LIHU‘E — Arguably one of the country’s most-traditional holidays, for many families, Thanksgiving is a time to gather around the table, eat turkey and mashed potatoes while keeping one eye glued to the football games. But in Hawai‘i, Thanksgiving dinner
LIHU‘E — Arguably one of the country’s most-traditional holidays, for many families, Thanksgiving is a time to gather around the table, eat turkey and mashed potatoes while keeping one eye glued to the football games.
But in Hawai‘i, Thanksgiving dinner is a hodgepodge of multi-cultural dishes.
Sure, there might be a turkey, but instead of (or in addition to) cranberries and green beans there will be fried noodles and lomi salmon.
In Muriel Miura and Betty Shimabukuro’s latest cookbook, “Hawai‘i’s Holiday Cookbook: Island Favorites for Every Celebration From New Year to Christmas,” the duo gives step-by-step instructions on how to cook Hawaiian Thanksgiving favorites, including kalua turkey, lup cheong mochi rice stuffing and taro stuffing.
When asked what types of dishes characterize a Hawaiian Thanksgiving, Shimabukuro let out a gentle laugh.
“It’s hard to say, because I think the one rule we have is that there aren’t any rules. Everyone comes with their own background and family traditions.”
Then, Shimabukuro corrects herself.
“I guess the one rule is to bring lots and lots of food, and have people bring what they like,” she said. “At our Thanksgiving, my cousin always brings kim chee cucumbers and we have others that bring poke.”
Shimabukuro is quick to point out at her family’s Thanksgiving feast she’s always in charge of bringing a side dish, mainly because her job at the Honolulu-Star Advertiser has kept her in the office during the holiday. Her weekly recipe column “By Request” features family recipes and has provided enough material to yield two cookbooks.
In Miura’s household, she likes to put a twist on traditional Thanksgiving dishes, whether it’s a Portuguese sausage stuffing, a Chinese chicken salad or a stir-fry vegetable.
“Hawaiian holidays are different from anywhere else,” Miura said. “The dining table is multi-ethnic and there’s a lot of variety. It could end up being a smorgasbord of food.”
Miura hosted “Cook Japanese,” which was the basis for her first cookbook “Cook Japanese: Hawaiian Style,” in the 1970s, while working as a home economist for the Honolulu Gas Co. — a career that spanned for more than 30 years.
In their cookbook, the duo made it a point to share a variety of dishes from different ethnic groups.
Shimabukuro said some of her favorite recipes featured in the cookbook come from her husband’s side of the family, he of Guamanian descent.
“I like these recipes because you won’t find them in a lot of cookbooks,” Shimabukuro said. “When I buy a cookbook I try to find one thing in it that I’ve never heard of, and then I go from there.”
On the other hand, Miura’s favorite dishes are Japanese-inspired. Her favorite recipe from the cookbook is sakana no iga age (thorny fish tempura).
While the dishes may sound intimidating, the duo is quick to put readers’ minds at ease. In the opening of the cookbook they write “This is what you need to know about us: We’re kind of lazy and very cheap. We hate to fuss and despise bother, so if a dish is too fancy or too complicated we’d just as soon go eat it at a restaurant. As long as it doesn’t cost too much.”
“Hawai‘i’s Holiday Cookbook” is the second cookbook the co-authors have worked on together. All 195 pages of the color, glossy cookbook feature more than 100 recipes that can be easily prepared for any holiday gathering.
Visit mutualpublishing.com for more information about “Hawai‘i’s Holiday Cookbook: Island Favorites for Every Celebration From New Year to Christmas.”
