.

How do these dishes fit Hawaii's food story?

Each one is a compromise that worked. Rice came with Asian workers and stayed. Canned meat arrived by ship and became a staple. Ice and syrup met red bean paste. Hawaiian food keeps absorbing, which is why a plate can hold teriyaki, macaroni salad and kalua pork without looking out of place.

Traditional dishes such as poke, laulau and kalua pig sit alongside these newer ones and deserve a table of their own. Ask a cook how they season the fish or wrap the leaf, and you will learn how much care the older dishes need.

Where should you read next?

For a drive around Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, read Hawaii food worth a drive. For a day in town, the Kaimuki and Chinatown Honolulu food guide walks two neighborhoods. The US guides page lists more places.

A trip's worth of musubi and shave ice blurs fast. Get the Mosey app, rate every plate, musubi and bowl of ice you try, and keep a Hawaii list to hand to the next friend who books a flight.