Tips For Great Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Plate lunches in Hawaii are delicious. No matter how you put it together, you’ll enjoy it. A constant in the plate lunch is Hawaiian macaroni salad. In addition to mac salad, you will always have a scoop of rice. The origin of the plate lunch goes back over a century and includes many different kinds of people that were brought to the islands to work and soon became friends that shared their lunch. With so many types of people and cuisine brought to the islands, you can’t match the uniqueness. Not to mention, this type of food is inexpensive, perfect for a family, filling and makes great leftover lunches, obviously. If you have a budget to stay within, try this cuisine and your family will thank you.

According to University of Hawaii professor, Jon Okamura, the plate lunch came to the Hawaiian islands from the Japanese bento box, which is a box full of different types of food. It’s made for lunch meals. During the 1880s, plantation workers were in very high demand and many of them came from China, Japan, Phillippines and Portugal. They would all eat leftover rice and some sort of meat. The meat could be cold or hot (teriyaki) and sometimes eggs substituted for the meat.

You can find influences from Korea, China, Japan and the Phillipines in any plate lunch. The options in a plate lunch is what makes it special.

Some of my favorites are: Chicken Katsu, which is chicken pounded thin and then breaded and fried, Beef Teriyaki or Beef Teri as some call it, Loco Moco (hamburger with gravy and a fried egg on top), Kalua Pork (pork cooked under ground for hours) and Lomi Lomi Salmon.

My best tip for making Hawaiian Macaroni Salad is to add some grated carrots to it. Also, be sure to taste and taste and taste throughout the process of making it.

Before you begin cooking your hawaiian macaroni salad don’t forget to visit RecipeMatcher.