What is a popular food in the Hawaiian culture?

Answer 1

If you mean Hawaiian culture as the general culture of the Islands, then you can take your pick of any of several cuisines -- Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Italian, French, American -- or select something more "fusion" that covers a little bit of everything.

A popular Hawai'i snack is musubi; a ball or rectangular prism of rice with a slice of meat on top and wrapped with a piece of dried seaweed (nori). Musubi are a welcomed addition to the food scene, thanks to Japanese plantation workers who arrived in the 1800s. Many musubi varieties exist, including the ubiquitous Spam musubi, as well as teriyaki chicken and Goteborg salami.

As a side note, Spam is used widely throughout Hawai'i. Its popularity in the Islands can be traced back to the need for a canned meat with a long shelf life. Contrary to public opinion in the continental United States, Spam is quite delicious when cooked properly. You may have a hard time finding any food snobs among people who are appropriately thankful and appreciative of food that travels well!

If, however, you mean Hawaiian culture as the specific indigenous culture of the Islands, then it would probably have to be any one of the many products from the kalo plant (Colocasia esculenta). Kalo/taro must be cooked thoroughly to soften and neutralize the calcium oxalate crystals in its leaves, shoots, stems, and corm.

A popular favorite at parties is lu'au stew, which is stew made from the leaves and stems of the plant. Many varieties exist, including lu'au he'e or squid lu'au.